下面的短文后有两项测试任务：(1)第23——26题要求从所给的6个选项中为第2——5段的每段选择1个最佳标题;(2)第27——30题要求从所给的6个选项中为每个句子确定1个最佳选项。

The Gap of Lifespan between Men and Women

(1) People are living longer than ever, but for some reason, women are living longer than men. A baby boy born in the United States in 2003 can expects to live to be about 73, a baby girl,about 79. this is indeed a wide gap, and no one really knows why it exists. The greater longevity (长寿) of women, however, has been known for centuries. It was, for example,described in the seventeenth century. However, the difference was smaller then--the gap is growing.

(2) A number of reasons have been proposed to explain the differences. The gap is greatest in industrialized (个体的) societies, so it has been suggested that women are less susceptible to work stress that may raise the risk of heart disease and alcoholism (酗酒). Sociologists also tell us that women are encouraged to be less adventurous than men (and this may be why they are more careful drivers, involved in fewer accidents).

(3) Even smoking has been implicated in the age discrepancy (差异). It was once suggested that working women are more likely to smoke and as more women entered the work force, the age gap would begin to close, because smoking is related to earlier deaths. Now, however, we see more women smoking and they still tend to live longer although their lung cancer rate is climbing sharply.

(4) Some researchers have suggested that men may die early because their health is more strongly related to their emotions. For example, men tend to die sooner after losing a spouse than women do. Men even seem to be more weakened by loss of a job. (Both of these are linked with a marked decrease in the effectiveness of the immune system.) Among men, death follows retirement with an alarming (令人担忧的) promptness (迅速).

(5) Perhaps we are searching for the answers too close to the surface of the problem. Perhaps the answers lie deeper in our biological heritage. After all, the phenomenon is not isolated to humans. Females have the edge among virtually ( 几乎 ) all mammalian (哺乳动物的) species, in that they generally live longer. Furthermore, in many of these species the differences beginat the moment of conception; there are more male miscarriages ( 流产 ). In human, after birth, more baby boys than baby girls die.

23. paragraph 1 __________

24. paragraph 2 __________

25. paragraph 3 __________

26. paragraph 4 __________

A. Much Male Miscarriages

B. The Reason for the Gap Grows Different

C. The Greater Longevity of Women.

D. Health Is More Strongly Related to Their Emotion,,

E. Women Are Living Longer than Men

F. Example for the Age Discrepancy

27——30补全句子

27. Ababy boy live to be about 73, a baby girl, about 79, this has __________

28. Women are less likely to work stress that may raise the risk of __________

29. More women smoking and they still have __________

30. The phenomenon is not isolated to humans __________

A. has impact on

B. a wide gap

C. a longer life

D. animal species

E. different societies

F. heart disease and alcoholism

参考答案：

23.D。文章第二段主要讲的是科幻书是文学中的新形式，但追根溯源，它几百年前就出现了。所以选项D“科幻小说的起源”概括了本段大意，为正确答案。

24.B。文章第三段主要讲多数科幻小说写于过去100年里，其中Jules Veme和H.G Wells的科幻小说都是经典之作。所以选项B“经典科幻小说”概括了本段大意，为正确答案。

25.E。文章第四段主要讲的是现代科幻小说作家对预测技术发展对社会和人类的影响等感兴趣，或者对想象未来的世界感兴趣，所以选项E“现代科幻小说的主题”概括了本段大意，为正确答案。

26.C。文章第五段主要讲科幻小说作家发现自己的作品很难跟上技术发展的步伐，所以选项C“超越科学发展的困难”概括了本段大意，为正确答案。

27.F。题干：理想社会的形式是__________。利用题干关键词ideal society可以定位到第二段最后一句，说明这些书总是理想社会的不同展现。由此可知选项F“ 一个反复的主题”为正确答案。

28.E。题干：Jules Veme写的书__________。利用题干关键词J.Veme可以定位到第三段，可知Jules Veme写的书很多人都在读，所以选项E“全世界广泛阅读”为正确答案。

29.C。题干：现代科幻小说都有政治的__________。利用题干关键词political可以定位到第四段“Because ofthis，theirwriting has obvious political undertones”，意为“因为这样，他们的作品有明显的政治涵义”。由此可知选项C“涵义”为正确答案。

30.B。题干：作者发现很难__________。利用题干关键词difficult可以定位到第五段“the writers may find it difficult to keep ahead of scientific advances”，意为“作者们发现很难跟上科学发展的步伐”。由此可知选项B“跟上科学发展的步伐”为正确答案。