Question

【題目】 Does stress cause gray hair? Many people believe that tension and stress can cause your hair to lose its color. In fact, it is an old-wives’ tale that being upset all the time can result in premature graying. Here is a closer look at this situation and why some believe that this old wives’ tale could be true.

As one ages, the hairs on the head also age. In fact, just about everything on the human body begins to show signs of wear and tear (磨損) after a while. The joints wear and become stiff and skin wears and becomes wrinkled. Hairs on the head grow and eventually die. They are replaced, but in the process something else happens.

When new hairs are replacing the old ones, the color or pigment (色素) is also added to them. However, as one ages, this pigment becomes less and less available. At first, hairs will have a limited amount of pigment and they will appear to be grayish in color. In time, they will lose all of their pigment and will be white. Many things are known to cause graying, and genetics is a very powerful factor. If one of your parents turns gray at an early age, there is a good chance that you will too. Some people begin the graying process in high school, while others may be over the age of forty.

Constant worry and tension can have many harmful effects on the human body. It is a known fact that stressful times can cause one to suffer hair loss. It would make sense that if it can cause these problems, perhaps it also may contribute to graying. However, there is no sound evidence to support this.

On the other hand, many medical professionals believe that there may be a link between graying and a constant state of anxiety or tension. Does stress cause gray hair? There is no scientific evidence to support the theory, but it is best to avoid stressful situations.

【1】The underlined phrase in the first paragraph most probably means________.

A.clever remarksB.silly remarksC.exciting remarksD.disappointed remarks

【2】The second paragraph mainly tells us __________.

A.every part of body is replaced with ageB.hairs will grow weak but not die

C.skin becomes wrinkled with ageD.every part of body ages with age

【3】What might play the most important role in the graying process?

A.Genetics and the amount of sleeping time.

B.The amount of food people eat and living environment.

C.The amount of pigment and genetics.

D.Genetics and the amount of water people drink

【4】From the passage we can infer that________.

A.stress causing gray hair is still in question

B.gray hair has nothing to do with tension

C.stressful situations can be of benefit

D.sound evidence has been found

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】D

【3】C

【4】A

【解析】

這是一篇議論文。壓力會(huì)導(dǎo)致頭發(fā)變白嗎？許多人相信情況是這樣的。本文從年齡和基因兩方面談了頭發(fā)變白的原因，持續(xù)的壓力和憂慮對(duì)于身體是有害的，可導(dǎo)致脫發(fā)。但是，究竟壓力和頭發(fā)變白之間是否有聯(lián)系，目前尚無(wú)定論。

【1】詞義猜測(cè)題。畫線短語(yǔ)前面提到“Many people believe that tension and stress can cause your hair to lose its color”，即許多人相信緊張和壓力導(dǎo)致頭發(fā)褪色變白。短文接著談到“In fact，it is...”，這是推測(cè)畫線詞意思的關(guān)鍵。因此an old wives’ tale意為“無(wú)稽之談”。故選B。

【2】主旨大意題。第二段第一句話是該段的主題句。從中可以看出，人體的每一部分都會(huì)隨著年齡的增長(zhǎng)而衰老。故選D。

【3】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。本文第三段提到“At first，hairs will have a limited amount of pigment and they will appear to be grayish in color.In time，they will lose all of their pigment and will be white.Many things are known to cause graying，and genetics is a very powerful factor.”由此可以看出，色素和基因在頭發(fā)變白的過(guò)程中起著重要的作用。故選C。

【4】推理判斷題。本文倒數(shù)第二段最后提到“However，there is no sound evidence to support this.”最后一段也提到“There is no scientific evidence to support the theory...”。由此可知，是否壓力會(huì)引起頭發(fā)變白仍無(wú)定論。故選A。