It was a big week for Alzheimer’s disease， and not just because PBS aired The Forgetting， a first-rate documentary about Alzheimer’s worth catching in reruns if you missed it the first time. There was also a flurry of scientific news that offered hope to the families already struggling with Alzheimer’s， as well as to the baby-boom generation that’s up next. Unless something dramatic happens， the number of Americans living with this terrifying brain disease could triple， to about 16 million， over the next 50 years. There’s still no cure in sight， but there is progress on several fronts. Among them：

MEGADOSE VITAMINS Doctors knew vitamins E and C， both antioxidants， help stave off Alzheimer’s， at least in folks who haven’t already developed the disorder. What they didn’t know——but a big study involving 4，740 participants published in the Archives of Neurology showed——was that the two vitamins taken together in huge daily doses （at least 400 IU of E and more than 500 mg of C） could reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s a remarkable 78%.

COMBINATION THERAPY A yearlong study of more than 400 Alzheimer’s patients showed that two drugs that work differently on the brain’s chemistry act well together to help slow down the disease. Patients who were being treated with donepezil （sold as Aricept）， an older drug that preserves the neurotransmitter acetylcholine， were also given memantine （Namenda）， a new drug approved by the FDA last October that blocks overproduction of a harmful brain chemical called glutamate. The two drugs worked even better in combination than they did alone， providing substantial benefit for patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s， according to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

BRAIN IMAGING Finally， scientists at the University of Pittsburgh announced that they had successfully developed a procedure that allows them to peer into the brains of Alzheimer’s patients with positron emission tomography （PET） scans to see telltale plaque deposits. Before now， doctors could not track the progress of these plaques until after the patient died， when the brain could be autopsied. Using the new technique， doctors may be able to begin treatment long before the first symptoms appear.

None of these advances is a magic bullet for Alzheimer’s disease. If you or your loved ones are concerned， the first step is careful evaluation by your doctor. Not all memory lapses are Alzheimer’s， and there are reversible causes of forgetfulness that can be treated if caught early. Also， remember the old adage “use it or lose it.” Mental exercise——reading， doing crossword puzzles， playing chess or Scrabble——is as good for preserving your mind as physical exercise is for your body.

注（1）：本文选自Time； 2/2/2004， p78-78， 2/3p， 2c；

注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象第1题模仿2002年text 4第1题；第2题模仿1994年真题text 2 第3题；第3模仿2002年真题text 3 第3题，第4—5题模仿2004年text 3第4，5题；

1. From the first paragraph， we learn that_________.

[A] the baby-boom generation will not suffer from Alzhemer‘s disease

[B] recent progress brings hope for Alzheimer victims

[C] the week was very important for Alzheimer‘s because a documentary about it was shown on PBS

[D] the new achievements made on several fronts show that Alzheimer‘s disease can be cured

2. The phrase “stave off” （line 1， paragraph 2） most probably means “________”。

[A] getting

[B] treating

[C] curing

[D] preventing

3. The report in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that ____________.

[A] combination therapy refers to combining two different ways of treatment

[B] donepezil helps blocks overproduction of a harmful brain chemical called glutamate

[C] combination therapy is of great benefit to all patients with Alzheimer‘s

[D] Aricept and Namenda have better effect when used together than used separately

4. Why is brain imaging considered progress in treating Alzhemer‘s？

[A] Because it helps doctors diagnose and treat the disease in an early phase by tracking the progress of plaques in the brain.

[B] Because it helps doctors autopsy the brains of the patients after they died.

[C] Because it helps doctors see the plaque desposits clearly so that they can operate on the brain.

[D] Because it helps doctors develop a new procedure of tracking the progress of the disease.

5. To which of the following is the author likely to agree？

[A] Alzhemer‘s disease can be cured thanks to the new advances.

[B] Forgetfulness can be cured by doing mental exercise.

[C] Careful evaluation is important because it can tell Alzheimer‘s from curable memory lapses， which can be treated if found in an early phase.

[D] Mental exercises do good only to forgetfulness caused by reversible causes.

答案：B D D A C