Why Do People Shrink?

　　Did you ever see the movie Honey,I Shrunk the Kids? It’s about a wacky dad (who’s also a scientist) who accidentally shrinks his kids with his homemade miniaturizing invention. Oops!____1_____

　　For older people, shrinking isn’t chat dramatic or sudden at all. It takes place over years and may add up to only an inch or so off of their adult height2 (maybe a little more, maybe less). And this kind of shrinking can’t be magically reversed, although there are things that can be done to stop it or slow it down.____2_____There are a few reasons. As people get older, they generally lose some muscle and fat from their bodies as part of the natural aging process. Gravity (the force that keeps your feet on the ground) takes hold3, and the bones in the spine, called vertebrae, may break down4 or degenerate, and start to collapse into one another5._____3____But perhaps the most common reason why some older people shrink is because of osteoporosis.

　　Osteoporosis occurs when too much spongy bone tissue (which is found inside of most bones) is broken down and not enough new bone material is made.____4_____Bones become smaller and weaker and can easily break if someone with osteoporosis is injured. Older people — especially women, who generally have smaller and lighter bones to begin with — are more likely to develop osteoporosis. As years go by, a person with osteoporosis shrinks a little bit.

　　Did you know that every day you do a shrinking act, too? You aren’t as tall at the end of the day as you are at the beginning. That’s because as the day goes on, water in the disks of the spine gets compressed (squeezed)due to gravity, making you just a tiny bit shorter. Don’t worry, though.____5_____

　　练习：

　　A. They end up6 pressing closer together, which makes a person lose a little height and become shorter.

　　B. Once you get a good night’s rest, your body recovers, and the next morning, you’re standing tall again!

　　C. Over time, bone is said to be lost because it’s not being replaced.

　　D. Luckily, there are things that people can do to prevent shrinking.

　　E. The kids spend the rest of the move as tiny people who are barely visible while trying to get back to their normal size.1

　　F. But why does shrinking happen at all?

　　答案与题解：

　　1.E　文章一开头讲到,在《亲爱的,我把孩子们缩小了》这部电影中,一位古怪的父亲不小心把自己的孩子们给缩小了,接下来的句子还应该与这部电影有关。

　　2.F　从第三段的第一句话可以判断,此处应为询问原因的问句。

　　3.A　前一句讲,脊椎骨有可能退化并挤压在一起,接下来应选表明这种行为结果的句子。

　　4.C　前一句讲到,当太多松软的骨组织坏掉并且没有足够的新的骨组织生成时,骨质疏松就发生了。接下来应首选表明这种现象结果的句子。

　　5.B　此段讲的是:一个人到了晚上的时候就不如他在早起的时候高,但他不必为此着急。接下来应首选表明不必着急原因的句子。

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（实习编辑：高奕飞）