The eyes are more than a window to the soul—they're also a reflection of a person's cognitive(认知的) health. Research has been exploring how the eyes may help in diagnosing
（诊断）Alzheimer's disease before symptoms(症状) begin.
“Alzheimer's disease begins in the brain decades before the first symptoms of memory loss,” said Dr. Richard Isaacson, an Alzheimer's preventive neurologist at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases. “If doctors are able to identify the disease in its earliest stages, people could then make healthy lifestyle choices and control their risk factors, like high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes,” Isaacson said.
Then how early can we see signs of cognitive decline? To find it out, a recent study examined donated tissue from the retina(视网膜) and brains of 86 people with different degrees of mental decline. “Our study is the first to provide in-depth analyses of the protein profiles and the molecular, cellular and structural effects of Alzheimer's disease in the human retina and how they correspond with changes in the brain and cognitive function,” said senior author Maya Koronyo-Hamaoui, a professor of neurosurgery and biomedical sciences at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles.
Researchers in the study collected retinal and brain tissue samples over 14 years from 86 human donors with Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive damage—the largest group of retinal samples ever studied, according to the authors. Researchers then compared samples from donors with normal cognitive function to those with mild cognitive damage and those with later-stage Alzheimer's disease.
The study, published in February in the journal Acta Neuropathologica, found significant increases in beta-amyloid, a key marker of Alzheimer's disease, in people with both Alzheimer's and early cognitive decline.
“These findings may eventually lead to the development of imaging techniques that allow us to diagnose Alzheimer's disease earlier and more accurately,” Isaacson said, “and monitor its progression by looking through the eyes.”
()8. What can eyes help do according to the recent study?
A. Convey people's feelings.
B. Show people's lifestyle choices.
C. Indicate people's physical decline.
D. Reflect people's cognitive function changes.
()9. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?
A. The reason for the study.
B. The process of the study.
C. The plan for the study.
D. The method of the study.
()10. How was the study conducted?
A. By conducting a detailed survey about human retina.
B. By asking and answering questions about the changes in the brain.
C. By making a comparison between samples from different donors.
D. By keeping track of participants to collect their data within a decade.
()11. What do Isaacson's words imply in the last paragraph?
A. Alzheimer's disease can be cured by reducing risk factors.
B. Scientists have developed imaging techniques to diagnose Alzheimer's disease.
C. Alzheimer's disease begins in the brain years after the first symptoms of memory loss.
D. Alzheimer's disease can be spotted before symptoms start by examining the eyes.
D

8.D 9.A 10.C 11.D
【语篇解读】本文是一篇说明文。文章介绍了关于阿尔茨海默病的最新研究进展,特别是如何通过研究眼睛来早期诊断这一疾病。
8. D 解析:细节理解题。根据第一段的内容"眼睛不仅是心灵的窗口,还能反映一个人的认知健康状况。研究一直在探索眼睛如何在症状出现之前帮助诊断阿尔茨海默病。"可知,根据最近的研究,眼睛能反映人的认知功能变化。故选 D。
9. A 解析:段落大意题。根据第二段的内容"神经退行性疾病研究所的阿尔茨海默病预防神经学家理查德·艾萨克森博士说:'阿尔茨海默病在出现记忆丧失症状之前几十年就开始在大脑中出现了。如果医生能够在早期阶段识别出这种疾病,人们就可以选择健康的生活方式,控制他们的风险因素,如高血压、高胆固醇和糖尿病。'"可知,本段主要介绍了阿尔茨海默症的研究原因,即在症状出现之前诊断该疾病,帮助人们做出健康的生活方式选择并控制风险因素。故选 A。
10. C 解析:推理判断题。根据第四段的内容"研究人员在 14 年的时间里从 86 名患有阿尔茨海默病和轻度认知损伤的人类捐赠者身上收集了视网膜和脑组织样本——据作者说,这是迄今为止研究过的最大的视网膜样本组。然后,研究人员将正常认知功能捐赠者的样本与轻度认知损伤患者和阿尔茨海默病晚期患者的样本进行了比较。"可知,研究人员比较了来自不同捐赠者的样本,这些捐赠者分别具有正常的认知功能、轻度认知损伤和晚期阿尔茨海默病。因此,研究是通过比较不同捐赠者的样本来进行的。故选 C。
11. D 解析:推理判断题。根据最后一段的内容"艾萨克森说:'这些发现可能最终导致成像技术的发展,使我们能够更早、更准确地诊断阿尔茨海默病,以及通过眼睛观察来监测其进展。'"可知,艾萨克森的话暗示了通过研究眼睛,我们可以在症状出现之前发现阿尔茨海默病。故选 D。