People born in the autumn live longer than those born in the spring and are less likely to fall chronically ill when they are older, according to an Austrian scientist. Using census data for more than one million people in Austria, Denmark and Australia, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in the northern German town of Rostock found the month of birth was related to life expectancy over the age of 50.
Seasonal differences in what mothers ate during pregnancy, and infections occurring at different times of the year could both have an impact on the health of a new -born baby and could influence its life expectancy in older age. “A mother giving birth in spring after a 40 – week pregnancy spends the last phase of her pregnancy in winter, when she will eat less vitamins than in summer,” said Gabriele Doblhammer, one of a team of scientists who carried out the research. “When she stops breast - feeding and starts giving her baby normal food, it’s in the hot weeks of summer when babies are prone to infections of the digestive system.”
In Austria, adults born in autumn (October-December) lived about seven months longer than those born in spring (April-June), and in Denmark adults with birthdays in autumn outlived those born in spring by about four months. In the southern hemisphere, the picture was similar. Adults born in the Australian autumn—the European spring—lived about four months longer than those born in the Australian spring.
The study focused on people born at the beginning of the 20th century, using death certificates and census data. Although nutrition at all times of the year has improved since then, the seasonal pattern persists, Doblhammer said.
1．The passage is mainly about .
A．food and health B．infections and health
C．nutrition and lifespan D．birth season and lifespan
2．The underlined word “outlived” in Paragraph 3 could be replaced by .
A．compared B．survived
C．bypassed D．updated
3．Which of the following statements is true?
A．Pregnant mothers get more vitamins in winter than in summer.
B．A mother mustn’t stop breast – feeding in summer.
C．A pregnant mother tends to take in more vitamins in summer.
D．Scientists from Australia, Austria and Denmark did the research.
4．The passage tells us that .
A．an Austrian lives longer than an Australian
B．the discovery doesn’t apply to Asians
C．a baby doesn’t have a sound digestive system
D．the seasonal pattern remains despite the improved nutrition
5．According to the passage, is a good time to get pregnant in Austria.
A．July B．August
C．February D．November