Question 13 is based on the passage you have just heard.

听力原文

    In recent years, the death rate among American centenarians—people who have lived to age 100 or older—has decreased, dropping 14 percent for women and 20 percent for men from 2008 to 2014.

    The leading causes of death in this age group are also changing. In 2000, the top five causes of death for centenarians were heart disease, stroke, flu, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. But by 2014, the death rate from Alzheimer’s disease for this age group had more than doubled—increasing from 3.8 percent to 8.5 percent—making the progressive brain disease the second leading cause of death for centenarians. One reason for the rise in deaths from Alzheimer’s disease in this group may be that developing this condition remains possible even after people beat the odds of dying from other diseases such as cancer. People physically fit enough to survive over 100 years ultimately give in to diseases such as Alzheimer’s which affects the mind and cognitive function. In other words, it appears that their minds give out before their bodies do. On the other hand, the death rate from flu dropped from 7.4 percent in 2000 to 4.1 percent in 2014. That pushed flu from the third leading cause of death to the fifth.

    Overall, the total number of centenarians is going up. In 2014, there were 72,197 centenarians, compared to 50,281 in 2000. But because this population is getting larger, the number of deaths in this group is also increasing—18,434 centenarians died in 2000, whereas 25,914 died in 2014.

13. What does the speaker say about the risk of dying for American centenarians in recent years?

解析：A。本题目为细节题。问题为：关于近些年美国百岁老人死亡风险，讲话人说了什么？原文所在句：In recent years, the death rate among American centenarians—people who have lived to age 100 or older—has decreased, dropping 14 percent for women and 20 percent for men from 2008 to 2014.近年来，美国百岁老人（寿命在100岁及以上）死亡率降低了，在2008年到2014年间，女性降低了14%，男性降低了20个百分点。选项A) It has decreased，与文中这一信息完全一致。此题目要求同学们不要盲目记录数字，而要抓住数字所反映的关键信息。