Modern people have far more gum disease than our predecessors, according to a British study of skulls published Friday. The surprise findings provide further (1) _______ that modern habits such as smoking are damaging to oral health.

Gum disease, also known as periodontitis (牙周炎), is the (2) _______ of a chronic inflammatory (发炎的) response to the build-up of dental plaque (牙菌斑). Whilst much of the population lives with mild gum disease, (3) _______ such as tobacco smoking or medical conditions like diabetes can trigger more (4) _______ chronic periodontitis, which can lead to the loss of teeth.

The study, published in the British Dental Journal, (5) _______ 303 skulls from a Romano-British burial ground in England, for evidence of dental disease. Only 5 percent of the skulls showed (6) _______ of moderate to severe gum disease, compared to today's population of which around 15-30 percent of adults have chronic progressive periodontitis.

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According to experts, this (7) _______ population was non-smoking and likely to have had very low levels of diabetes mellitus (糖尿病), two factors that are known to (8) _______ increase the risk of gum disease in modern populations. Among the people who survived into adulthood, the peak age at death appears to have been in their 40s. Infectious diseases are thought to have been a common cause of death at that time.

Experts concluded that, this study shows a major deterioration in oral health between Roman times and modern England. By underlining the probable role of smoking, (9) _______ in determining the susceptibility to progressive periodontitis in modern populations, there is a real sign that the disease can be (10) _______.

A) severe B) avoided C) trend D) examined

E) especially F) result G) course H) justified

I) ancient J) signs K) evidence L) normal

M) determined N) greatly O) factors

答案：

1. K) evidence

2. F) result

3. O) factors

4. A) severe

5. D) examined

6. J) signs

7. I) ancient

8. N) greatly

9. E) especially

10. B) avoided

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