Question

It is said that if you want to stay young, sit down and have a good think. This is the research finding of a team of Japanese doctors, who say that most of our brains are not getting enough exercise — and as a result, we are growing old unnecessarily soon.

Professor Taiju Matsuzawa wanted to find out why otherwise healthy farmers in northern Japan appeared to be losing their ability to think and reason at a relatively early age, and how the process of aging could be slowed down. With a team of colleagues at Tokyo National University, he set about measuring brain volumes of a thousand people of different ages and varying occupations. Computer technology enabled the researchers to obtain precise measurements of the volume of the front and side parts of the brain, which controls functions like eating and breathing, does not contract with age, and one can continue living without intellectual on economical faculties. Contraction of front and side parts — as cells die off — was observed in some subjects in their thirties, but it was still not evident in some sixty-and seventy-year-olds. Matsuzawa concluded from his tests that there is a simple way to the contraction normally connected with age — using the head.

The findings show in general terms that contraction of the brain begins sooner in people in the country than in the town. Those least at risk, says Matsuzawa, are lawyers, followed by university professors and doctors. White collar workers doing routine work in government offices are, however, as likely to have shrinking (萎缩) brains as the farm worker, bus driver and shop assistant.

Matsuzawa's findings show that thinking can prevent the brain from shrinking. Blood must circulate properly in the head to supply the fresh oxygen the brain cells need. “The best way to maintain, good blood circulation is through using the brain.” he says. “Think hard and engage in conversation. Don’t rely on pocket calculators.”

1.The team of doctors wanted to find out ______.

A. the size of certain people's brains

B. how to make people live longer

C. which people are most intelligent

D. why certain people are aging sooner than others.

2.On what are their research findings based?

A. The study of brain volumes of different people.

B. The study of brain volumes of old people.

C. The latest development of computer technology.

D. A survey of farmers in northern old people.

3.The doctors’ tests show that _______.

A. our brains shrink as we grow older

B. the front section of the brain does not shrink

C. sixty-year-olds have better brains than thirty-year-olds

D. some people's brains have contracted more than other people's

4.According to the passage, which people seem to age more slowly than the others?

A. Lawyers.    B. Farmers.

C. Clerks.    D. Shop assistants.

Answer

1.B

2.A

3.D

4.A

【解析】想要保持年轻吗？单从头脑上来说，越是乐于思考、使用大脑的人，越不容易脑衰老，这是日本一个医学研究团队的研究结果。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段Professor Taiju Matsuzawa wanted to find out why otherwise healthy farmers in northern Japan appeared to be losing their ability to think and reason at a relatively early age, and how the process of aging could be slowed down.医生们想要研究如何减缓老龄化的过程，也就是说如何让人们活得更长寿，故选B。

2.细节理解题。根据第二段he set about measuring brain volumes of a thousand people of different ages and varying occupations. 可知他通过测量一千个不同年龄不同职业的人的脑容量来做实验，故选A。

3.推理判断题。根据第三段The findings show in general terms that contraction of the brain begins sooner in people in the country than in the town.研究发现大脑的萎缩在农村的人比在城镇的人开始得快，然后后面又举例不同职业的对比，脑萎缩最慢的是律师，紧接着是大学教授，医生，然后又举例其它职业。这些说明有些人的脑萎缩就比较多，比较快，有些人就比较慢，比较少，因此答案为D。

4.细节理解题。根据第三段Those least at risk, says Matsuzawa, are lawyers, followed by university professors and doctors.可知脑萎缩最慢的是律师，故选A。