托福閱讀材料之步行可以鍛煉大腦

　　Tweet:I am often teased for my stubborn habit of traveling by foot. I often walk the 3 mi. home from work rather than take the subway. When I visit less pedestrian-friendly cities, kindhearted motorists regularly pull over and offer me a ride, assuming that my car has broken down or I'm in need of some help.

　　Tweet說(shuō)，身邊的人經(jīng)常嘲笑我固執(zhí)的步行習(xí)慣。從公司到家，有三公里，我都是步行回去，不坐地鐵。當(dāng)我去到不太方便步行的城市，熱心的駕駛員經(jīng)常停下來(lái)讓我搭車，他們以為我的車壞了或我需要幫助。 　　But for me, walking is a good opportunity to process the day and let my mind wander without the oppression of the endless to-do list that awaits me at home. Plus, it helps my back recover from a day spent bent in front of a computer screen. Health-wise, I have always assumed I'd have the last laugh, and now there's even more evidence on my side.

　　但對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)，步行是一種很好的方式來(lái)度過(guò)一天，它讓我有時(shí)間走下神，不必為家里無(wú)休止的事情感到苦惱。另外，它還能幫助我恢復(fù)在電腦前彎曲了一天的腰。健康方面，我一直認(rèn)為我能笑答最后，現(xiàn)在，有更多的證據(jù)證明我是對(duì)的。

　　A study published in Neurology has found that the simple act of walking may improve memory in old age. As we age, our brains shrink and the shrinkage is associated with dementia and loss of cognitive functions such as memory. To test whether physical activity could mitigate some of these degenerative effects, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh tracked the physical activity of 299 healthy men and women with an average age of 78. The participants' activity ranged anywhere from walking 0 blocks to 300 blocks (up to 30 miles) per week.

　　一篇發(fā)表在《神經(jīng)學(xué)》上的研究報(bào)告發(fā)現(xiàn)，行走的簡(jiǎn)單動(dòng)作能夠提高老年期的記憶。隨著年齡的增長(zhǎng)，我們的大腦也會(huì)縮小，而縮小的程度是與老年癡呆和認(rèn)知功能相關(guān)的，例如記憶力。為了測(cè)試體育運(yùn)動(dòng)是否能減輕這些退化因素，匹茲堡大學(xué)的研究人員記錄下了299位平均年齡78的老年人。參加者的活動(dòng)范圍從每周0到300個(gè)街區(qū)(最多30公里)。

　　Nine years later, the walkers underwent brain scans, which revealed that those who had walked more had greater brain volume than those who walked less. Four years after that, the volunteers were tested again —this time for dementia. Among the group, 116 people showed signs of memory loss or dementia. Those who had walked the most —at least 72 city blocks (or about 7 mi.) each week —were half as likely to have cognitive problems as those who walked the least. 　　九年后，這些參與者接受腦部掃描，掃描后發(fā)現(xiàn)那些走路走得多的人，他們的大腦要比走路少的人要大。又過(guò)了四年，參與者有接受了測(cè)試，這次是老年癡呆。在這個(gè)群體中，有116人記憶力衰退或有老年癡呆。而那些走路走的最多的—至少每周72個(gè)街區(qū)(大約7公里)，只有比那些走路最少的人一半的認(rèn)知問(wèn)題。

　　The findings are in line with past studies linking physical activity with brain function, but dementia experts say there's not enough data yet to prescribe exercise to prevent memory loss. It's also too soon to say whether exercise may prevent dementia or simply delay it in people who would eventually develop it anyway. But when it comes to Alzheimer's, even a short delay could mean great gains in quality of life.

　　這些發(fā)現(xiàn)與以前的研究一致，把體育運(yùn)動(dòng)與大腦功能聯(lián)系起來(lái)。但老年癡呆癥專家說(shuō)，還沒(méi)有充足的數(shù)據(jù)來(lái)規(guī)定，運(yùn)動(dòng)可以防止記憶力減退。運(yùn)動(dòng)是否能預(yù)防老年癡呆會(huì)或能減緩老年癡呆患者的癥狀，這些都還言之過(guò)早。但涉及到老年癡呆，即使是短暫的延遲也意味著生活質(zhì)量大大的提高。