Question

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 ageing unnecessarily soon．

Professor Taijiu 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 ageing could be slowed down．

With a team of partners at Tokyo National University，he set about studying the brain volumes（體積） of a thousand people of different ages and various jobs．

Computer technology enabled the researchers to get exact measurement of the volume （容量）of the front and side sections of the brain，which relate to intellect（智能）and feelings，and determine the human character．The back section of the brain，which controls functions like eating or breathing，does not connect with age．One can continue living without intellectual or feeling abilities．

Contraction（收縮）of front and side parts — as cells die off — was observed in some subjects in their thirties, but it was still not obvious in some sixty and seventy year olds．

Matsuzawa concluded from his tests that there is a simple cure for the contraction normally connected with age using the brain．

The findings show in general conditions that contraction of the brain begins soon among people in the country than in the town．Those are at least at risk，says Matsuzawa，who are lawyers，followed by university professors and doctors．White collar workers doing regular work in government offices are, however，as likely to have shrink （收縮） as the farm workers，bus drivers and shop assistants．

Matsuzawa’s findings show that thinking can prevent the brain from shrinking．Blood must flow through a circle properly in the head to supply the fresh oxygen the brain cells need．"The best way to keep good blood movement is through using the brain，"he says．" Think hard and engage in conversation．Don’t depend on pocket calculators．"

1．The team of doctors wanted to find out__________．

A．how to make people live longer

B．why certain people age sooner than others

C．how people stay young

D．which people are most intelligent

2．On what are their research findings based？

A．A study of farmers in northern Japan．

B．Tests performed on a thousand old people．

C．The study of brain volumes of different people．

D．The latest development of computer technology．

3．The underlined word "subjects" in paragraph 5 means________．

A．something to be considered

B．branches of knowledge studied

C．persons chosen to be studied in an experiment

D．a(chǎn)ny member of a stage except the great ruler

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

   A．Lawyers．        B．Clerks．      C．Farmers．         D．Shop assistants．

Answer 1

BCCA