VOA慢速英语2010年-Health Report - Physical Activity in T

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

How active you are early in life may affect how able-minded you are late in life. That was the finding of a new study of cognitive¹ impairment, or a loss in mental abilities.

The study involved more than nine thousand women in the United States over the age of sixty-five. They answered questions about their level of physical activity as teenagers and at age thirty, fifty and late in life.

Laura Middleton of the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center in Canada led the study.

LAURA MIDDLETON: "People who were physically² active on a regular basis had lower risk of cognitive impairments in late life. But it seemed that teenage physical activity was particularly important in terms of the prevention of cognitive impairments."

Speaking by Skype, Laura Middleton noted³ two long-lasting effects that physical activity can have on teenagers. Exercise could help strengthen the blood vessels⁴ that carry blood and oxygen to the brain. Also, physical activity is known to improve the brain's ability to repair itself.

The study is in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

A study has linked exercise in teen years to better mental ability later in life

Women who said they were physically active even once a week showed less cognitive impairment as measured by a test. There was not a strong link between the amount of physical activity and the extent of impairment. But the link was strongest among those who were active as teenagers.

Laura Middleton says other studies of exercise and cognitive skills have found a stronger link in women than in men. Still, she says, there is no reason to suggest that the finding about teenage physical activity should not apply to men as well.

Now speaking of teenagers, they were the subject of another new study. It looked at the effects of a later start to the school day.

For the study, an independent high school in Rhode Island delayed morning classes from eight o'clock to eighty-thirty. The change affected⁵ about two hundred students in grades nine through twelve.

In online surveys, students reported feeling less sleepy during the day. They rated themselves as less depressed⁶ and more active in school. They also reported sleeping longer on school nights and making fewer tiredness-related visits to the school health center.

Judith Owens of the Hasbro Children's Hospital led the study. It appears in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

The study says class attendance⁷ improved. It also says teachers and sports coaches had resisted the change. And administrators⁸ had planned to return to the eight o'clock start time after the study. But students and teachers voted to keep the half-hour delay for another term.

And that's the VOA Special English Health Report. I'm Shirley Griffith
 

1 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

2 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

7 attendance   

n.出席，出席人数，护理，照料

参考例句：

• The attendance of this class never dropped off.这个班的出席人数从未下降。
• The young man danced attendance on his rich aunt.这个年轻人小心侍候他有钱的姑妈。

8 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城