记忆衰退从年轻时即已开始

91 记忆衰退从年轻时即已开始

SCIENCE REPORT September 6, 2001: Failing MemoryBy George Grow

（Start at 1'01"） This is Bill White with the VOA Special English SCIENCE REPORT.
It is common for older people to forget things. Now an American study has found that (1)memory starts to fail when we are young adults. People younger than thirty years of age usually do not know that they are starting to forget information. But scientists from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor¹ say the loss² of memory usually has already started.
Researchers say people do not (2)observe this slow reduction³ in (3)mental ability until the loss affects their everyday activities.
Denise Park led the new study. She directs⁵ the Center for Aging and (4)Cognition at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. Her team studied more than three-hundred-fifty men and women between the ages of twenty and ninety years. The study (5)identified people in their middle twenties with memory problems.
She says young adults do not know they are forgetting things because their brains have more information than they need.
But she says that people in their twenties and thirties are losing memory at the same rate as people in their sixties and seventies.
Mizz Park says people between the ages of sixty and seventy may note the decrease in their mental abilities. They begin to observe that they are having more trouble remembering and learning⁶ new information.
The study found that older adults are more likely to remember false information as being true. For example, they remembered false medical claims as being true. Younger people remembered hearing the information. But they were more likely to remember that is was (6)false.
Mizz Park is now using modern (7)imaging (8)equipment to study what happens in the brains of people of different ages. She is studying what parts of the brain older adults use for different activities compared to younger adults. Mizz Park says mental (9)performance is a direct⁴ result of brain activity and brain (10)structure. She says keeping the brain active is important. She says older people should take part in activities that keep their brain active. These include being a member of a book-reading club, seeing and (11)discussing plays and (12)concerts and playing games that use the mind. She hopes future studies will identify ways to improve the operation of our aging minds.
This VOA Special English SCIENCE REPORT was written by George Grow.

 

(1) memory[ 5memEri ]n.记忆, 记忆力, 回忆, 存储(器), 存储器存储器,内
(2) observe[ Eb5zE:v ]vt.观察, 观测, 遵守, 评述, 说
(3) mental[ 5mentl ]adj.精神的, 智力的
(4) cognition[ kC^5niFEn ]n.认识
(5) identify[ ai5dentifai ]vt.识别, 鉴别, 把...和...看成一样v.确定
(6) false[ fC:ls ]adj.错误的, 虚伪的, 假的, 无信义的, 伪造的, 人工的, 不老实的adv.欺诈
(7) image[ 5imidV ]n.图象, 肖像, 偶像, 形象化的比喻, 极为相象, 映像, 典型vt.想象, 作...的像, 反映, 象征
(8) equipment[ i5kwipmEnt ]n.装备, 设备, 器材, 装置, 铁道车辆, (一企业除房地产以外的)固定资产, 才能
(9) performance[ pE5fC:mEns ]n.履行, 执行, 成绩, 性能, 表演, 演奏
(10) structure[ 5strQktFE ]n.结构, 构造, 建筑物vt.建筑, 构成, 组织
(11) discuss[ dis5kQs ]vt.讨论, 论述
(12) concert[ 5kCnsEt ]n.音乐会, 一致

 

1 arbor   

n.凉亭；树木

参考例句：

• They sat in the arbor and chatted over tea.他们坐在凉亭里，边喝茶边聊天。
• You may have heard of Arbor Day at school.你可能在学校里听过植树节。

2 loss   

n.损失，遗失，失败，输，浪费，错过，[军]伤亡，降低

参考例句：

• His death was a great loss to the country.他的逝世对这个国家是一大损失。
• Because of the continued loss,the factory closed down.由于连续亏损，工厂关闭了。

3 reduction   

n.减少，减低，减缩；减少，减低

参考例句：

• Reduction in income tax will be welcomed with open arms.减少所得税将受到热烈欢迎。
• You will have a reduction for cash.付现金可以打折扣。

4 direct   

adj.直接的；直达的；v.指挥；知道；监督；管理

参考例句：

• This train is direct,you do not have to change.这辆火车是直达的，你不必换车。
• The army is under the king's direct command.军队由国王直接统帅。

5 directs   

v.（用建议、指示、有益的情报等）指导( direct的第三人称单数 )；导演（戏剧或电影）；指示方向；把…对准（某方向或某人）

参考例句：

• Thinking directs one's actions. 思想指导行动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The teacher directs the work of his students. 这位教师指导他的学生工作。 来自辞典例句

6 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。