2020年高考英语浙江卷 - 阅读理解C

Challenging work that requires lots of analytical thinking, planning and other managerial skills might help your brain stay sharp as you age, a study published Wednesday in the journal Neurology suggests.
周三发表在《神经学》期刊上的一项研究表明，一项需要大量分析思维、计划和其他管理技能的挑战性工作可能会帮助你的大脑随着年龄的增长保持敏锐。

Researchers from the University of Leipzig in Germany gathered more than 1, 000 retired workers who were over age 75 and assessed the volunteers’ memory and thinking skills through a battery of tests. Then, for eight years, the scientists asked the same group to come back to the lab every 18 months to take the same sorts of tests.
德国莱比锡大学的研究人员征集了1000多名75岁以上的退休人员，并通过一系列测试对志愿者的记忆力和思维能力进行了评估。在接下来的8年里，科学家们让这组人每18个月回到实验室做同样的测试。

Those who had held mentally stimulating, demanding jobs before retirement tended to do the best on the tests. And they tended to lose cognitive function at a much slower rate than those with the least mentally challenging jobs. The results held true even after the scientists accounted for the participants’ overall health status.
那些在退休前从事过对智力有挑战，要求高的工作的人往往在测试中表现最好。他们往往比那些从事智力挑战性最小的工作人员失去认知功能的过程要慢得多。即使在科学家统计了参与者的整体健康状况后，这一结果仍然成立。

“This works just like physical exercise,” says Francisca Then, who led the study. “After a long run, you may feel like you’re in pain, you may feel tired. But it makes you fit. After a long day at work - sure, you will feel tired, but it can help your brain stay healthy.”
“这就像体育锻炼一样，”领导这项研究的Francisca Then说，“长跑后，你可能会觉得很痛苦，你可能会觉得很累，但它使你健康。在工作了一整天之后，当然，你会觉得很累，但它可以帮助你的大脑保持健康。”

It’s not just corporate jobs, or even paid work that can help keep your brain fit, Then points out. A waiter’s job, for example, that requires multitasking, teamwork and decision-making could be just as stimulating as any high-level office work. And “running a family household requires high-level planning and coordinating,” she says. “You have to organize the activities of the children and take care of the bills and groceries.”
Then 指出，并不是只有公司工作，甚至是带薪工作才能帮助你保持大脑健康。例如，服务员的工作需要处理多任务、团队合作和决策，它可能和任何高级办公室工作一样令人兴奋。“经营一个家庭需要高水平的规划和协调，”她说，“你必须组织孩子们的活动，还要管理好账单和日用品。”

Of course, our brains can decline as we grow older for lots of reasons - including other environmental influences or genetic factors. Still, continuing to challenge yourself mentally and keeping your mind busy can only help.
当然，随着年龄的增长，我们的大脑会因为很多原因而衰退——包括其他环境影响或遗传因素。尽管如此，继续在智力上挑战自己，让自己的大脑处于忙碌状态只会对你有益。