By the time you retire, there' s no doubt about it, your brain isn' t what it used to be. By 65, most people will start to notice the signs: you forget people' s names and the teapot occasionally turns up in the fridge. There is a good reason why our memories start to let us down. At this stage of life, we are steadily losing brain cells in critical areas. This is not too much of a problem at first: even in old age, the brain is flexible enough to compensate. At some point, though, the losses start to make themselves felt. Clearly, not everyone ages in the same way, so what's the difference between a happy, intelligent old person and a forgetful, bad-tempered granny? And can we improve our chances of becoming the former? Exercise can certainly help. Numerous studies have shown that gentle exercise three times a week can improve concentration and abstract reasoning in older people, perhaps by encouraging the growth of new brain cells. Exercise also helps steady our blood sugar. As we age, our blood sugar control worsens, which causes a large increase in blood sugar levels. This can affect an area that helps form memories. Since physical activity helps control blood sugar, getting out and about could reduce these peaks and, potentially, improve your memory. Coordination training could also help. Studies have shown that specifically targeting motor control and balance improves learning function in 60 to 80-year-olds. "Brain training" was once considered strange, but a study concludes that computerised brain exercises can improve memory and attention in the over 65s. Importantly, these changes were large enough that participants reported significant improvements in everyday activities, such as remembering names or following conversations in noisy restaurants. Avoiding the complaints is even easier. In fact, your brain is doing all it can to ensure a contented retirement. By 65, we are much better at increasing the experience of positive emotion, says Florin Dolcos, a neurobiologist at the University of Alberta in Canada. In experiments, he found that people over the age of 60 tended to remember fewer emotionally negative photographs compared with positive ones than younger people.

单选题 It is usual for retired people to have______.

单选题 According to the text, mild exercise helps old people______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】解析：推断题。由第四段第二句“Numerous studies have shownthat gentle exercise three times a week can improve concentrationand abstract reasoning in older people，perhaps by encouraging thegrowth of new brain cells．”可知，轻缓的锻炼能够帮助提高老年人的注意力和抽象思维的能力，也就是D项所说的“提高他们的大脑能力”，A项和B项所说的太过笼统，C项没有在文中出现，故选D。

单选题 It is learned from the text that high blood sugar may______.

单选题 Through "brain training," old people can______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】解析：推断题。由第六段“‘Brain training’was once consideredstrange，but a study concludes that computerised brain exercises canimprove memory and attention in the over 65s．Importantly，thesechanges were large enough that participants reported significant im—provements in everyday activities，such as…”可知，大脑训练能够提高65岁以上的老人的记忆和注意力，并给出了例子——记住名字或者能够在吵闹的餐厅进行交谈，这和B项所讲的cope betterwith daily activities“更好地应对日常生活”意思相同，故选B。

单选题 According to Florin Dolcos, when it comes to retirement, most old people tend to feel______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】解析：推断题。由文章最后一段的最后一句“In experiments，hefound that people over the age of 60 tended to remember feweremotionally negative photographs compared with positive ones thanyounger people．”以及本段段意可知，在弗洛林·多尔科斯的实验中，老年人更倾向于记住能够使心情愉悦的图片，因此A项的satisfied“满意的，开心的”符合题意，故选A。