Do you think sitting and studying all the time will improve your grades?
Think again. Getting some exercise may help, too. New research
with older people suggests that taking regular walks helps them pay attention
better than if they didn't exercise. Previous research had
shown that mice learn, remember, and pay attention better after a few weeks of
working out on a running wheel. Mice that exercise have greater blood flow to
the brain than those who don't. Their brain cells also make more
connections. Neuroscientists from the University at
Urbana-Champaign wanted to find out if the same thing is true for people. First,
they measured the physical fitness of 41 adults, ages 58 to 77, after each
person walked 1 mile. Then, participants looked at arrows on a computer screen
and had to use computer keys to show which way one particular arrow was
pointing. Adults who were physically fit were faster at the
arrow task, and their answers were just as ac curate as their less-fit peers,
the researchers found. The fitter participants also had more blood flow to a
part of their brain responsible for paying attention and making
decisions. In a second study, 15 elderly people who completed a
6-month aerobic-training course were faster at attention tasks compared with 14
seniors who just did stretching and toning exercises for the same amount of
time. So, even going for a walk every 2 or 3 days for just 10
to 45 minutes can help. That should be good news for your
grandparents. The effects of exercising on the brains of
younger people haven't been studied yet. Still, it can't hurt to take occasional
study breaks and go for a walk or run around with your friends. You might even
do better in school. Whatever you do, though, don't try to read
and walk at the same time. You could end up hurting yourself!
单选题
Walking regularly helps elderly people ______.
A. lose weight
B. become happier
C. concentrate better
D. look younger
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。利用regular walking可以定位到第二段“New research with older people suggests that taking regular walks helps them pay attention better than if they didn't exercise”，意为“对老年人的新研究显示经常运动能让老年人更集中精力”，因此答案为C“更好地集中注意力”。
[考点] 本题考查词汇替换：pay attention better替换成了选项中的concentrate better。阅读理解题中最常见的对原文信息的改写方式有两种：句式改写和词汇替换。concentrate后的介词为on。
单选题
After taking exercise for a few weeks, the mice were found to have
______.
A. higher blood pressure
B. faster heartbeat
C. more blood flow to the brain
D. better appearance
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。利用a few weeks和mice可以定位到第三段“以前的研究证明老鼠在轮子上奔跑数周后它们的学习、记忆和集中程度都有所提高。运动的老鼠大脑中的血液流量大于不运动的老鼠，而它们脑细胞的练习也更频繁。”因此答案为C。
单选题
The first study on 41 elderly people found ______.
A. the less-fit participants did arrow tasks faster
B. the fitter participants did arrow tasks faster
C. the less-fit participants gave more accurate answers
D. the fitter participants gave more accurate answers