Question

Exercise seems to be good for the human brain, with many recent studies suggesting that regular exercise improves memory and thinking skills. But an interesting new study asks whether the apparent cognitive benefits from exercise are real or just a placebo effect — that is, if we think we will be “smarter” after exercise, do our brains respond accordingly? The answer has significant implications for any of us hoping to use exercise to keep our minds sharp throughout our lives.

While many studies suggest that exercise may have cognitive benefits, recently some scientists have begun to question whether the apparently beneficial effects of exercise on thinking might be a placebo effect. So researchers at Florida State University in Tallahassee and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign decided to focus on expectations, on what people anticipate that exercise will do for thinking. If people’s expectations jibe (吻合) closely with the actual benefits, then at least some of those improvements are probably a result of the placebo effect and not of exercise.

For the new study, which was published last month in PLOS One, the researchers recruited 171 people through an online survey system, they asked half of these volunteers to estimate by how much a stretching and toning regimens (拉伸运动) performed three times a week might improve various measures of thinking. The other volunteers were asked the same questions, but about a regular walking program.

In actual experiments, stretching and toning program generally have little if any impact on people’s cognitive skills. Walking, on the other hand, seems to substantially improve thinking ability.

But the survey respondents believed the opposite, estimating that the stretching and toning program would be more beneficial for the mind than walking. The estimates of benefits from walking were lower.

These data, while they do not involve any actual exercise, are good news for people who do exercise. “The results from our study suggest that the benefits of aerobic exercise are not a placebo effect,” said Cary Stothart, a graduate student in cognitive psychology at Florida State University, who led the study.

If expectations had been driving the improvements in cognition seen in studies after exercise, Mr. Stothart said, then people should have expected walking to be more beneficial for thinking than stretching. They didn’t, implying that the changes in the brain and thinking after exercise are physiologically genuine.

The findings are strong enough to suggest that exercise really does change the brain and may, in the process, improve thinking, Mr. Stothart said. That conclusion should encourage scientists to look even more closely into how, at a molecular level, exercise remodels the human brain, he said. It also should encourage the rest of us to move, since the benefits are, it seems, not imaginary, even if they are in our head.

1.Which of the following about the placebo effect is TRUE according to the passage?

A. It occurs during exercise.

B. It has cognitive benefits.

C. It is just a mental reaction.

D. It is a physiological response.

2.Why did the researchers at the two universities conduct the research?

A. To discover the placebo effect in the exercise.

B. To prove the previous studies have a big drawback.

C. To test whether exercise can really improve cognition.

D. To encourage more scientists to get involved in the research.

3.What can we know about the research Cary Stothart and his team carried out?

A. They employed 171 people to take part in the actual exercise.

B. The result of the research removed the recent doubt of some scientists.

C. The participants thought walking had a greater impact on thinking ability.

D. Their conclusion drives scientists to do research on the placebo effect.

4.What might be the best title for the passage?

A. Is it necessary for us to take exercise?

B. How should people exercise properly?

C. What makes us smarter during exercise?

D. Does exercise really make us smarter?

Answer 1

1.C

2.C

3.B

4.D

【解析】

试题分析：本文针对运动是否有益大脑认知这一现象展开讨论，搬出了一个由大学合作得出的结论，的确有益，可信度较高。看来四肢发达的人不见得头脑简单哦！

1.C细节理解题。placebo effect安慰剂效应。文章第一段第二句的补充说明that is, if we think we will be “smarter” after exercise, do our brains respond accordingly？，句意：那就是，如果我们认为我们做完运动后会聪明，大脑会做出相应反应吗？由此得知，这种情况或为积极的心理暗示带来的效应。It is just a mental reaction仅仅为一种心理反应。故选C

2.C细节理解题。第二段第一句recently some scientists have begun to question whether the apparently beneficial effects of exercise on thinking might be a placebo effect，句意：最近一些科学家开始质疑，运动对思维有益的显著效果是不是一种安慰剂效应。由此得知， To test whether exercise can really improve cognition实验论证是两所大学实验的目的。故选C

3.B 细节理解题。第六段第二句Cary Stothart说的话 The results from our study suggest that the benefits of aerobic exercise are not a placebo effect，句意：我们的实验结果表明有氧健身（对大脑）的益处不是一种安慰剂效应。由此The result of the research removed the recent doubt of some scientists.便移除了那些科学家质疑的念头。故选B

4.D主旨大意题。Does exercise really make us smarter?运动使人聪明吗？全文围绕这一观点展开讨论，举出两所大学合作实验的成功案例来作为论据。其他选型偏离太大，故选D

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