NEW YORK - People who keep doing some work in their field after they retire may enjoy better physical and mental health than those who stop work completely or switch to another area of work, according to a U.S. study.

Researchers from the University of Maryland said the findings suggest that prospective retirees should consider moving into so-called "bridge employment" as a transition to full retirement.

"In essence, if someone is in a field where part-time work or self-employment is possible, he or she should consider it as they plan for retirement," researcher Dr. Mo Wang, an assistant professor of psychology, told Reuters Health.

For their study, Wang and his colleagues used data on more than 12,000 workers in a U.S. health study begun in 1992. Participants, who were between the ages of 51 and 61 at the outset, were surveyed every two years over a six-year period.

Overall, Wang's team found, people who went into some form of bridge employment reported lower rates of major diseases like high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and arthritis during the study period than their counterparts who went straight into full retirement.

The findings were not explained by older age or worse initial health among people who opted for full retirement, the investigators report in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology.

On top of their better physical health, "bridge" workers also tended to report fewer mental health problems, such as depression.

The same mental health benefits were not seen, however, when retirees took part-time work in other fields -- possibly, Wang said, because many of these people may have taken those jobs out of financial need rather than choice.

He noted that the lack of benefit could also stem from the fact that these retirees had to adjust to an unfamiliar job position or had to make lifestyle changes.

Bridge work, particularly in one's accustomed field, may benefit physical and mental health for a number of reasons, according to Wang.

In general, he explained, such work may help older adults maintain the active lifestyles they had during their careers and decrease any stress they might feel from the transition into retirement.  wwwWang said when it comes to mental health, for instance, bridge work may help by allowing people to keep some of the "role identity" that they have formed over their careers.

Staying active in general, not only through work, can also benefit retirees' physical health, Wang noted. He added, however, that any mental health benefits are likely to depend on the type of activity -- whether it is something that the person truly enjoys, and that helps ease any stress of moving into retirement.

"These findings," Wang said, "suggest that for retirees and prospective retirees, carefully considering whether to engage in bridge employment -- and if so, what types of bridge employment -- is quite important."

1. What does the underlined phrase “at the outset” mean?__________

A.at least

B.at least

C.at the beginning

D.at last

2. People who went into some form of bridge employment have less chances to get the following diseases, EXCEPT___________.

A.arthritis

B.heart disease

C.diabetes

D.low blood pressure

3.Which of the following statement is WRONG?_________

A.As long as retirees move into “bridge employment”, they must be healthier than those who do not.

B.The participants in the study were between 51 and 61 years old.

C.The bridge workers are also less likely to get depression.

D.Staying active is beneficial to the retirees’ physical health.

4.What can we infer from the passage?________

A.The study was begun in 1992 and lasts for two 6-year periods

B.If a bridge worker is older than 61 years old, it does not mean that he will get a better health than others who enjoy full retirement.

C.Only by moving into “bridge employment” can the retirees enjoy better health both physically and psychologically.

D.Any activity can benefit the retirees’ mental health.

5.Which is the best title of the passage?

A.A US study

B.Bridge Work

C.Working after retiring can be good for your health

D.Stay active

 

Even facts “forgotten” by people during a busy day may be retrieved if this is followed by a good night’s sleep.

Researchers from the University of Chicago asked volunteers to remember simple words.Many found their memories letting them down towards the end of the day, but the following morning, those who had slept well could recall much more.

Researchers, writing in the journal Nature, said the brain could “rescue” lost memories during the night.

When the brain is first asked to remember something that memory is laid down in an “unstable” state, meaning that it is possible that it could be lost.At some point, the brain consolidates those it deems important into a “stable”, more permanent state.However, the Chicago researchers suggested that it was possible for a “stable” memory to be made “unstable” again.This would mean that memories could be modified then filed away again in the face of new experiences.

The 12 volunteers tested in the experiment were played words created through a speech synthesizer which were purposely difficult to understand.Initially, the written version of the word  from the audio version only.Tests revealed that the ability to recall the right word tended to tail off as the day ended.

However, when the volunteers were retested after a good night’s sleep, they were able to recall some words that they had “ forgotten” the previous evening.

Dr Daniel, one of the study authors, said: “Sleep consolidates memories, protecting them against subsequent interference or decay.Sleep also appears to “recover” or restore memories.” He said: “If performance is reduced by decay, sleep might actively recover what has been lost.”

Dr Karim Nader, from the Department of Psychology in McGill University in Montreal, said: “Memory research is undergoing a transformation---no longer is memory thought to be a hard-writing of the brain, instead it seems to be a process of storage and restorage.”

Sleep helps some memories “mature” and also prunes out unimportant memories.

1.What does the first paragraph implies?

A.A busy day makes people forget things easily.

B.People need a good night’s sleep after a busy day.

C.A good night’s sleep helps memories.

D.A good night’s sleep helps people forget a busy day.

2.The words the 12 volunteers played in the experiment were not ____

A.created through a speech synthesizer

B.hard to understand

C.available at the beginning

D.designed to test people’s ability of understanding

3.According to the passage, memory_____

A.is a hard-writing of the brain

B.is not a process of storage

C.is not a process of restorage

D.will be mature with the help of sleep

4.Which of the following is NOT true?

A.When people first remember something, the memory is in an “unstable state”.

B.The brain will change those important unstable memories into stable.

C.Once the memory become stable, it will never become unstable again.

D.Sleep can protect memories from being harmed.

 

“Dr.Papaderos,what is the meaning of life?”

The usual laughter followed,and people stirred(骚动)to go.Papaderos held up his hand and stilled the room and looked at me for a long time,asking with his eyes if I was serious and seeing from my eyes that I was.

“I will,answer your question.”

Taking his wallet out of his hip pocket,he fished into a leather billfold and brought out a very small round mirror,about the size of a quarter.And what he said went like this:

“When I was a small child,during the war,we were very poor and we lived in a remote village.One day,on the road,I found the broken pieces of a mirror.A German motorcycle had been wrecked in that place.

I tried to find all the pieces and put them together,but it was not possible,so I kept only the largest piece.This one,and,by scratching it on a stone.I made it round. I began to play with it as a toy and became fascinated by the fact that I could reflect light into dark places where the sun would never shine——in deep holes and crevices(裂缝)and dark closets. It became a game for me to get light into the most inaccessible places I could find.

I kept the little mirror,and,as I went about my growing up,I would take it out in idle moments and continue the challenge of the game.As I became a man,I grew to understand that this was not just a child’s game but a metaphor for what I might do with my life.I came to understand that I am not the light or the source of light.But light——truth,understanding,knowledge——is there,and it will shine in many dark places only if I reflect it.

I am a fragment(碎片)of a mirror whose whole design and shape l do not know.Nevertheless,with what I have I can reflect light into the dark places of this world——into the black places in the hearts of men—and change some things in some people.Perhaps others may see and do likewise.This is what I am about.This is the meaning of my life.”

1.On hearing the author’s question,Dr.Papedotes        at first.

A.laughed at his foolishness               B.wasn’t sure of the answer

C.doubted his seriousness                  D.wasn’t interested at all

2.How did Dr.Papaderos get the small round mirror when he was a child?

A.He found it on the road and made it round.

B.A dying German soldier gave him as a present.

C.He chanced to find it in the street while playing.

D.He put the broken pieces together and made it.

3.Why did Dr.Papaderos like the small round mirror so much as a child?

A.Because he was too poor to afford other toys.

B.Because it could shine the places where tke sun couldn’t reach.

C.Because he believed it would bring good luck to him.

D.Because it tofd him a lot about what life really meant to him.

4.The underlined“metaphor”in the 7th paragraph most probably means        .

A.symbol              B.source            C.light           D.purpose

5.Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?

A.A Special Game in the Childhood          B.A Broken Piece of Mirror

C.Dr.Papaderos’Experience                  D.The Meaning of Life

 

Norman Bethune is one of China’s most famous heroes, but he wasn’t Chinese—he was Canadian. He gave his life to helping the Chinese people Norman Bethune 51    born in 1890. He became a 52    in 1916, and he went to the front to look after injured soldiers in the First World War. He saw many soldiers die in the war. Later he invented new treatments to  53   soldiers, and medical tools to use outside hospital.

In 1938 he came to treat the Chinese soldiers in the mountains north of Yan’an. There were 54  doctors, so he had to work very hard. He opened hospitals to give treatment to local people and soldiers, and to train doctors and nurses. He also wrote books so that doctors could learn about new treatments.

Dr Bethune worked very hard without stopping to 55   . Once, he preformed operations   56   69 hours without stopping, and saved 112people. He   57   working in spite of cutting his hand during an operation. In the end, he died because he did not take care of his   58  .

Dr Bethune’s work with the Chinese soldiers made 59    a hero in China. There are books and films about him, and he is 60    remembered in both Canada and China.

1.A. is         B. was       C. has been    D. be

2.A. doctor     B. nurse     C. teacher     D. worker

3.A. understand B. believe   C. help        D. count

4.A. little     B. few       C. much        D. many

5.A. rest       B. act       C. agree       D. think

6.A. from       B. since     C. with        D. for

7.A. allowed   B. continued  C. forgot     D. stopped

8.A. face      B. leg        C. foot       D. hand

9.A. his       B. he         C. him        D. one

10.A. still     B. never      C. hardly     D. Regularly

 

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