Sorry to say, our brains naturally start slowing down at the cruelly young age of 30. it used to be thought that this couldn’t be helped, but new studies show that people of any age can train their brains to work faster . “Your brain is a learning machine,” says University of California scientist Dr. Micha3el Merzenich. Given the right tools, we can train our brains to act like they did when we were younger. All that’s required is the practice designed just for the purpose: a few exercises for the mind.

Merzenich has developed a computer-based training method to speed up the process(过程) in which the brain deals with information (positence. com). Since much of the data we receive comes through speech, the Brain Fitness Program works with language and hearing to better speed and accuracy(准确性).

Over the course of training, the program starts asking you to distinguish (辨别) sounds (between “dog” and “dog”, for example) at an increasingly faster speed. It’s a bit like tennis instructor, says Merzenich, hitting balls at you faster and faster to keep you challenged (受到挑战). You may start out slow, but before long you’re pretty quick.

The biggest finding in brain research in the last ten years is that the brain at any age is highly plastic. If you ask your brain to learn, it will learn. And it may even speed up while in the process.

To keep your brain young and plastic you can do one of a million new activities that challenge and excite you: playing table tennis or bridge, doing crossword puzzles, learning a language....“When it comes to preventing ageing, you really do ‘use it or lose it”, says Barbara Sahakian, professor at Cambridge University.

 

57.Dr. Merzenich’s training method mainly depends on  ________.

A.speech training                                 B.computer languages

C.the activities one joins in                    D.the information being dealt with

58.By saying “the brain at any age is highly plastic”, the wrter probably means the brain can be ________.

A.used         B.mastered         C.developed        D.researched

59.What can we learn from the text?

A.Practice makes a quick mind.   

B.Brain research started ten yeas age.

C.Dr. Merzenich is a scientist in computer.  

D.People believed nothing could stop the brain slowing down.

60.Which of the following agrees with the writer’s idea?

A.The training methods work better for the old.

B.People should use the brain to stop it from ageing

C.The training of the brain should start at an early age.

D.It’s necessary to take part in as many activities as possible.

When I learned that my 71-year-old mother was playing Scrabble-a word game-against herself, I knew I had to do something. My husband suggested we give her a computer to play against. I wasn’t sure my mother was ready for it. After all, it had taken15 years to persuade her to buy an electric cooker. Even so ,we packed up our old computer and delivered it to my parents’ home. And so began my mother’s adventure in the world of computers.

It also marked the beginning of an unusual teaching task for me. I’ve taught people of all ages, but I never thought I would be teaching my mother how to do anything. She has been the one teaching me all my life: to cook and sew; to enjoy the good times and put up with the bad. Now it was my turn to give something back.

It wasn’t easy at the beginning. There was so much to explain and to introduce. Slowly but surely, my mother caught on, making notes in a little notebook. After a few months of Scrabble  and other games, I decided it was time to introduce her to word processing. This proved to be a bigger challenge to her, so I gave her some homework. I asked her to write me a letter, using different letter types, colors and spaces.

“Are you this demanding with your kindergarten pupils?” she asked.

“No, of course not,” I said. “They already know how to use a computer.”

My mother isn’t the only one experiencing a fast personal growth period. Thanks to the computer, my father has finally got over his phone allergy(过敏反应). For as long as I can remember, any time I called, my mother would answer. Dad and I have had more phone conversations in the last two months than we’ve had in the past 20 years.

 

53.What does the author do?

A.She is a cook                                     B.She is a teacher  

C.She is a housewife                              D.She is a computer engineer

54.The author decided to give her mother a computer ________.

A.to let her have more chances to write letters   B.to support her in doing her homework

C.to help her through the bad times                  D.to make her life more enjoyable

55.The author asked her mother to write her a letter ________.

A.because her mother had stopped using the telephone

B.because she wanted to keep in touch with her mother

C.so that her mother could practice what she had learned

D.so that her mother could be free from housework

56.After the computer was brought home, the author’s father ________

A.lost interest in cooking                       B.took more phone calls

C.played more games                            D.began to use it

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