Searching the Internet may help middle-aged and older adults keep their memories sharp,US researchers said.
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles ,studied people doing web searches by recording their brain activity.
“What we saw was people who had Internet experience used more of their brain during the search,”Dr.Gary Small, a UCLA expert on aging, said,“This suggests that just searching on the Internet may train the brain and that it may keep it active and healthy.”
“This is the first time anyone has simulated(模拟)an Internet search task while scanning the brain,”Small said. His team studied 24 normal volunteers between the ages of 55 and 76. Half were experienced at searching the Internet and the other half had no web experience. However, the two groups were similar in age, gender and education.
Both groups were asked to do Internet searches and book reading tasks while their brain activity was monitored.
“We found that in the book reading task, the visual cortex— the part of the brain that controls reading and language — was activated,”Small said,“In doing the Internet search task, there was much greater activity, but only in the Internet-savvy（了解）group.”
He said it appears that people who are familiar with the Internet can engage in much deeper level of brain activity. Activities that keep the brain engaged can preserve brain health and thinking ability. Small thinks learning to do Internet searches may be one of those activities.
【小题1】Researchers when volunteers were doing web searches.A．studied the InternetB．activated the brainC．recorded their memoriesD．monitored the brain activity【小题2】The two volunteer groups were .A．similar in educationB．of the same ageC．good at the puterD．book lovers【小题3】According to the passage, we can learn that .A．reading books keeps the brain more engagedB．searching the web keeps the brain more engagedC．watching TV keeps the brain more engagedD．chatting online keeps the brain more engaged【小题4】Which of the following is TRUE?A．When you read, the whole brain will be activated.B．Dr.Gary Small is a UCLA expert on brain health.C．Internet searches can preserve brain health and thinking abilityD．People who read books may have a better memory.D
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(答案→)D
解析：这篇文章讲述的是通过研究表明，进行网络搜索比阅读书籍更有助于中老年人保持良好的记忆。
【小题1】细节题。由第五段Both groups were asked to do Internet searches and book reading tasks while their brain activity was monitored.两组志愿者被要求去做网络搜索和阅读书籍的时候，他们的大脑活动被监控了。故选D
【小题2】由第四段His teamstudied 24 normal volunteers between the ages of 55 and 76. Half were experienced at searching the Internet and the other half had no web experience. However, the two groups were similar in age, gender and education.研究了24名志愿者，他们的年龄在55到76岁之间，其中一半有过网络搜索的经历，另一半没有。然而，这两组在年龄，性别和学历上是相似的。故选A
【小题3】细节题，由最后一段He said it appears that people who are familiar with the Internet can engage in much deeper level of brain activity.看起来是熟悉网络的人能够进行更深层次的大脑活动。故选B
【小题4】细节判断题。由倒数第二段We found that in the book reading task, the visual cortex— the part of the brain that controls reading and language — was activated。我们发现当阅读书籍的时候，视觉皮质——控制阅读和语言的那部分大脑——被激活了。故A错误。
由Dr.Gary Small, a UCLA expert on aging，可知B错误。
Activities that keep the brain engaged can preserve brain health and thinking ability.网络搜索活动能够保持大脑的健康和思考能力。故C正确。
由people who are familiar with the Internet can engage in much deeper level of brain activity.熟悉网络的人比阅读书籍的人能够进行更深层次的大脑活动，故D错误，故本题选C