The two economists call their paper "Mental Retirement," and their findings have aroused the interest of behavioral researchers.

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问题     The two economists call their paper "Mental Retirement," and their findings have aroused the interest of behavioral researchers. Data from the United States and 12 European countries suggest that the earlier people retire, the more quickly their memories decline.
    The implication, the economists and others say, is that there really seems to be something to the "use it or lose it" notion—if people want to preserve their memories and reasoning abilities, they may have to keep active.
    "It’s incredibly interesting and exciting," said Laura Carstensen, director of the Center on Longevity at Stanford University in California. "It suggests that work actually provides an important component of the environment that keeps people functioning optimally."
    Researchers repeatedly find that retired people tend to do less well on cognitive tests than people who are still working. But, they note, that could be because people whose memories and thinking skills are declining may be more likely to retire than people whose cognitive skills remain sharp.
    And research has failed to support the premise that mastering activities like memory exercises, crossword puzzles and Sudoku improve overall functioning.
    "If you do crossword puzzles, you get better at crossword puzzles," said Lisa Berkman, director of the Center for Population and Development Studies at Harvard University. "If you do Sudoku, you get better at Sudoku. You get better at one narrow task. But you don’ t get better at cognitive behavior in life."
    The study was possible, explains one of its authors, Robert Willis, a professor of economics at the University of Michigan, because the National Institute on Aging began a large study in the United States nearly 20 years ago. Called the Health and Retirement Study, it surveys more than 22,000 Americans over age 50 every two years, and administers memory tests.
According to the passage, what does "Mental Retirement" mean?

选项 A、People want to retire at an early age.
B、People have to retire earlier than they’ ve expected.
C、People’ s mental functions decline while they are still working.
D、People’s memories and reasoning abilities decline if they are not working.

答案D

解析 词汇题。文章一开始就提出Mental Retirement(脑力退休)这一概念,接着就具体说明研究发现。由文内表述可知“脑力退休”就是指退休后,人的大脑处于不活跃状态,记忆力、推理能力都会随之衰退,故答案为D。
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