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  3. The cause of Alzheimer’s disease is unknown, but various studies suggest that its risk factors extend beyond genetics. Some stud

The cause of Alzheimer’s disease is unknown, but various studies suggest that its risk factors extend beyond genetics. Some stud

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问题     The cause of Alzheimer’s disease is unknown, but various studies suggest that its risk factors extend beyond genetics. Some studies have associated the disease with a lack of physical activity. Others have linked Alzheimer’s disease to a lack of stimulating brainwork—fitting a use-it-or-lose-it situation of cognitive decline.
    A new study supports the view that both kinds of inactivity pose risks. People who have the memory loss, confusion, and disorientation of Alzheimer’s disease in old age were generally less active physically and intellectually between the ages of 20 and 60 than were people who don’t have the disease, according to study coauthor Robert P. Friedland, a neurologist at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, and his colleagues.
    After establishing an average overall activity level for all the study’s participants, the researchers discovered that the Alzheimer’s patients were nearly four times as likely as the people without Alzheimer’s to fall below that average. In particular, the non-Alzheimer’s volunteers had devoted more time on average between ages 40 and 60 to intellectual activities and less to passive ones than had those who developed the disease. The only single activity in which Alzheimer’s patients on average significantly outperformed their counterparts was watching television, Friedland says.
    While certain genetic factors seem to influence the brain deterioration associated with Alzheimer’s, these don’t account for all cases of the disease. Indeed, studies of genetically similar people living in separate countries show divergent rates of Alzheimer’s disease.
    The new study accounted for differences in education and income but not occupation. It doesn’t point to a cause of Alzheimer’s or even predict who might develop the disease, but it does reinforce the value of remaining physically and mentally active, Friedland says. From an evolutionary standpoint, people are still physically designed to be active hunters and gatherers. "Being a couch potato," he says, "is not our natural state."
    Intellectual stimulation may work the same way, he says. Studies indicate that a higher educational level makes a person less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Some researchers suggest that challenging the brain builds reserves of functional brain tissue that protect people against the disease.
    "This is a very intriguing study" built on "extremely rigorous" data collection, says Mary S. Mittelman, a scientist at New York University School of Medicine. However, she wonders why some people are active during their middle years while others aren’t. Could it be that a sedentary lifestyle really contributes to the development of Alzheimer’s, or does the illness begin early in life and subtly steer a person toward such a lifestyle? " It could be a combination of both," Friedland says.
From the first two paragraphs, we learn that_________.
选项 A、Alzheimer’s disease has nothing to do with genetic transmission
B、intellectual work may reduce the risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease
C、an inactive child is more likely to get Alzheimer’s disease than an active one
D、a lack of physical exercise has been proved to be a cause of Alzheimer’s disease
答案B
解析 推断题。首段第一句提到，引起阿尔茨海默病的风险因素远不只是遗传因素，紧接着第二句指出，遗传之外的一个风险因素“缺乏体力活动”。之后指出另一个风险因素“缺乏刺激性的脑力劳动”，可见，从事脑力劳动有可能降低患阿尔茨海默病的风险，故[B]为答案。第一句中的extend beyond genetics表明，阿尔茨海默病的致病原因不仅是遗传因素，还包括遗传以外的其他因素，可见与遗传有关，故排除[A]；第二段第二句提到那些在老年期患阿尔茨海默病的人，在20岁到60岁阶段，相对于没有患病的人而言，体力活动或脑力活动普遍都不活跃。这里提到的是20岁至60岁这个年龄段的表现，没有涉及儿童时期如果表现得不活跃是否容易患该病，故排除[C]；首段和第二段首句中提到的都是risks，这表明体力活动的缺乏有可能致病，并非已经证明了是致病原因，故排除[D]。
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