B
体裁: 说明文
主题: 科普知识
难度: ★★★★★
建议用时: 8 min
正确率: /4
新素材·语言延缓衰老 The study, published in Nature Aging on 10 November, found that people who speak two or more languages may have a lower risk of accelerated ageing.
Earlier studies have shown that speaking more languages can improve brain abilities such as memory and attention, which helps keep the brain healthy as people get older. However, many of these studies used small samples(样本) and unscientific methods, which leads to results that do not agree with each other and cannot be applied to other groups.
In this new study, researchers looked at 86,000 people from 27 European countries. Their ages were between 51 and 90. The researchers wanted to find out if speaking more languages was good for healthy aging. For each participant(参与者), the researchers decided on a biobehavioral age gap. They compared each person's chronological age (how old they are in years) with their biological age (how old their body really is). The biological age is based on things like lifestyle, health, and education level. A high biobehavioral age gap could mean a person is aging faster—or slower. Then, the researchers compared this age gap with the number of languages each person spoke. The number was reported by the participants themselves, and they did not think about how well they spoke each language.
▲ People who spoke only one language were twice as likely to have a higher biobehavioral age gap than those who spoke two or more languages. Every extra language reduced the risk of faster aging.
Researcher Christos said, "People have not always agreed on whether speaking many languages helps slow aging. But I don't think there has been a study of this size before. It used a very large and mixed sample from many places and that allowed them to control for a number of factors, like people's background and wealth." He added that future research should include more people from outside Europe.
1. Why does the writer mention earlier studies in Paragraph 2?
A. To introduce the topic of brain aging. B. To show how researchers do the study.
C. To explain why the new study is necessary. D. To tell why people should speak more languages.
2. What does "a biobehavioral age gap" show?
A. A person's real age. B. A person's aging speed.
C. A person's language level. D. A person's education level.
3. 新趋势·补全文章 Which of the following is the most suitable for "▲"?
＞＞ 补全文章题解题策略见 P27 重点精讲
A. What does the biobehavioral age gap tell us about aging?
B. How does the number of languages change people's aging speed?
C. What do participants say about their language learning experience?
D. How does the gap between chronological age and biological age form?
4. What would Christos probably agree with?
A. People do not agree on the findings. B. Earlier studies offered decisive results.
C. People from other areas should be studied. D. Other language factors need to be explored.

【语篇解读】本文是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了《自然·衰老》的一项研究探讨了多语言能力与大脑衰老速度之间的关系。
1. C 推理判断题。根据第二段“However, many of these studies used small samples and unscientific methods, which leads to results that do not agree with each other and cannot be applied to other groups.”可知早期研究存在局限性，因此新研究是必要的，作者提及早期研究是为了说明新研究的必要性。故选 C。
2. B 细节理解题。根据第三段“A high biobehavioral age gap could mean a person is aging faster—or slower.”可知生物行为年龄差反映人的衰老速度。故选 B。
3. B 补全文章题。上文介绍了研究方法，此处应引出具体发现，根据下文“People who spoke only one language were twice ... Every extra language reduced the risk of faster aging.”可知单语者衰老更快，多语言者快速衰老的风险降低，即语言数量如何影响衰老速度。故选 B。
4. C 推理判断题。根据最后一段“He added that future research should include more people from outside Europe.”可知他认为应该对其他地区的人群展开研究。故选 C。