61. Based on the passage, cognitive abilities can be made to improve greatly by_____.

A. working as a farmer　　 B. taking up gardening

C. working as a lawyer　　 D. regular exercising

60. What would be the best title for the passage?

A.　　　　　　　 Mentally challenging jobs benefit people in the end

B.　　　　　　　 How to prevent　 Alzheimer’s

C.　　　　　　　 How to improve your IQ

D.　　　　　　　 Use it or else lose it

59. Why did the writer think it so important to be a marathoner?

A. It told his positive attitude to life.

B. It showed his proud past.

C. It comforted his family.

D. It helped kill his pain.

B

When it comes to keeping your brain healthy, and working at its best, doctors have long advised patients to “use it or else lose it”. The idea is to keep the intellectual highways busy; if brains aren’t used, they are more likely to become worse, leading to Alzheimer’s(老年痴呆症). But new research provides a twist(意外转折)on this familiar advice--it turns out that some people benefit more from using it than others.

Psychiatrists(精神科医生)led by Guy Potter at Duke University conducted a study of more than1,000 male twins, most of whom were World War II soldiers. Potter collected 50-year-old data on the soldiers’IQ scores when they joined the Army, and then compared them to cognitive(认知的)test scores the men got after they retired from various jobs. He found that those who scored in the bottom marks of the IQ scale when they were in their 20s,and then took on mentally challenging jobs, had the greatest gains on the cognitive tests in their70s. “Being in a more complex job later in life helped them to develop skills they might not have had, or pushed hem in ways so they were able to overcome their intellectual limitations,” says Potter.

That means that those with the lowest cognitive abilities are most likely to lose it if they don’t use it, and also most likely to protect themselves from Alzheimer’s and other cognitive problems by keeping their brains active. Not surprisingly. the jobs that proved most beneficial to these folks include the higher degree professions such as law, medicine and journalism, but any career that required multi-tasking, organizing and managerial skill also promoted cognitive abilities later in life. “Any job that requires you to keep fresh, whether it is new sales techniques or learning about new products, can keep you stay intellectually lively,” say Potter.

58. What encouraged the writer to finish the marathon?

A. The worry in Patty’s face.

B. The strong desire to continue his life.

C. The marathoners ahead of him.

D. The strong desire to help other patients.

57. When the writer first saw her wife during the race, he_____.

A. felt if difficult to finish the marathon

B. ran the marathon easily

C. was greatly encouraged by her presence

D. started to struggle

56. We can know that by joining the marathon training program, the writer_____.

A. soon recovered from his cancer

B. raised some money for his treatment

C. was helping himself and others

D. made many friends with healthy people

54. A. cause　　 B. have　　　 C. happen　　 D. promote

53. A. hoped　 B. questioned　 C. determined　 D. imagined

52. A. money　 B. courage　　 C. honor　　 D. choice