本文選自《時代周刊》“健康”板塊中一篇名為 “Your Attitude about Aging May Impact How You Age”的文章，討論了在一醫學雜志中發表的兩項關于人們對衰老看法影響大腦功能的實驗。研究歷時數十年，結果發現在步入老年之前倘若人們對衰老持消極看法更容易誘發阿茲海默癥（老年癡呆癥）。因此科學家提倡更為積極的人生態度，在社會層面更樂觀的看待衰老。
I ①How do you feel about old people? ②Your answer appears to be connected with how well your brain holds up against Alzheimer’s disease, according to a series of two new studies published in the journal Psychology and Aging.③The researchers, from the Yale School of PublicHealth, say it’s the first time this type of risk factor has been linked in a study to the development of brain changes linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
II ①In the first study, researchers looked at data from 158 healthy people without dementia enrolled in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA). ②In order to find out how people in the study felt about age stereotypes, researchers used a scale with statements like “older people are absent-minded” or “older people have trouble learning new things.” ③People in the study gave these answers when they were in their 40s. ④About 25 years later, when people in that same group were about 68 years old, they began about a decade of annual MRI brain scans to determine the volume of their hippocampus. ⑤People who held more negative thoughts about aging earlier in life had greater loss of hippocampus volume when they aged.
III ①In the second study, researchers examined two more markers of Alzheimer’s disease: the build up in the brain of amyloid plaques—clusters of proteins that accumulate between brain cells — and neurofibrillary tangles, twisted strands of protein that build up in brain cells. ②The results were consistent: People who held more negative age stereotypes had significantly higher scores of plaques and tangles than people with more positive feelings about growing old.
IV ①The researchers didn’t look at a mechanism by which negative stereotypes might exert an influence on the brain, but they suspect that stress is the driver. ②Research from 2012 conducted by Levy and others found that people who had more negative age stereotypes before they had reached old age had significantly worse memory performance later in life.
V ①It may be unsettling to think that negative cultural stereotypes about age could be having such a profound effect on how our brains age. ②“We know from other studies that as young as age four, children taken in stereotypes of their culture,” says Levy. ③But the results can be interpreted a different way, too.④“Positive age stereotypes seem protective of not experiencing these biomarkers,” she says—so if we can find a way to promote positive age stereotypes on a societal level, our brains may be better off once we reach old age.
1*. Alzheimer’s disease ['?lz'?m?] n. 老年癡呆癥，阿茲海默癥
2*. dementia [d?'m?n??] n. 癡呆
3. stereotype ['st?r??ta?p] n. 刻板印象；陳詞濫調
4. scale [ske?l] n. 數值范圍；規模；刻度 v. 測量；衡量；攀登
5*. MRI: Magnetic Resonance Imaging 核磁共振成像
6*. hippocampus [,h?p?'k?mp?s] n. 海馬體（大腦中負責學習和記憶的部分）
7. buildup ['bild?p] n. 形成；增強；發展；樹立名譽
8*. amyloid plaque ['?m?,l??d] [ple?g] n. 淀粉樣蛋白斑
9. accumulate [?'kjumj?let] v. 積攢；累積
10*. neurofibrillary tangle [,nju?r?u'faibril] ['t??ɡl] n. 神經元纖維結
11. mechanism ['m?k?n?z?m] n. 機制；原理
12. exert [?ɡ'z?t] v. 運用，發揮，施以影響
13. unsettling [?n's?tl??] adj. 使人不安的；混亂的
14. profound [pr?'fa?nd] adj. 深厚的；意義深遠的；淵博的
15*. societal [s?'sa??tl] adj. 社會的
16. better off adj. 經濟狀況好的，富裕的
I ①How do you feel about old people? ②Your answer appears to be connected with how well your brain holds up against Alzheimer’s disease, according to a series of two new studies published in the journal Psychology and Aging.③The researchers, from the Yale School of Public Health, say it’s the first time this type of risk factor has been linked in a study to the development of brain changes linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
翻譯：你對老年人怎么樣看待？根據兩項發表在期刊《心理學與衰老》的新研究，答案看上去跟大腦能多好地與阿茲海默癥抗衡有關聯。來自耶魯大學公共衛生學院的研究者認為，這種風險因素是在研究中第一次與關乎阿茲海默癥的大腦變化發展聯系起來。
點評：段I介紹了本文的主題，研究發現對衰老的看法會影響年老時患老年癡呆癥的幾率。句①提出問句，啟發思索，句②直接給出研究的結果，而句③則對研究的意義進行了簡單探討，引出下文。三句話環環相扣將主要內容都介紹清楚。Risk factor在這里指的是上文提到的your answers on how to feel about the old people；而brainchanges則指下文提到的導致老年癡呆癥的各種生物性特征。
II ①In the first study, researchers looked at data from 158 healthy people without dementia enrolled in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA). ②In order to find out how people in the study felt about age stereotypes, researchers used a scale with statements like “older people are absent-minded” or “older people have trouble learning new things.” ③People in the study gave these answers when they were in their 40s.④About 25 years later, when people in that same group were about 68 years old, they began about a decade of annual MRI brain scans to determine the volume of their hippocampus. ⑤People who held more negative thoughts about aging earlier in life had greater loss of hippocampus volume when they aged.
翻譯：在第一項研究中，研究者觀察了登記在巴爾地摩縱向衰老研究（BLSA）的158名未患癡呆癥健康者的數據。為了看出研究中人們如何看待衰老，研究者用分級數據回答類似于 “老年人思維不集中”或“老年人學東西有困難”的論斷，研究中人們在四十余歲時給出了他們的答案。25年后，當同一組測試人員大約到68歲時，研究者在十年間每年對受測者大腦中海馬體容量進行核磁共振掃描，發現海馬體容量的減少跟阿茲海默癥相關。早先對衰老看法消極的人在衰老時失去的海馬體更多。
點評：段II展開分論述，先介紹第一個實驗的測試結果。句①②③介紹了實驗一開始（25年前）的測試內容，包括受測者基本情況，測試問題等。句④指出了測試的主要對象是首測者大腦中負責管理記憶和學習的hippocampus，通過觀察其容量大小并對比先前對老年人的態度，在句⑤中給出二者的相關性。
III ①In the second study, researchers examined two more markers of Alzheimer’s disease: the build up in the brain of amyloid plaques—clusters of proteins that accumulate between brain cells — and neurofibrillary tangles, twisted strands of protein that build up in brain cells. ②The results were consistent: People who held more negative age stereotypes had significantly higher scores of plaques and tangles than people with more positive feelings about growing old.
翻譯：在第二項研究中，研究人員試驗了阿茲海默癥的兩個標志：大腦中淀粉樣蛋白斑的生成（蛋白質在腦細胞中聚集），以及神經纖維纏結的形成（腦細胞生出的蛋白質纏結）。結果與實驗一是連貫的：對衰老持消極觀點的那組在蛋白斑和神經纖維纏結數量上高于持積極觀點的組。
點評：段III承接上文繼續展開分論述，介紹第二個實驗。句①指明研究者添加了兩項導致老年癡呆癥的測試對象，amyloid plaques和neurofibrillary tangles, 并分別對這兩個醫學術語做出解釋。句②總結該測試跟第一次測試具有相關性，對衰老的負面情緒會導致患老年癡呆癥的風險加大。
IV ①The researchers didn’t look at a mechanism by which negative stereotypes might exert an influence on the brain, but they suspect that stress is the driver. ②Research from 2012 conducted by Levy and others found that people who had more negative age stereotypes before they had reached old age had significantly worse memory performance later in life.
翻譯：研究者沒有觀察消極印象是通過何種機制對大腦產生影響的，但是他們懷疑壓力是主要推動力。勒維和其他人自2012年起進行的研究中發現在衰老前就對年老持否定看法的人在老年時記憶力更差。
點評：段IV繼續討論實驗的內容，并指出實驗關注的重點并非句①前半句提到的“mechanism by which negative stereotype might exert influence on the brain”, 而是后半句提到的壓力的作用。并在句②引入2012年的實驗證明對衰老感到有壓力（對衰老持否定態度）的人在年老時記憶力相對差一些。
V ①It may be unsettling to think that negative cultural stereotypes about age could be having such a profound effect on how our brains age. ②“We know from other studies that as young as age four, children taken in stereotypes of their culture,” says Levy. ③But the results can be interpreted a different way, too.④“Positive age stereotypes seem protective of not experiencing these biomarkers,” she says—so if we can find a way to promote positive age stereotypes on a societal level, our brains may be better off once we reach old age.
翻譯：否定衰老的文化刻板印象對大腦的衰老是否有這么大的影響尚未可知。勒維稱，“在其他研究中我們發現孩子在四歲時就已經有了文化刻板印象”，但是這個結果也可以有不同解讀。她說“對年齡積極的看法會使大腦免遭這種生物標記的侵擾”，所以如果我們可以在社會層面上找到一種對年齡有積極看法的刻板印象，那么當我們老的時候大腦依舊可以保持很好的狀態。
點評：段V作者提出雖然對衰老的否定看法原因不明，但為健康著想，還是提倡以積極的態度看待老去。句①②提出了在文化對人們對衰老看法的影響很廣泛，但對大腦的影響尚且無法直接測算。句③在此基礎上，提出應該從不同角度解讀這個問題。句④緊接著給出了方法“find a way to promote positive age stereotype on a societal level”, 這樣有利于大腦健康。
