Over the past century, the average lifespan (平均寿命) in developed countries has increased by 30 years, from roughly age 50 to 80.
While lifespan is certainly an important measure of health and well-being, it is not the only one.
By a study based on the World Health Organization, an American who expects to live to 79 might first face serious disease at 63.
Lengthening healthspan starts with thinking about aging well overall, meaning putting physical health, mental health, and daily lifestyle all in one.
For now, there are some familiar steps to extend healthspan: common-sense nutrition, sleep, exercise and social connection are the four main factors.
| A．Some disease is less linked with lifestyle habits. |
| B．It also means taking ways to feel joy and connection. |
| C．It is important to remember that aging is a natural process. |
| D．Longer lifespans overall have been a public health success. |
| E．That could mean he will live in sickness for at least 15 years. |
| F．Healthspan is increasingly being known as an important idea. |
| G．The reason those things work is that they improve the biology of aging. |
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【推荐1】Boost your Memory
When trying to memorize new material, it’s easy to assume that the more work you put in, the better you will perform.
Although it’s known that we should pace our studies, new research suggests that we should aim for “minimal distraction” during these breaks.
The memory-boosting benefits of undisturbed rest were documented in 1900. In one experiment, the researcher first asked the participants to learn a list of syllables. Following a short period, half the group was immediately given a second list to learn, while the rest were given a six-minute break before continuing.
In the early 2000s, two other researchers led several follow-up studies. In healthy participants, they have found that short periods of rest can also improve our memory of places. More crucially, this advantage stays a week after the original learning task and it seems to benefit young and old people alike.
The exact mechanism is still unknown. It is now accepted that once memories are initially encoded, they pass through a period of consolidation (巩固) that bond them in long-term storage.
| A．Our memory is easily distracted by new information. |
| B．This was once thought to happen primarily during sleep. |
| C．We tend to avoid activities contradictory to memory tasks. |
| D．Yet doing nothing occasionally maybe exactly what you need. |
| E．So don’t check your emails, or surf the web on your smartphone. |
| F．When tested one hour later, both groups showed strikingly different patterns of recall. |
| G．They have also found similar benefits for people in the earlier stages of Alzheimer’s disease. |
What is health？The definition from WHO states that health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being. So, rather than having a balanced diet or a balanced workout and so on, people need to find a balance between all those factors for health living.
Try to eat more fruit and vegetables. Fruit and vegetables provide enzymes(酶) for the body, which help to absorb the nutrients from your meal. Drink as much water as possible throughout the day. Keep improving your diet plan, by learning about different healthy food.
If you are suffering from some health problems, you should find the causes behind them，and then try to avoid them. For example, load yourself up with vitamin C rich food to avoid a common cold.
Deep breathing is not only good for your lungs, but also can be used to calm your mind. Take a deep breath whenever you get stressed and then breathe out; repeat it around 10 times. The result will be surprising.
| A．Many people want to stay healthy. |
| B．Then how do you stay healthy? |
| C．Doing exercise is also important. |
| D．Walking is a good way to keep healthy. |
| E．To prevent sport injuries, make sure you warm up well before any exercise. |
| F．Meditation is also a good way to relieve stress. |
| G．Just forget everything and enjoy watching the trees and birds. |
【推荐3】A new study, a project of the researchers from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, finds the fitness tracker probably does not help with weight loss.
The devices are designed to record your physical activity. They are usually worn around the wrist, where they measure a person’s heart rate. The research team looked at two groups of individuals. The first wore a fitness tracker and took part in health counseling (咨询) with experts to consider the best weight-loss plan. The researchers compared this group with people who only got health counseling.
The study found that those only speaking with the health experts lost nearly 6 kilograms, but those using a fitness tracker lost only 3.5 kilograms. John Jakicic, the lead researcher, questioned the use of electronic devices for weight control in place of “effective behavioral counseling for physical activity and diet.”
The study involved 470 subjects aged between 18 and 35. Some of them were overweight, while others were considered obese (肥胖的). Over three fourths of the subjects were women. All the subjects were told to increase physical activity and start on a low-calorie diet. They had their weight measured once every six months. After six months, researchers divided the group into two parts: one continued with monthly counseling, while members of the other group were given a fitness tracker. Eighteen months later, both groups “showed significant improvements in fitness, physical activity, and diet,” with no major difference between groups. However, when it came to losing weight, the people who only spoke with experts lost nearly twice as much weight.
Jakicic said, “The study’s findings are important because effective long-term treatments are needed to address America’s obesity.” More information is needed, he added, to learn how to best use these devices to change “physical activity and diet behaviors” in adults who want to lose weight.
1. All the subjects in the study were asked to ________.| A．start on a high-calorie diet | B．wear a fitness tracker |
| C．increase physical activities | D．record their heart rates |
| A．Wearing fitness trackers hardly helps people lose weight. |
| B．Physical activity and diet have no effect on weight loss. |
| C．Handling obesity requires effective long-term treatments. |
| D．There are great differences in fitness between both groups. |
| A．describe how the researchers were conducting the study |
| B．indicate regular counseling for weight control is necessary |
| C．convince readers to wear fitness trackers for weight control |
| D．warn women are more likely to suffer from weight problems |
【推荐1】For the past 100 years, people believed middle age to be around 50 years old. This is a time when we start to grow old. However, new research says we have to change this. A study from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIAS) in Austria and Stony Brook University in New York says middle age now starts at 60 or even 65, or older. Why?
The biggest reason is that we are living longer. We are also healthier, we have better diets, we exercise more and we have more money to live in a nicer lifestyle. The IIAS said, ＂Since life expectancy has increased over the past several decades, and are continuing to increase, people once considered old should actually be viewed as more middle aged.＂
The study was not a worldwide one so perhaps not everyone in all countries can say they are middle aged when they are 65. The researchers looked at populations in 39 European countries, so this is good news for Europeans. Britain’s National Health Service warned against looking at this study and believing it to be 100 percent true. It said the researchers did not look at things which could reduce life expectancy: ＂We don’t know whether, for example, they factored (把……因素包括进去) in the possible impact of being unable to treat infections because of rising antibiotic (抗生素) resistance, or the increased numbers of people with diabetes (糖尿病) due to obesity.＂ It recommended healthy living, eating and exercise as a way to live longer.
1. What do people believe for the past century?| A．People start to grow old when they are about 50. |
| B．Middle age is far beyond 50 years old. |
| C．People will die at around 50 years old. |
| D．Middle age is a time when people become ill. |
| A．The main reason why we are living longer. |
| B．The reason why middle age now starts at 60 or even 65. |
| C．Life expectancy has increased. |
| D．Middle aged people were once considered old. |
| A．It believes the study to be true. |
| B．To live longer, one should live a healthy life. |
| C．There are more people who suffer from diabetes due to obesity. |
| D．The researchers didn’t factor in the possible impact. |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Supportive. |
| C．Negative. | D．Objective. |
【推荐2】Migrating terns(燕鸥)may change their flight plans based on a keen sense of coming typhoons, escaping the impact of the storms but still benefiting from feeding opportunities in their wakes.
Researchers examined data recorded by tracking devices on six terns from Okinawa, Japan, to learn more about the birds’ migrations over multiple years. The terns flew across part of the Philippine Sea’s “typhoon highway” to get to the islands of Borneo and Sulawesi and varied their leaving times—often apparently waiting to depart until a large typhoon was about to cross their projected path.
“They seem to be able to predict it,” says Jean-Baptiste Thiebot, a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute of Polar Research in Japan and lead author of the new study, which was published in June in Marine Biology. The study offers few clues about how terns might do this, but other research suggests some migrating birds detect infrasonic(次声的)weather signals or observe changing clouds.
The terns Thiebot studied typically avoided the typhoons themselves. But these storms can churn（剧烈搅动）food to the ocean surface, so the immediate results may help the hungry travelers. They might actually use the typhoon to know when to leave for their migrations each year, Thiebot says. In the unusually quiet 2017 season, with no sign of a strong typhoon, the birds started their journeys later and flew without pit stops. Thiebot would like to see this pattern confirmed in a larger study. He also worries that increasing typhoon frequency could affect birds’ prediction accuracy, possibly getting them caught in dangerous weather.
Robert Gill, a retired research wildlife biologist, says that although the study’s sample size is small, it adds to scientists’ overall understanding of migration. “They are able to predict better than the best weather forecasters we have,” Gill says, “but they’ve also had tens of thousands, if not millions, of years to hone that skill.”
1. What did the terns do after getting to the islands of Borneo and Sulawesi?| A．They varied their projected path. |
| B．They stayed there for the exact time to leave. |
| C．They stayed awake to find feeding chances. |
| D．They churned food to the ocean surface. |
| A．They might not detect strong typhoon signals. | B．They didn’t find enough food. |
| C．They were caught in dangerous weather. | D．They wanted to fly without stops. |
| A．teach | B．develop | C．ignore | D．share |
| A．The impact of typhoons | B．A new approach to forecasting weather |
| C．The process of terns’ migrations | D．Terns’ ability to predict typhoon |
【推荐3】During an interview for one of my books, my interviewer said something I still think about often. Annoyed by the level of distraction (干扰) in his open office, he said, “That’s why I have a membership at the coworking space across the street — so I can focus”. His comment struck me as strange. After all, coworking spaces also typically use an open office layout (布局). But I recently came across a study that shows why his approach works.
The researchers examined various levels of noise on participants as they completed tests of creative thinking. They were randomly divided into four groups and exposed to various noise levels in the background, from total silence to 50 decibels (分贝), 70 decibels, and 85 decibels. The differences between most of the groups were statistically insignificant; however, the participants in the 70 decibels group — those exposed to a level of noise similar to background chatter in a coffee shop — significantly outperformed the other groups. Since the effects were small, this may suggest that our creative thinking does not differ that much in response to total silence and 85 decibels of background noise.
But since the results at 70 decibels were significant, the study also suggests that the right level of background noise — not too loud and not total silence — may actually improve one’s creative thinking ability. The right level of background noise may interrupt our normal patterns of thinking just enough to allow our imaginations to wander, without making it impossible to focus. This kind of “distracted focus” appears to be the best state for working on creative tasks.
So why do so many of us hate our open offices? The problem may be that, in our offices, we can’t stop ourselves from getting drawn into others’ conversations while we’re trying to focus. Indeed, the researchers found that face-to-face interactions and conversations affect the creative process, and yet a coworking space or a coffee shop provides a certain level of noise while also providing freedom from interruptions.
1. Why does the interviewer prefer a coworking space?| A．It helps him concentrate. |
| B．It blocks out background noise. |
| C．It has a pleasant atmosphere. |
| D．It encourages face-to-face interactions. |
| A．Total silence. |
| B．50 decibels |
| C．70 decibels. |
| D．85 decibels. |
| A．Personal privacy unprotected. |
| B．Limited working space. |
| C．Restrictions on group discussion. |
| D．Constant interruptions. |
