专题06 阅读理解之说明文10篇(第三期)-备战2024年高考英语名校模拟真题速递(江苏专用)

备战2024年高考英语名校模拟真题速递(江苏专用) 第三期 专题06 阅读理解之说明文10篇 （2023秋·江苏·高三校联考一模）In the largest observational study to date on “superagers” — people in their 80s who have brains as sharp as those 30 years younger — researchers in Spain found key differences in lifestyle that may contribute to these older adults’ sharp minds. Superagers in the study had more gray matter (灰质) in parts of the brain related to movement, and they scored higher on flexibility, balance and mobility (行走能力) tests than typical older adults — even though the physical activity levels of the two groups were the same. “Though superagers report similar activity levels to typical older people, it’s possible they do more physically demanding activities like gardening or stair climbing,” said senior author Bryan Strange, director of the Laboratory for Clinical Neuroscience at the Technical University of Madrid, in a statement. “From lower blood pressure and obesity levels to increased blood flow to the brain, there are many direct and indirect benefits of being physically active that may contribute to improved cognitive abilities in old age.” The study, published on Thursday in The Lancet Healthy Longevity journal, followed 64 superagers and 55 cognitively normal older adults who were part of the Vallecas Project, a long-term research project on Alzheimer’s in Madrid (马德里的老年痴呆症). In a series of tests, the study found the Spanish superagers scored lower than typical older adults in levels of depression and anxiety. Mental health issues such as depression are known risk factors for developing dementia (痴呆). Superagers also told researchers they had been more active in midlife, had been happy with the amount of sleep they got, and were independent in their daily living. Poor sleep is a key risk factor for cognitive decline. “This study adds to what we already know — superaging isn’t just the ability to perform well on a cognitive test,” said Angela Roberts, an assistant joint professor of communication and computer