Question

【题目】Direction: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main file of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.

Declining mental function is often seen as a problem of old age, but certain aspects of brain function actually begin their decline in young adulthood, a new study suggests.

The study, which followed more than 2,000 healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 60, found that certain mental functions—including measures of abstract reasoning, mental speed and puzzle-solving—started to dull as early as age 27. Dips in memory, meanwhile, generally became apparent around age 37.

On the other hand, indicators of a person’s accumulated knowledge—like performance on tests of vocabulary and general knowledge—kept improving with age, according to the findings published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging. The results do not mean that young adults need to start worrying about their memories. Most people’s minds function at a high level even in their later years, according to researcher Timothy Salthouse.

“These patterns suggest that some types of mental flexibility decrease relatively early in adulthood, but that the amount of knowledge one has, and the effectiveness of integrating it with one’s abilities, may increase throughout all of adulthood if there are no diseases,” Salthouse said in a news release.

The study included healthy, educated adults who took standard tests of memory, reasoning and perception at the outset and at some point over the next seven years. The tests are designed to detect subtle (细微的) changes in mental function, and involve solving puzzles, recalling words and details from stories, and identifying patterns in collections of letters and symbols. In general, Salthouse and his colleagues found, certain aspects of cognition (认知能力) generally started to decline in the late 20s to 30s. The findings shed light on normal age-related changes in mental function, which could aid in understanding the process of dementia (痴呆), according to the researchers.

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Answer 1

【答案】Brain function may start declining in early adulthood, but knowledge accumulation will make up for the loss of certain mental capacities. The study was carried out over seven years by asking healthy, educated young adults to take standard tests about different aspects of cognition. The findings may help understand the process of dementia.

【解析】

本篇书面表达是概要写作，注意词数要求和使用自己的语言。

概要写作是概括文章要点。

第一步，要读懂文章大意；

第二步，抓住主题句或关键信息，忽略次要信息。结合文章，根据第一段中的“but certain aspects of brain function actually begin their decline in young adulthood”可知，大脑功能的某些方面实际上在成年早期就开始衰退，再根据第三段中的“indicators of a person’s accumulated knowledge—like performance on tests of vocabulary and general knowledge—kept improving with age”及“The results do not mean that young adults need to start worrying about their memories.”可知，一个人知识积累随着年龄的增长而不断提高，这意味着年轻人不必担心他们的记忆力，概括为：大脑功能可能在成年早期开始衰退，但知识的积累将弥补某些心智能力的丧失（Brain function may start declining in early adulthood, but knowledge accumulation will make up for the loss of certain mental capacities.）；根据最后一段中的“The study included healthy, educated adults who took standard tests of memory, reasoning and perception at the outset and at some point over the next seven years.”可知，这项研究包括健康、受过教育的成年人，他们在研究开始时以及未来7年的某个时候接受了记忆、推理和感知方面的标准测试，要点为：这项研究历时7年，要求健康、受过教育的年轻人参加有关认知不同方面的标准测试（The study was carried out over seven years by asking healthy, educated young adults to take standard tests about different aspects of cognition.）；根据最后一段中的“The findings shed light on normal age-related changes in mental function, which could aid in understanding the process of dementia”可知，研究结果揭示了与年龄有关的正常心理功能变化，这有助于理解痴呆症的发病过程，要点为：这些发现可能有助于理解痴呆症的过程（the findings may help understand the process of dementia.）。

第三步，灵活运用语言，对关键信息进行改编。

第四部，添加有效连接成分，使概要结构紧凑。