Can a stimulating hobby decrease

Can a stimulating hobby decrease your risk of Alzheimer's disease (阿尔兹海默症)? Maybe, but don't count on it. Some days all I want to do when I get home is sit down in front of the TV set and let my brain go blank. You probably know the feeling. But if two groups of neurologists (神经学家) from University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio are right, we may all live to regret our lazy lifestyle. At a meeting of the American Academy of Neurology earlier this month, they reported that people who remain active outside of work by taking up such stimulating activities as painting, gardening or playing a musical instrument are three times less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease as they age than their more intellectually passive peers. I always suspected that the box would turn my mind to mush (浆糊), and here's the proof. Or is it? While I would never suggest that watching a lot of television is good for you, there are several limitations to this study. For one thing, it's preliminary---a kind of scientific first draft. Also, it depends on the failing memory of its subjects or the second-hand reports of their families. Even so, it's just the start of what could be a flood of such reports. Not only is Alzheimer's research picking up, but also in 50 years, 14 million Americans could have the disorder, up from 4 million today. So any new shift is bound to get plenty of news coverage. There isn't much data about whether lifestyle choices, like the ones the Cleveland groups investigated, can help delay the onset of Alzheimer's than more sedentary (久坐的) seniors. But those results could just as easily indicate that people in the earliest stages of Alzheimer's are less likely to be active. That’s why the Cleveland doctors focused on their subjects from ages 20 t0 60---most likely long before they developed any symptoms. The researchers looked at 193 men and women with Alzheimer's and asked them, or their caregivers, how they spent their free time when they were younger. The scientists compared the answers with those given by 358 people of roughly the same age and background who had similar occupations but didn’t have Alzheimer's. “We found that intellectual activities were relatively more protective than physical ones," says Dr. Robert Friedland, who led the study. The results may still be biased, Friedland notes, because caregivers may have subconsciously exaggerated their charges’ passivity. And, of course, there are plenty of musicians and gardeners who develop Alzheimer's no matter how stimulating their lives are.


3. Why did the Cleveland doctors focus on their subjects from ages 20 to 60?
A、They were afraid that Alzheimer's may affect young people.
B、They thought more people would have Alzheimer's in 50 years.
C、They wanted to study whether lifestyle is linked with Alzheimer's.
D、They believed people in these age groups are liable to Alzheimer's.
【正确答案】：C
【题目解析】：调查这些人主要是想知道这种疾病与生活方式之间的关系。