Reading Comprehension
What neuroscientists do not know about the mechanism of cognition - about what is physically different between a dumb brain and a smart one and how to make the first more like the second could fill volumes. Actually, it does. Whether you go surfing for general information on the subject of “brain training” or keeping to the high road for specialised knowledge on “cognitive enhancement”, you will find no dearth of advice. But it is rife with problems. Many of the suggestions come from observational studies, which take people who do X and ask, are they smarter than people who do not do X? Just because the answer is yes does not mean X makes you smart. People who use their gym locker tend to be fitter than those who do not, but it is not using a gym locker that raises your aerobic capacity. Knowing the mechanisms of exercise physiology averts that error. Not knowing the mechanism of cognitive enhancement makes us sitting ducks for dubious claims, since few studies claiming that X makes people smarter that invoke any plausible mechanism by which that might happen. “There are lots quick and dirty studies of cognitive enhancement that make the news, but the number of rigorous, well-designed studies that will stand the test of time is much smaller”, says neuroscientist Peter Snyder of Brown University Medical School. “We are sort of in the Wild West.”
1.
Which of the following expressions below refers to the same idea as fill volumes?
A.NO dearth of advice B.observational studies C.cognitive enhancements
Answer: A
The writer mentions
“their gym locker” to illustrate the point that people tend to be influenced by popular claims claims made based on observation may not be reliable there is a connection between aerobic capacity and cognitive enhancements
A. B. C.
Answer:
3.
The phrase “stand the test of time” means the test is repeated the idea is credible the information has been proven right
A. B. C.
Answer:
BCA 2010 evaluation of purported ways to maintain or improve cognitive function, conducted for the National Institute of Health (NIH), shows many of the claims for cognitive enhancers are sketchy. Vitamins B6, B12 and E; beta carotene; folic acid; and the trendy antioxidants called flavonoids are all not worth their while, and the evidence for alcohol, omega 3-S, or having a large social network is weak. Observational studies show that the Mediterranean diet is associated with lower risk of cognitive decline, but that has not been confirmed in more rigorous, randomised controlled studies, and no one knows whether the benefit comes from what the diet includes or what it excludes.
4.
The 2010 NIH evaluation report reveals that the Mediterranean diet is not as beneficial as expected claims about improving cognition are inconclusive development of cognitive enhancers has reached a sophisticated level
A. B. C.
Answer:
BBe skeptical of practices that promise to make you smarter by increasing blood flow to the brain - there is no evidence to show that is the limiting factor in normal people. Yes, you can find individual studies concluding that one or another hype - heavy intervention helps your brain, but the conclusion of any single study is more likely tone wrong than right (for one thing, scientists and journals prefer positive findings and bury negative studies). Only by assessing all the evidence from all the studies, can you get the true picture.
5.
Which of the following is the writer’s opinion? Conclusions of studies cannot be verified Be cautious about
A. B. 6.
claims made about improving condition Increasing the blood flow to the brain will make you smarter
Answer:
BThe comment (for one thing, scientists and journals prefer positive findings and bury negative studies) shows that the writer rejects the findings of the NIH study feels that more studies should be carried out believes that honesty is lacking in many scientific reports
A. B. C.
Answer:
C