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  3. The two economists call their paper "Mental Retirement," and their findings from the United States and 12 European countries sug

The two economists call their paper "Mental Retirement," and their findings from the United States and 12 European countries sug

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问题     The two economists call their paper "Mental Retirement," and their findings from the United States and 12 European countries suggest that the earlier people retire, the more quickly their memories decline. "It’s incredibly interesting and exciting," said Laura Carstensen, director of the Center on Longevity at Stanford University in California. "It suggests work actually provides an important component of the environment that keeps people functioning optimally. "
    Japan and South Korea have begun administering a survey on memory. China, India and several countries in Latin America are also planning surveys. While not everyone is convinced, a number of leading researchers say the "Mental Retirement" study is, at least, a tantalizing bit of evidence for a hypothesis that is widely believed but difficult to demonstrate.
    Researchers repeatedly find that retired people tend to do less well on cognitive tests than people who are still working. But, they note, that could be because people whose memories and thinking skills are declining may be more likely to retire than people whose cognitive skills remain sharp. And research has failed to support the premise that mastering activities like memory exercises and crossword puzzles improve overall functioning. "If you do crossword puzzles, you get better at crossword puzzles," said Lisa Berkman, director of the Center for Population and Development Studies at Harvard University. "But you don’t get better at cognitive behavior in life. "
    The study was possible, explains one of its authors, Robert Willis, a professor of economics at the University of Michigan, because the National Institute on Aging began a large study in the United States nearly 20 years ago. Called the Health and Retirement Study, it surveys more than 22,000 Americans over age 50 every two years, and administers memory tests. That led European countries to start their own surveys, using similar questions so the data would be comparable. The test looks at how well people can recall a list of 10 nouns immediately and 10 minutes after they heard them. People in the United States did best, scoring an average of 11 out of a perfect 20. Those in Denmark and England were close behind, with scores just above 10, followed by France(8), Italy(7)and Spain(6).
    The researchers noticed that there are large differences in the ages at which people retire. In the United States, England and Denmark, where people retire later, 65 to 70 percent of men were still working when they were in their early 60s. In France and Italy, the figure is 10 to 20 percent, and in Spain it is 38 percent.
    Economic incentives produce the large differences in retirement age. Countries with earlier retirement ages have tax policies, pension, disability and other measures that encourage people to leave the work force at younger ages.
    The researchers found that the longer people keep working, the better they do on the tests when they are in their early 60s. "There is evidence that social skills and personality skills—getting up in the morning, dealing with people, knowing the value of being prompt and trustworthy—are also important," Dr. Willis said. "They go hand in hand with the work environment. "
It can be inferred from the passage that Americans do well in cognitive tests because______.
选项 A、a lot of them do the tests every two years
B、most of them still work in their early 60s
C、they have sharp memories and thinking skills by nature
D、their social skills and personality skills play some part in the tests
答案B
解析
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