From VOA
Learning English, welcome to1
Health in Special English! There is
more evidence2 suggesting3
that being bilingual4
is good for your brain5.
A new study found6
that older adults who have spoken7
two languages since childhood8
showed9 better mental skills10 than
those who speak just one language.
Earlier studies11 showed that the ability to speak 2 languages, or bilingualism, seemed to favor12 the
development13 of
these heightened14
skills. The study appeared15
in the Journal of Neuroscience. Brian Gold was the lead author16 of the study. He is a
neuroscientist at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine.
Dr. Gold and
his team17 asked18 people to sort19 colors and shapes20 in a series
of simple exercises. They used brain imaging to compare how well21 three groups of people switched22 among23 these
exercises.
The groups
were bilingual seniors24,
monolingual seniors and younger adults. The imaging showed different patterns of activity25
in the frontal part of the brain, in an area used for processing those tasks26.
Dr. Gold says
the results suggest27
that bilingual subjects28
use their brain more efficiently29.
Dr. Gold notes that knowing a second language made no difference for the young
adults. They did better30
at the exercises than both31
groups of older people.
But he says
the older bilingual adults appear to
have built up32 a surplus33
from a lifetime34
of increased35
mental activity. He says his research36
confirms an earlier study37
on bilingualism among patients with Alzheimer's disease.
That study
showed that bilingual speakers suffered38
more brain damage39,
but were able to40
think at the same level as41
patients with less42
damage. Dr. Gold says he believes the new study confirms that bilingualism can
protect brain performance43.
For VOA Learning English, I'm Carolyn Presutti.
Vocabulary
01. welcome to = bem-vindo a
02. There is more evidence = existe mais evidencia
03. Suggesting = sugerindo
04. being bilingual = ser bilingue
05. brain = cérebro
06. found = descobriu
07. have spoken = tem falado
08. since childhood = desde a infancia
09. showed = mostraram
10. mental skills = habilidades mentais
11. Earlier studies = estudos preliminaries
12. seemed to favor = pareceu favorecer
13. development = desenvolvimento
14. heightened = intensificado(a)
15. appeared = apareceu
16. lead author = autor chefe
17. team = equipe
18. asked = pediu
19. sort = selecionar
20. shapes = formas
21. how well = o quão bem
22. switched = trocavam
23. among = entre (mais de duas coisas)
24. seniors = mais velhos
25. patterns of activity = padrões de atividades
26. tasks = tarefas
27. suggest = sugerem
28. subjects = indivíduos
29. efficiently = eficientemente
30. They did better = eles foram melhores
31. Both = ambos
32. appear to have built up = parecem ter acumulado
33. surplus = excess
34. lifetime = uma vida inteira
35. increased = aumentado(a)
36. research = pesquisa
37. earlier study = estudo anterior
38. suffered = sofreram
39. brain damage = dano cerebral
40. were able to = foram capazes de
41. at the same level as = ao mesmo nível que
42. less = menos
43. performance = desempenho
