VOA慢速英语2013 AS IT IS 2013-09-20 NeuroRacer: A Video Game for the Elderly Brain

 

AS IT IS 2013-09-20 NeuroRacer: A Video Game for the Elderly Brain

An elderly man plays a video game as part of a study at the University of California, San Francisco..

From VOA Learning English, this is As It Is. 

Welcome back! I’m Caty Weaver¹. Getting old is not easy. As we age we seem to slow down physically². Brain processes, like memory, can also weaken. And, as we age, we are also more likely to develop depression and anxiety disorders⁴.

Today we tell you about two ways old people might fight the effects of aging.

First up: video gaming.

NeuroRacer 

Scientists have developed a video game for older adults to help sharpen their memory and attention to details. The researchers say senior citizens who play a “multi-tasking” game experience neurological improvements. Avi Arditti reports.

The game is called NeuroRacer. It was a creation of scientists at the University of California, San Francisco. Players use a hand-held controller to race a car on a video projection⁵ screen. Later, another level is added to the game. Signs begin to appear and disappear on part of the video screen. Some signs are important messages connected to the game. But others are unrelated. The players learn to pay attention to the important signs and ignore the others.

The researchers tested more than 170 volunteers of all ages. About 15 people aged⁶ 60 to 85 were told to play NeuroRacer three times a week for an hour at a time. The other volunteers received different orders. Some did not play the game at all. Others played it without signs appearing on the screen.

After about a month, the researchers tested the volunteers. They looked at how well the study participants did when the game was just racing⁷ the car. They compared it to how the participants did when the second task of reading signs was added.

Adam Gazzaley was the lead investigator⁸. He says there was a striking improvement in multi-tasking ability among the adults who played three times a week.

“Before training, they had a 65 percent drop in performance when they do the two tasks versus⁹ one task. After training, they only have a 16 percent drop in performance. And that’s better than the 20 year-olds that had a performance drop in the 27 percent range.”

Adam Gazzaley says there was one especially striking finding. He says the volunteers’ strengthened brain power continued for six months. And he says it was useful in other mental areas, like attentiveness¹⁰ and memory.

“…like sustained attention, which is vigilance, ability to hold your attention to something that’s very boring and respond to it rapidly and accurately¹¹, that that improved selectively in this group. And also working memory, their ability to hold something in mind for a short period of time and then be able to respond to it rapidly and accurately…that also improved.”

The researcher says he would not urge senior citizens go buy any one video game currently selling in stores. But he says it is possible some target shooting games could help seniors in ways similar to NeuroRacer. And Mr. Gazzaley says his team is working on developing more video games for people suffering from depression and attention deficit¹² disorder³.

I’m Avi Arditti.

You are listening to As It Is from VOA Learning English. I’m Caty Weaver.

Seniors On Stage

Ching Fen¹³ Wang, 95, and her daughter at a Senior Center talent show in Los Angeles.

Song and dance might be another way to keep the brain and spirit in good shape. Just ask the senior citizens who recently competed at the 13th Annual Senior Talent Show.

Ninety-five-year-old Ching Fen Wang (Chin Fan Waung) waited months for this moment, her daughter says.

“She says that she is little bit nervous, but hopes everything turns out; but, in case something happens, just forgive me, she says. I do the best I can.”

The two women are sitting in a meeting room at a home for the aging in Los Angeles, California. They are waiting for a show to begin.

Ching Fen Wang is playing a love song on a traditional Chinese string instrument. Her family thinks her involvement with music is time well spent.

“Otherwise, if she has spare time, she will (say) ‘Oh! I’m hurt here, hurt there.’ So it kind of moves her mind to the healthy way.”

There are more than 30 performances in this year’s talent competition. The show is open to performers 55 and older who live in the Los Angeles area.

Former professional singers, dancers, comedians¹⁴ and musicians are in the show. Many of them traveled around the world when they were younger. Their performances include many different styles -- American blues¹⁵ music, opera and Broadway show tunes¹⁶.

Accordionist¹⁷ Oscar Rospide, a native of Argentina, has been performing for almost 70 years using music from Latin and European countries.

“I am very grateful for that competition, not for the reason that I am probably going to win money or something like that, but because it is a chance to share a little bit of music with the people.  I think that is one of the best languages in the world.”

The show’s creators say their main goal was the sharing of different cultures. Dolores Petersen is a judge in the competition. She says for many older people the Senior Talent Show is one of the best moments of their year.

“You can tell that they’ve been practicing. They love what they do and they want to expand on it and they want to share!”

Most of the performers say they do not care if they win or lose. They are just happy to share their talent and their cultural traditions and have some fun. 

And that’s As It Is for today. On As It Is tomorrow:

1 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

2 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

3 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

4 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 projection   

n.发射，计划，突出部分

参考例句：

• Projection takes place with a minimum of awareness or conscious control.投射在最少的知觉或意识控制下发生。
• The projection of increases in number of house-holds is correct.对户数增加的推算是正确的。

6 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

7 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

8 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

9 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

10 attentiveness   

[医]注意

参考例句：

• They all helped one another with humourous attentiveness. 他们带着近于滑稽的殷勤互相周旋。 来自辞典例句
• Is not attentiveness the nature of, even the function of, Conscious? 专注不正是大我意识的本质甚或活动吗？ 来自互联网

11 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

12 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

13 fen   

n.沼泽，沼池

参考例句：

• The willows over all the fen rippled and whitened like a field of wheat.沼泽上的柳树，随风一起一伏，泛出白光，就象一片麦田一样。
• There is a fen around each island.每个岛屿周围有一个沼泽。

14 comedians   

n.喜剧演员，丑角( comedian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The voice was rich, lordly, Harvardish, like all the boring radio comedians'imitations. 声音浑厚、威严，俨然是哈佛出身的气派，就跟无线电里所有的滑稽演员叫人已经听腻的模仿完全一样。 来自辞典例句
• He distracted them by joking and imitating movie and radio comedians. 他用开玩笑的方法或者模仿电影及广播中的滑稽演员来对付他们。 来自辞典例句

15 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

16 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 accordionist   

n.手风琴师

参考例句：