Many of us believe that a person's mind becomes less active as he grows older. But this is not true, according to Dr. Jarvik, professor of psychiatry (精神病学) at the University of California. She has studied the mental functioning of aging persons for several years. For example, one of her studies concerns 136 pairs of identical twins (孪生儿), who were first examined when they were already 60 years old. As Dr. Jarvik continued the study of the twins into their 70s and 80s, their minds did not generally decline as was expected.

However, there was some decline in their psycho-motor speed. This means that it took them longer to accomplish mental tasks than it used to. But when speed was not a factor, they lost very little intellectual ability over the years. In general, Dr. Jarvik's studies have shown that there is no decline in knowledge or reasoning ability. This is true not only with those in their 30s and 40s, but with those in their 60s and 70s as well.

It is true older people themselves often complain that their memory is not as good as it once was. However, much of what we call "loss of memory" is not that at all. There was usually incomplete learning in the first place. For example, the older person perhaps had trouble hearing, or poor vision, or inattention, or was trying to learn the new thing at too fast a pace. In the cases where the older person's mind really seems to become less active, it is not necessarily a sign of becoming less active due to old age. Often it is simply a sign of a depressed emotional (压抑 感情) state.

any of us believe that a person's mind becomes less active as he grows older. But this is not true, according to Dr. Jarvik, professor of psychiatry (精神病学) at the University of California. She has studied the mental functioning of aging persons for several years. For example, one of her studies concerns 136 pairs of identical twins (孪生儿), who were first examined when they were already 60 years old. As Dr. Jarvik continued the study of the twins into their 70s and 80s, their minds did not generally decline as was expected.
我们中有许多人认为，随着一个人年龄的增长，他的思维会变得越来越不活跃。但根据加利福尼亚州大学精神病学教授贾维克博士的观点，情况并非如此。她已对上了年纪的人的思维机能作了几年的研究。例如，她的一项研究是以１３６对同卵双胞胎作为对象的。在他们６０岁时她对他们作了第一次检查。当贾维克博士继续对这些双胞胎进行研究时，发现在七、八十岁时，他们的思维机能一般都没有像预料的那样下降。
However, there was some decline in their psycho-motor speed. This means that it took them longer to accomplish mental tasks than it used to. But when speed was not a factor, they lost very little intellectual ability over the years. In general, Dr. Jarvik's studies have shown that there is no decline in knowledge or reasoning ability. This is true not only with those in their 30s and 40s, but with those in their 60s and 70s as well.
然而，他们的精神性运动速度确有所下降。这是说，与以前相比，他们要花费更长的时间才能完成一项思维活动。但如果排除速度因素，他们在那此年中几乎没有丧失智力。总得来说，贾维克博士的研究成果表明，知识或推理能力并不会随年龄的增长而降低。不仅三、四十岁的人如此，六、七十岁的人同样如此。
It is true older people themselves often complain that their memory is not as good as it once was. However, much of what we call "loss of memory" is not that at all. There was usually incomplete learning in the first place. For example, the older person perhaps had trouble hearing, or poor vision, or inattention, or was trying to learn the new thing at too fast a pace. In the cases where the older person's mind really seems to become less active, it is not necessarily a sign of becoming less active due to old age. Often it is simply a sign of a depressed emotional (压抑 感情) state.
老龄人经常抱怨他们的记忆力不如从前，事实也正如他们所说那样。然而，在很大程度上讲，我们所说的“记忆丧失”根本不是他们所说的那种情况。（我们所说的“记忆丧失”）首先通常是（因为）存在着不完善的学习（造成的）。例如，老人或许存在听力障碍、视力下降和注意力难集中或者他们试图以过快的速度来学会新东西（这样一些问题）。在某些情况下，老人的思维确实显得不如从前那么活跃了，但这不一定就是因年老而思维变得不活跃的标志。这通常只不过是感情处于压抑状态的标志罢了。