文本导读
Pets can boost your brain power, study says
研究表明：宠物可以提高脑力
Having a long-term pet companion may delay memory loss and other kinds of cognitive decline, a new study has found. Pet ownership was especially beneficial for working verbal memory, such as memorization of word lists, according to the preliminary research.
一项新的研究发现，长期与宠物为伴可能会延缓记忆力减退及其他认知能力下降问题。根据初步研究，养宠物尤其对语言记忆有益，例如记忆单词列表。
"To our knowledge, our study is the first to consider the effect of duration of pet ownership on cognitive health," first author Jennifer, a sociology doctoral candidate and National Institute of Health predoctoral fellow at University of Florida, told CNN in an email.
第一作者詹妮弗在一封电子邮件中告诉 CNN，“据我们所知，我们的研究是首个考虑养宠物时间对人类认知健康影响的研究。”詹妮弗是佛罗里达大学社会学准博士兼国家卫生研究院的预备博士。
And it's not just cats and dogs that can boost the brain. People in the study also cared for rabbits, hamsters, birds, fish and reptiles, although "dogs were the most prevalent, followed by cats."
不只是猫和狗有利于增强脑力。参与者还养了兔子、仓鼠、鸟类、鱼和爬行动物，不过“狗最常见，其次是猫”。
重点词汇
1. boost /buːst/ to increase or improve something and make it more successful 促进
The new resort area has boosted tourism.
2. verbal /ˈvɜːbəl/ relating to words or using words 文字的；词语的
A verbal report will usually be enough.
3. preliminary /prɪˈlɪmənəri/ happening before something that is more important, often in order to prepare for it 初步的；预备的
The architect's plans are still in the preliminary stages.
4. reptile /ˈreptaɪl/ a type of animal, such as a snake or lizard, whose body temperature changes according to the temperature around it, and that usually lays eggs to have babies 爬行动物
Eventually, they were eclipsed by the reptiles and much reduced in numbers.
5. prevalent /ˈprevələnt/ common at a particular time, in a particular place, or among a particular group of people 盛行的；普遍存在的
Solvent abuse is especially prevalent among younger teenagers.
延伸阅读
Owning household pets for five years or more produced the most benefit, delaying cognitive decline by 1.2 points over the six-year period of the study compared with the rate of decline in people without pets, said clinical neuroimmunologist Dr. Tiffany Braley, an associate professor of neurology at the University of Michigan, via email.
临床神经免疫学家蒂凡尼·布雷利是密歇根大学神经病学副教授，在一封电子邮件中，他表示，家庭宠物养五年或更长时间产生的益处最大，在进行研究的六年时间里，与没有养宠物人的认知能力下降速度相比，养宠物人的认知能力下降延迟了 1.2 个百分点。
"These findings provide early evidence to suggest that long-term pet ownership could be protective against cognitive decline," said Braley, senior author of the study to be presented in April at the American Academy of Neurology's 74th Annual Meeting.
该研究的资深作者布雷利表示，“这些发现提供了早期证据，表明长期养宠物可以防止认知能力下降，”这项研究将于 4 月在美国神经病学学会第 74 届年会上发表。
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