The value of walking

 THE VALUE OF WALKING 

New research reveals that walking just 9,5 kilometers (six miles) a week may make your brain sharper as you get older. Research published in the October 13 online issue of Neurology suggests that walking may protect aging brains from growing smaller and, in (1) _______, preserve memory in old age. ‘Brain size shrinks in late adulthood, which can (2) _______ memory problems,' study author Kirk Erickson of the University of Pittsburgh said in a news release. ‘Our findings should encourage further well-designed scientific (3) _______ of physical exercise in older adults as a very (4) _______approach for preventing dementia and Alzheimer's disease.’ For the study, the team asked 299 dementia-free seniors to record the (5) _______ they walked each week. Four years later, the participants were tested to see if they had developed (6) _______ of dementia. Then after nine years had passed, scientists (7) _______ the participants’ brains to measure size. At the four-year test, researchers discovered subjects who walked the most had (8) _______ their risk of developing memory problems by 50 per cent. At the nine year checkpoint, those who walked at least 9.5 kilometers a week, had brains with a larger (9)_______than those who didn't walk as much. This is not the first study to (10) _______ the benefits of walking in seniors. For example, last spring, Harvard University found that women who walked regularly at a brisk pace had an almost 40 per cent lower risk of stroke. 

1. A. result         B. turn           C. sequence       D. case 

2. A. account     B. lead           C. set                 D. cause 

3. A. trials         B. attempts     C. searches       D. courses 

4. A. indicative     B. promising   C. fortunate    D. ideal 

5. A. distance     B. length     C. duration     D. extent 

6. A. signals     B. factors     C. signs     D. features 

7. A. skimmed     B. scanned     C. screened D. sounded 

8. A. depressed     B. declined     C. reduced D. dropped 

9. A. volume     B. amount     C. dimension D. quantity 

10. A. advertise     B. promote     C. respect D. admire