Question

What happens to our brains as we age is of crucial importance not just to science but to public policy. By 2030, for example, 72 million people in the US will be over 65, double the figure in 2000 and their average life expectancy will likely have edged above 20 years. However, this demographic time-bomb would be much less threatening if the elderly were looked upon as intelligent contributors to society rather than as dependants in long-term decline.

• A. The idea that we get dumber as we grow older is just a myth, according to brain research that will encourage anyone old enough to know better.
• B. It is time we rethink what we mean by the ageing mind before our false assumptions result in decisions and policies that marginalize the old or waste precious public resources to re-mediate problems that do not exist.
• C. Many of the assumptions scientists currently make about ‘cognitive decline’ are seriously flawed and, for the most part, formally invalid.
• D. Using computer models to simulate young and old brains, Ramscar and his colleagues found they could account for the decline in test scores simply by factoring in experience

Answer 1

The correct option is B It is time we rethink what we mean by the ageing mind before our false assumptions result in decisions and policies that marginalize the old or waste precious public resources to re-mediate problems that do not exist.

This paragraph discusses the growing ageing populace and need to identify how they can be contributors to the society. Choice (b) continues the line of thought about not wasting public resources based on existing assumptions about cognitive decline with age.
Choice (d) is also eliminated right away as it talks of a “decline in test scores”, the test not detailed here.
Choice (a) is incorrect as it doesn’t talk of the aged in the society, just lays down the basic premise that they are not on the path of mental decline. This would have been discussed before the paragraph we are trying to complete begins.
Choice (c) builds on the idea discussed by choice (a) and doesn’t fit as well as (b) to complete the paragraph.
Correct Answer: Choice (b)