Going to Tai Chi classes for 12 weeks greatly reduced symptoms of depression. The meditative practice, which has been used for more than 1,000 years, combines deep breathing and slow and gentle movements.
Fifty volunteer Chinese-American participants were accepted to take part in the study. They all had depression and were not receiving any other forms of treatment then. They were placed at random in three groups. The first took part in Tai Chi, the second received educational treatment and the third was the control group. Those given Tai Chi were taught basic traditional movements and practiced three times a week. All 17 volunteers in Tai Chi reported obviously greater improvement in depression symptoms than the other two groups.
Follow-up assessment after six months showed continuing improvement, the report published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry states. Lead author Professor Albert Yeung said if the findings are confirmed in other trials, it could be used as a primary treatment. He added, “Finding Tai Chi can be effective is particularly important because many adults of Chinese-American ethnicity decide not to seek help with depression and tend to avoid conventional psychiatric treatment and Tai Chi is culturally accepted by this group of patients.”
Previous research has shown Tai Chi makes the brain bigger and improves memory and thinking — possibly postponing the onset of dementia (痴呆症). Tai Chi has also been linked with reducing high blood pressure and relieving symptoms of cancer, heart failure and other diseases.
【小题1】What can we learn about the research participants from Paragraph 2?| A．They were suffering depression at the time. |
| B．They were all fond of practicing Tai Chi. |
| C．They were from China and America. |
| D．They were mostly adults. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Unknown. | C．Negative. | D．Positive. |
| A．Cure. | B．Outbreak. | C．Test. | D．Change. |
| A．Americans with depression avoid seeking help. |
| B．Depression will make the brain bigger. |
| C．Tai Chi can help treat some diseases. |
| D．Fewer people have depression now. |
