Ever traipsed to the shops only to find once there you’ve completely forgotten what you went for? Or struggled to remember the name of an old acquaintance? For years we’ve accepted that a scatty brain is as much a part of ageing as wrinkles and grey hair. But now a new book suggests we’ve got it all wrong。

走到商店却忘记要买什么了？老熟人的名字怎么都想不起来？数年来我们以为脑功能下降和皱纹丛生、头发花白一样，是人类老去现象的组成部分，然而日前一部新书告诉我们一切都不是那么回事。

According to the Secret Life of the Grown-up Brain, by science writer Barbara Strauch, when it comes to the important stuff, our brains actually get better with age. In fact, she argues that a raft of new studies have found that our brain hits its peak between our 40s and 60s – much later than previously thought。