Hikosaburo Yasuda of Nakano, Japan, plans to buy an iPad to keep up with junior members in his computer club．"It's  important to always try new things, otherwise you get left behind," he says．  Yasuda is 95 years old．He and his colleagues, looking for easier ways to search the Web and send e-mail, represent a potential market for Apple （AAPL）'s iPad．The company has sold 3．27 million iPads since its launch in April,  but doesn't break down sales figures by customer age, making it impossible to know with certainty how many seniors are buying them．However, anecdotal evidence suggests it's a hit with the elderly．The iPad's intuitive interface （直观界面） makes it appealing to senior citizens around the world, says Takahiro Miura, a researcher at the University of Tokyo: "The iPad is a good tool for the elderly because it's very forgiving of mistakes．" Miura's team uses computers to help train senior citizens to rejoin the workforce．"Unlike the PC, it doesn't require previous knowledge," he says． James Cordwell, a technology analyst at Atlantic-Equities in London, says the iPad's popularity with the elderly is helping Apple reach beyond its traditional base of younger customer. “The world’s population, especially in developed markets, is getting older, and it’s probably a market where Apple has least entered,” Cordwell says. Elderly users are “a key source of growth for them in the future.” The elderly in Japan, who make up an estimated 22 percent of the population, may prove particularly receptive to the iPad. They spend more than any other group in the country except for those under 30, according to a report by Japan's Cabinet Office. Motoo Kitamura, 78, a former gas salesman, bought an iPad to help him communicate with his 2-year-old grandson and stave off dementia. "Trying new things like that is a good mental exercise," he says. 小题1:The underlined part “a hit” in Paragraph 2 may probably mean “ ”.
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