Even though we are living in an age where growing old is thought of as an inevitable misery, this doctor has been changing the game for seniors over the last 25 years.

        It all started in 1991 when the Harvard-educated physician was transferred from working in a stressful emergency room to being the medical director of a nursing home in upstate New York. The depressing and regimented (严格管制的) environment got him thinking on what exactly could improve the residents’ conditions.

        Even though animals in nursing homes were illegal at the time, Dr. Bill Thomas took a chance. Based on a hunch (直觉), he brought in two dogs, four cats, hens, rabbits, 100 birds, a multitude of plants, a flower garden, and a vegetable patch.

        The change was dramatic. There was a 50% drop in medical prescriptions along with a dramatic decrease in death rates—but most importantly, the residents were simply happier.

        Dr. Thomas’s approach, named the Eden Alternative, has driven nursing homes to allow a more autonomous (自主的) and creative living space for their elderly. It erases the belief that growing old means growing useless. He encourages residents to think of their age as an enriching new phase of life rather than the end of it.

        Thomas, now a speaker and author of several books, also created small, independently-run residences with their own bedrooms and bathrooms, and he has been preaching a singular message that getting old is not a bad thing.

        “Within six weeks, they had to send a truck around to pick up all the wheelchairs,” Thomas told the Washington Post. “You know why most people in nursing homes use wheelchairs? Because the buildings are so big.”

        The 56-year-old doctor’s methods have been adopted in Australia, Japan, Canada, and America with enormous success. Last year he published Second Wind: Navigating the Passage to a Slower, Deeper, and More Connected Life, a guide on how to shift our perspectives on aging and growth.

        He is currently traveling through North America performing with his guitar and his enthusiasm on his Age of Disruption Tour.

解析：A。根据题干中的try something different和in the nursing home可定位至原文第二、三、四段。第二段结尾提到，养老院里压抑的环境让托马斯医生开始思考如何才能改善入院老人的生活条件。第三段提到他开始尝试在养老院里养动物和植物，第四段提到，这样做使得老人们更快乐了。由此可知，托马斯这样做的目的是为了改变以往养老院里的压抑气氛，让老人们过得更愉快，故正确答案为A。

错项排除：原文中只提到托马斯医生毕业于哈佛大学，但没有说他在养老院里所做的是在应用自己在哈佛受到的训练，故排除B项。C项在原文中无依据，故排除。原文中虽然提到了养老院的环境很压抑，但并没有说他因此而感到失望，故排除D项。