Patients and doctors alike have long believed in the healing power of humor.It is claimed that humor not only affects patients' moods, but can actually help them recover faster. Several studies seem to support this.Patients in better spirits are known to have higher immune cell counts.Some have even claimed to have healed themselves of serious illnesses by reading comics and watching comedies. Despite all this, many researchers are not convinced.They point out the fact that many sufferings have been known to disappear naturally, with or without a daily dose of laughter.They also say that while optimism in general does seem to be related to better health, it is hard to tell which comes first. Humor in times of stress, however, clearly makes us feel better.On one level, it takes our minds off our troubles and relaxes us.On another, it releases powerful endorphins, a chemical produced by your body that reduces pain. There are cases where the appreciation of a good joke is indeed directly related to a person's health.It can show, for example, whether a person has suffered damage to one particular area of the brain: the right frontal lobe . Scientists confirmed this by having people read jokes and asking them to choose the funniest endings from a list.Subjects with normal brains usually chose endings that were based on a relatively complex synthesis of ideas.Subjects with specifically located brain damage, however, responded only to slapstick endings, which did not depend on a particular context.When pressed, the brain-damaged subjects saw the logic in the correct endings.They simply did not find them funny. Of course, humor is largely an individual matter.Next time your friend does not get one of your jokes, there is no need to accuse him of being a lamebrain.However, you might suggest that he lighten up--for the health of it. Scientists had some people read jokes and asked them to choose the funniest endings from a list to confirm that _ . A) the brain-damaged people are different from those with normal brains B) a person with a normal brain usually responds to slapstick endings C) a person suffering certain brain damage doesn't appreciate a good joke D) humor takes our minds off our troubles by releasing powerful endorphins
C
(Question)
Water is the "life blood" of our earth. It is in every living thing. It is in the air. It runs through mountains and valleys. It forms lakes and oceans. Water is everywhere. Nature has a great water system. Rain water finds its way to streams and the oceans. Here at the mouth of a river there is much important plant and animal life. Pollution destroys this life, so we have to clean out streams and rivers. Man has to work with nature--not against it. The mouth of the river is near _ . A) a stream B) the ocean C) the mountains D) valleys
(Answer)
B
Ques: Medical drugs sometimes cause more damage than they cure. One solution to this problem is to put the drugs inside a capsule, protecting them from the body--and the body from them--until they can be released at just the right spot. There are lots of ways to trigger this release, including changing temperature, acidity, and so on. But triggers can come with their own risks--burns, for example. Now, researchers in California have designed what could be a harmless trigger to date: shining near-infrared light (NIR, ) on the drug in the capsule. The idea of using light to liberate the drug in the capsule isn't new. Researchers around the globe have developed polymers and other materials that begin to break down when they absorb either ultraviolet (UV, ) or visible light. But tissues also readily absorb UV and visible light, which means the drug release can be triggered only near the skin, where the light can reach the capsule. NIR light largely passes through tissues, so researchers have tried to use it as a trigger. But few compounds absorb NIR well and go through chemical changes. That changed last year when Adah Almutairi, a chemist at the University of California, San Diego, reported that she and her colleagues had designed a polymer that breaks down when it absorbs NIR light. Their polymer used a commercially available NIR-absorbing group called o-nitrobenzyl (ONB). When they catch the light, ONB groups fall off the polymer, leading to its breakdown. But ONB is only a so-so NIR absorber, and it could be poisonous to cells when it separates from the polymer. So Almutairi and her colleagues reported creating a new material for capsules that's even better.This one consists of a long chain of compounds called cresol groups linked in a polymer. Cresol contains reactive components that make it highly unstable in its polymeric form, a feature Almutairi and her colleagues use to their advantage. After polymerizing the cresols, they cap each reactive component with a light-absorbing compound called Bhc. When the... Which word can be used to complete the following process of changes? A) protected B) formed C) exposed D) combined
Ans: C
Ques: The koala is one of Australia's most treasured creatures, which is a lovely little creature. But now, it is in big trouble. Affected by habitat loss and climate change, like many other uniquely Australian animals, koalas are being squeezed into smaller regions. But at present, it is a deadly disease, a somewhat silent killer that causes a further decline in the koala population, that is worrying many scientists about the fate of the koala. The killer is Chlamydia, which has caused symptoms in up to 50 percent of the wild koalas, with probably even more infected but not showing symptoms. It has been particularly severe in Queensland, where nearly all koalas are infected. The disease causes many symptoms including eye infections, which can lead to blindness, making it difficult for them to find their primary food. Treating Chlamydia in wild koalas is a challenge. There is no treatment available for _ . Only a small percentage of the animals can be treated successfully and returned to the wild. Besides, there is no national plan in Australia to save the koala;it is up to each region to make management plans for its koala population. The good news is that researchers are working to test a vaccine that would help prevent further spread. If all goes well, plans can be carried out to distribute the vaccil1e more widely. But it's impossible to vaccinate all wild koalas. Another possibility would be to make vaccine distribution a routi11e part of treatment for the thousands of koalas brought into care centers every year after they are injured by cars or dogs. While it is a combination of problems that are affecting the wild koala population, many experts believe this vaccine would be an important step in helping koalas survive longer. It may buy enough time to give researchers a chance to solve some of the other problems facing Australia's koalas. It can be inferred from the text that _ . A) a national plan for saving koalas will be made soon in Australia B) koala population is declining only in a few regions C) researchers need enough time to so1ve the koala problems D) experts have lost the best chance to save the infected koalas
Ans:
C