It is thought that crying is hardly an activity encouraged by society. Tear, whether they are of sorrow, anger, or joy, typically make Americans feel uncomfortable and embarrassed. The shedder of tears is likely to apologize, even when a great tragedy was the cause. The observer of tears is likely to do everything possible to put an end to the emotional tears. But judging from recent studies of crying behavior, _ to tears are often inappropriate and may even be counterproductive . Humans are the only animals clearly known to shed emotional tears. Since evolution has given rise to few purposeless physiological responses, it is logical to assume that crying has one or more functions that enhance (increase) survival. Although some observers have suggested that crying is a way to ask for assistance form others (as a crying baby might from its mother), the shedding of tears is hardly necessary to get help. Vocal cries would have been quite enough, more likely than tears to gain attention. So, it appears, there must be something special about tears themselves. Indeed, the new studies suggest that emotional tears may play a direct role in alleviating stress, University of Minnesota researchers who are studying the chemical composition of tears have recently isolated two important chemicals from emotional tears. Both chemicals are found only in tears that are shed in response to emotion. Tears shed because of exposure to cut onion would contain no such substance. Other researchers are investigating the usefulness of tears as a means of diagnosing human ills and monitoring drugs. At Tulane University's Teat Analysis Laboratory Dr. Peter Kastl and his colleagues report that they can use tears to detect drug abuse, to study the causes of "dry eye" syndrome and the effects of eye surgery, and perhaps even to measure exposure to environmental pollutants. From the passage we can infer that _ . A) it is unnatural for people to shed tears B) we can reduce our stress by shedding tears C) shedders of tears can't get help by crying loudly D) unlike animals, humans can shed tears for survival
A
(Question)
The latest beliefs are that the main purposes of sleep are to enable the body to rest, allowing time for repairs to take place and for tissue to be regenerated . Lack of sleep, however, can compromise the immune system, cause depression and promote anxiety. For many people, lack of sleep is rarely anything of choice. Some have problems getting to sleep, others with staying asleep until the morning. Despite popular belief that sleep is one long event, research shows that, in an average night, there are five stages of sleep. In the first light stage, the heart rate and blood pressure go down and the muscles relax. In the next two stages, sleep gets progressively deeper. In stage four, usually reached after an hour, the slumber is so deep that, if awoken, the sleeper would be confused and disorientated. It is in this state that sleep-walking can occur, lasting no more than 15 minutes. In the fifth stage, the rapid eye movement (REM) stage, the eyes move constantly beneath closed lids as if the sleeper is looking at something. During this stage, the body is almost paralysed . This REM stage is also the time when we dream.[:Z#xx#k.Com] Sleeping patterns change with age. One theory for the age-related change is that it is due to hormonal changes. The temperature rise occurs at daybreak in the young, but at three or four in the morning in the elderly. Age aside, it is estimated that roughly one in three people suffer some kind of sleep disturbance. Causes can be anything from pregnancy, smoking, and stress to alcohol and heart disease. Apart from self-help therapy such as regular exercise, there are psychological treatments, including relaxation training and therapy aimed at getting rid of pre-sleep worries and anxieties. Medication is regarded by many as a last option and often takes the form of sleeping pills. What's the best title of this passage? A) Lack of Sleep B) Change of Sleep C) Patterns of Sleep D) Benefits of Sleep
(Answer)
A
Ques: The idea of being able to walk on water has long interested humans greatly. Sadly, biological facts prevent us ever accomplishing such a thing without artificial aid--we simply weigh too much, and all our mass pushes down through our relatively small feet, resulting in a lot of pressure that makes us sink. However, several types of animals can walk on water. One of the most interesting is the common basilisk. Basilicus, a lizard native to Central and South America. It can run across water for a distance of several meters, avoiding getting wet by rapidly hitting the water's surface with its feet. The lizard will take as many as 20 steps per second to keep moving forward. For humans to do this, we'd need huge feet that we could bring up to our ears in order to create adequate "hitting. " But fortunately there is an alternative: cornflour. By adding enough of this common thickening agent to water (and it does take a lot), you can create a "non-Newtonian" liquid that doesn't behave like normal water. Now, if the surface of the water is hit hard enough, particles in the water group together for a moment to make the surface hard. Move quickly enough and put enough force into each step, and you really can walk across the surface of an adequately thick liquid of cornflour. Fun though all this may sound, it's still rather messy and better read about in theory than carried out in practice, if you must do it, then keep the water wings handy in case you start to sink--and take a shower afterward! What do we know about Basilicus from the passage? A) It is light enough to walk on water. B) Its huge feet enable it to stay above water. C) It can run across water at a certain speed. D) Its unique skin keeps it from getting wet in water
Ans: C
Ques: When I lived in Spain,some Spanish friends of mine decided to visit England by car,before they left,they asked me about how to find accommodation .I suggested that they should stay at "bed and breakfast" houses,because this kind of accommodation gives a foreign visitor a good chance to speak English with the family.My friends listened to my advice,but they came back with some funny stories. "We didn't stay at bed and breakfast houses,"they said."Because we found that most families were away on holiday." I thought this was strange.Finally I understood what had happened My friends spoke little English,and they thought "VACANCIES" meant "holidays" because Spanish word for "holiday" is "vacaciones".So they did not go to houses where the sign outside said "VACANCIES",which in English meant there are free rooms.Then my friends went to houses where the sign said "NO VACANCIES",because they thought this meant the people who owned the house were not away on holiday.But they found that these houses were all full.As a result,they stayed at hotels! We laughed about this and about mistakes my friends made in reading other signs.In Spanish,a word very similar to "DIVERSION" means fun.In English it means that workman is repairing the road,and that you must take a different road when my friends saw the word "DIVERSION" on a road sign,they thought they were going to have fun.Instead, the road ended in a large hole. English people have problems too when they learn foreign languages.Once in Paris,when someone offered me some more coffee,I said "Thank you" in French.I meant that I would like some more.However,to my surprise the coffee pot was taken away! Later I found out that "Thank you" in French means "No,thank you". My Spanish friends wanted advice about _ . A) learning English B) finding places to stay in England C) driving their car on English roads D) going to England by car
Ans:
B