Rae and Bruce Hostetler not only work very hard,they also relax just as well. Numerous vacations help the couple to maintain their health and emotional well-being-and it's no surprise to health care professionals. "Rest,relaxation, and stress reduction are very important for people's weLl-being and health. This can be accomplished through daily activities,such as exercise and meditation,but vacation is an important part of this as well," said primary care physician Natasha Withers from One Medical Group in New York. Withers lists a decreased risk of heart disease and improved reaction time as some of the benefits from taking some time off. "We also know that the mind is very powerful and can help with healing,so a rested,relaxed mind is able to help the body heal better," said Withers. Psychologists confirm the value of vacations for the mind. " The impact that taking a vacation has on one's mental health is great," said Francine Lederer,a clinical psychologist in Los Angeles who specializes in stress and relationship management. " Most people have better life perspective and are more motivated to achieve their goals after a vacation,even if it is a 24- hour time-out. " The trips could be good for their health,good for their family and good for their .businesses. The online travel agency Expedia conducted a survey about vacation time in 2010,and according to their data the average American eamed 18 vacation days-but only used 14 0f them. France topped the list,with the average worker earning 37 vacation days and using all but two of them. Americans' responses may not be surprising in a culture where long hours on the job often are valued,but that's not always good for the individual,the family or the employer. Psychologists have also found that people who don't take enough time to relax may find it harder to relax in the future. "Without time and opportunity to do this,the nerve connections that produce feelings of calm and peacefulness become weaker,making it actually more difficult to shift into... What is mainly talked about in the text? A) Ways to relax in one's free time. B) The benefits of taking time off, C) Different opinions on holidays. D) The Hostetlers always on the go.
B
(Question)
If you want to see climate change, head north and keep going until you run out of globe. That is easier said than done. The Arctic is home to few people and covered in ice much of the year. But those who make their way to the icy seas of the Arctic Ocean will see a part of the planet that is warming and changing faster than anywhere else. In September, scientists announced at the National Snow and Ice Data Center that Arctic summer sea ice had fallen to its second lowest level since 1979, and probably long before that. The Arctic has lost an area of ice greater than the area of all U.S. states east of the Mississippi River. And what ice remains appears to be getting thinner and weaker. Nick Toberg and Till Wagner are polar ice scientists who are doing sea ice fieldwork. "There is plenty of data to suggest that the ice is becoming thinner as well as smaller in area," they say. The changes happening in the Arctic are a warning for the entire world . As polar expert Walt Meier puts it, " _ Some scientists worry that Arctic sea ice may be going from a downward spiral to a "death spiral", one from which there is no escape. As more ice melts , more dark open water appears. The darkness absorbs more heat, which speeds up the pace of melting. Until recently, many scientists thought it might take until the end of the century for the North Pole to become completely ice free during the summer. Now some believe it could happen by 2030 or even earlier. "The melting is happening faster in the real world than it has in the models," says Nick Toberg. Nick Toberg may agree that _ . A) the ice in the North Pole will stop melting B) the ice in the North Pole is melting faster than expected C) the ice in the North Pole will melt before 2030 or even earlier D) the ice in the North Pole will not disappear until the end of the century
(Answer)
B
Cut out part of a healthy person's liver and transplant it into a sick person--it sounds like a complicated and dangerous operation , not to mention very expensive. But it is sometimes the only possible cure for a seriously ill patient with liver disease. Until now British scientists have just announced a new stem cell technique, which allows them to grow healthy liver cells outside human bodies. According to the researchers, it could be another five to ten years before the technique can actually be used to help patients with liver disease. However, they say the method might one day replace liver transplants altogether. The study was led by the University of Cambridge and the Welcome Trust Sanger Institute, a British genomics and genetics research institute. It was published in the journal nature on October 12,2011. The researchers took skin cells from a patient with a mutation in a gene called alphal-antitrypsin (a-l). This gene makes a protein that protects our bodies against inflammation . People with changed or damaged alphal-antitrypsin are not able to release the protein correctly from the liver, so the protein is trapped there and eventually leads to liver cirrhosis . Scientists then used an advanced technique to cut away the faulty section of DNA from a stem cell and replace it with a corrected one, according to the journal. The stem cells went on to produce fresh and healthy liver cells with normal protein levels. Scientists put the new liver cells into mice and found that they worked very well. Stem cells are the life source of all other cells in the body. They could transform medicine, providing treatment for blindness, spinal cord injuries and other serous injuries. They could also be used to produce new cells for damaged organs. David Lomas, a Cambridge biology professor who worked on the team, said: "If we can use a patient's own skins cells to produce liver cells that we can put back into the patient, we may prevent the future need for transplantation. " What is the best title of this passage? A) How to transplant liver for patients B) A new way to transplant livers for patients C) The difficulty in curing liver patients D) New life for liver patients
D