New findings suggest that brainy card games such as contract bridge may temporarily raise production of a key blood cell including in fighting off illness. After 90 minutes of play, bridge players had increased level of immune cell, according to research reported last week. A researcher, Diamond, studies bridge players from a woman's bridge club. She chose bridge players because the game includes skills stimulating a part of the brain called the dorsolateral cortex. Earlier animal research suggests that this part of the brain may play a role in the immune system. The findings are based on blood samples drawn from 12 women players. Their blood samples showed a rise in levels of white blood cells called T cells after they played bridge for 90 minutes. T cells are produced by the thymus gland and used by the immune system against diseases. The T cells count jumped significantly in eight of the bridge players, and slightly in the other four. The findings contribute to the field of neuroimmunology , whose name reflects the fact that the nervous system and the immune system are not considered separate and isolated systems. What isn't clear is whether the help to the immune system from an activity like contract bridge is lasting or temporary. It's also not clear whether the increase in T cells could finally be targeted against special illness. Playing bridge can help one to fight off diseases because it can _ . A) raise production of a key blood cell B) make people joyful C) aid digestion D) make break-away from the bad habits
A
The head of the World Health Organization (WTO) yesterday warned of worsening health in the country's vast rural areas while praising the government for its commitment on improving healthcare in the countryside. "The health indicators have failed to improve in pace with economic indicators." said Margared Chan when addressing a conference on rural primary healthcare in prefix = st1 /China. "The health gap between rural and urban areas has grown even wider and health in parts of rural China is deteriorating ,"she said, adding medical costs are rising faster than the growth of per capital income in rural areas. She said she appreciated the government's efforts and plans to build a medical system for all people. Saying "when fair and accessible public health services become the clear targets of a country's public health policy, people's health will improve." The WTO chief said she noticed that the tasks on improving people's well-being in the report by Party chief Hu Jintao at the 17thNational Congress of the Communist Party of China included a basic medical insurance system for urban dwellers and a cooperative medical care system in rural areas. She said recent WTO research has found that diseases are the source of poverty for 30 to 50 percent of the rural population of 737 million. A growing number of rural people, especially the aged, are suffering from various diseases; however, few have access to decent healthcare, she told the conference. Chan criticized the practice of allowing healthcare services to be commercialized in rural areas, warning it will cause the patients more suffering. The government has pledged to provide its population with basic medical care by 2020. It's expanding medical care through the Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme, a plan under which subscribers are provided with 50 yuan($6.4) per person--20 yuan ($2.6) each from the central and local governments and 10 yuan ($1.3) from the individual. Vice-Minister of Health Chen Xiaohong said nearly 85 percent of... What can we infer from the passage? A) Healthcare developed more slowly than economics. B) Economics developed more slowly than healthcare. C) The health indicators failed to improve economics. D) Healthcare improved as much as economics.
A
Q: Residents along Australia's east coast awoke in the morning to an orange sky as winds swept millions of tons of red dust from the country's inland and dumped it on Sydney. Tanya Ferguson,living in Sydney,saw that the room was completely orange.She thought there was a bush fire.But when she went outside,the entire city was covered in a film of orange dust. "It was like being in the outback ,but it was right here in the city,"she said On that day,a big dust storm swept through Sydney.It covered the city in orange dust for about eight hours,making landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge invisible. The storm affected the transportation system.Flights were delayed.Roads were busy as drivers struggled in the difficult conditions.Children and the elderly were told to stay indoors until the dust had cleared.Later strong winds blew it out to the sea and up the coast. No one was hurt in the storm,though health officials answered hundreds of calls from people with breathing difficulties.Emergency services responded to hundreds of calls about tree branches brought down by strong winds. Dust storms are common in the Australian outback,where the land is arid .But the storms rarely reach the coastal regions. Officials said it was the worst dust storm of the past 70 years.Air pollution levels were 15,500 micrograms of pollutants per cubic meter. "On a clear day the pollutants are around 10--20 micrograms per cubic meter,"said Chris Eiser of the NSW department of the environment. Experts said that dry conditions in the outback and strong winds caused the sandstorm. "Ten very dry years over inland southern Australia and very strong winds have combined to produce the storm,"said Nigel Tapper,an environmental scientist at Monash University, Australia. The article is about_. A) the causes of the major dust storm in Australian cities B) different reactions to a dust storm in Australia C) the damage caused by the big dust storm in Australia D) the worst dust storm in Australia in the past 70 years
A: D
Q: One of the greatest gifts one generation can give to other generations is the wisdom it has gained from experience. This idea has inspired the award-winning photographer Andrew Zuckerman. He interviewed and took photos of fifty over-sixty-five-year-olds all over the world. His project explores various aspects of their lives. The photos and interviews are now available on our website. Click on the introductions to read the complete interviews. Let us now have a culture of peace. ----Federico Mayor Zaragoza, Spain Federico Mayor Zaragoza obtained a doctorate in pharmacy from the Complutense University of Madrid in 1958. After many years spent in politics, he became Director-General of UNESCO in 1987. In 1999, he created the Foundation for a culture of Peace, of which he is now the president. In addition to many scientific publications, he has published four collections of poems and several books of essays. Writing is a discovery. ----Nadine Gordimer, South Africa Due to a weak heart, Nadine Gordimer attended school and university briefly. She read widely and began writing at an early age. She published her first short story at the age of fifteen, and has completed a large number of works, which have been translated into forty languages. In 1991, Gordimer won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Jazz is about the only form of art today. ----Dave Brubeck, USA Dave Brubeck studied music at the University of the Pacific and graduated in 1942. After World War Two he was encouraged to play jazz. In 1951, he recorded his first album . Brubeck's 1959 album has become a jazz standard. He received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996. For more figures CLICK HERE. What is the main purpose of this web page? A) To show Zuckerman's awards. B) To publicize Zuckerman's project. C) To celebrate the achievements of the three people. D) To spread the wisdom of the three people.
A: B