People who grow up left-handed have a different, more flexible brain structure than those born to take life by the right hand, say researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles.
The reason is that right-handers have genes that force their brains into a slightly more one-sided structure, according to the research. Left-handers appear to be missing those genes.
"There really is a difference in brains that results in a more symmetric (对称的) brain in left-handers, where the two sides are more equal," said Daniel Geschwind, who led the research team.
In the effort to understand how the brain shapes the mind, researchers have been trying to document the way genes and environment affect intelligence and mental abilities. They found that right-and left-handedness is determined by genetics. If a person has the gene for right-handedness, that person will be right-handed. People who do not have that gene, however, can be either left- or right-handed. There is no specific gene for left-handedness.
Right-handers typically have a larger left brain, where their language abilities are concentrated. Conversely, left-handers have more balanced brains. The language abilities of left-handers more often, are concentrated on the right side.
The UCLA researchers conducted brain scans on 72 pairs of male identical (同卵双生的) twins between 75 and 85 years old. They noticed that if identical twins carry the gene for hand preference, both must be right-handed. If they lack the gene, one twin can develop right-handed while the other can develop left- handed.
The researchers found that the brains of identical right-handed twins were very similar in size and structure. But when a left-hander was part of the twin set, the brains were different. The conclusion, researchers said, is that the absence of the gene for hand preference allows the brain to develop differently as the individual grows up.
1.What is the finding of the researchers of UCLA?
A.Left-handers have more balanced brains. B.Right-handers have more flexible brains.
C.Left-handers' brains are more one- sided. D.Right-handers' brains are more symmetric.
2.Which element determines a person's hand preference?
A.Environment. B.Intelligence.
C.Habit. D.Gene.
3.What can be said about identical twins?
A.They always have similar brain structure.
B.They never carry the gene for hand preference.
C.They have different genes for hand preference.
D.They can have different hand preference.
4.What did the UCLA team research on?
A.People's genetic makeup. B.People's hand preference.
C.People's brain sizes. D.People's communicative skills.
Pang Hui placed a few more pairs of chopsticks on the table for a family dinner, though she did not expect her big family of seven would use them as serving chopsticks.
Surprisingly, her 75-year-old father, who used to shrug off the idea of serving chopsticks, became a firm supporter this time, said Pang, 40, from Beihai, a coastal city of South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Chinese people often share dishes, and diners use their own chopsticks to serve themselves food from the shared dishes, a tradition now being challenged by the outbreak of novel coronavirus.
“We feel a sense of crisis as well as the urge to desert our old habits when we see reports of family infections,” Pang said; pointing to the reports of the virus spreading via droplets (飞沫) and close contact.
Local governments are helping to encourage a shift, too. On Feb 10, local authorities of Beihai started a campaign promoting serving chopsticks and spoons, which will avoid cross-infections caused by the use of personal chopsticks.
Similar measures were also adopted in other cities like BeiJing, Shanghai and Hangzhou. Taizhou city in east China's Jiangsu Province even standardized the colours of serving chopsticks and spoons to help diners differentiate (区分) them from personal ones.
The government is also targeting the practice of eating wild animals, which remains present in certain areas.
China stopped the illegal trading and transportation of wild animals shortly after the outbreak.
The move became a permanent ban on Feb 24, when the country made a decision on thoroughly prohibiting (禁止) the illegal trading of wildlife and the consumption of wild animals.
Li Bo, with the Hainan International Center for Wildlife' Protection, said wild animal consumption could lead to the faster extinction of particular species, damage the ecological balance and harm people's health.
“The epidemic (流行病) could become a turning point to eliminate the bad habit,” Li said.
1.What can we learn about Pang Hui’s family from the text?
A.Usually more than seven people dine together.
B.They have started to use serving chopsticks at table.
C.Pang Hui’s father opposes using serving chopsticks.
D.They don't know how to avoid being infected by the virus.
2.According to the text, what has been done by the government?
A.Sharing dishes has been abandoned.
B.Cross-infections have been prevented.
C.Eating wild animals has been forbidden.
D.Standard personal chopsticks have been adopted.
3.What does the underlined word "eliminate" in the last paragraph probably mean?
A.Explain. B.Discover.
C.Form. D.Remove.
4.What can be the best title for the text?
A.Serving Chopsticks Promoted B.Ways to Help People Stay Healthy
C.Corona virus Leads to Change D.China Bans Trading of Wildlife
Over the years, the small Vermilion Heritage Museum in Alberta, Canada, tried everything in its power to unlock an old safe (保险箱) in its basement: The museum hired blacksmiths, called the manufacturer, contacted former employees and challenged visitors to play around with the safe but nobody had any success.
Until last month, when a visitor to Vermilion cracked the code (密码) on his first try, much to the astonishment of everyone present.
Stephen Mills, from Fort McMurray, Alberta, was on a family camping trip with his wife and his two children. After giving the Mills' family a tour of the whole building, the museum volunteer showed them the objects in the basement, including the mysterious safe.
It originally had belonged to the town's Brunswick Hotel which opened in the early 1900s. When the hotel shut down in the late 1970s, the safe was locked: —and so it had remained.
“It was like a time capsule, nobody had any idea of what was in there,” said Mills.
Like other visitors, Mills was offered the chance to take a crack at opening it.
“Just like you see in the movies,” he said, “I looked at the dial and I saw the numbers were running from 0 to 60. So I thought in my head 20-40-60. I did a particular combination which is three on the right, two on the left, and one on the right, tried the handle … and it opened!””
“It was a 100% guess.” he said. “I was fully amazed. I stepped back a lttle bit and thought,
“I'm buying a lottery ticket tonight!””
The contents of the safe proved a little disappointing.
“Unfortunately, there wasn't what we thought was there,” Mills said. “Some papers, old checks, a waitress' notebook, and a receipt from the hotel. That's it.”
Nonetheless, Mills said everyone was excited about the lucky guess. “My children kept screaming “We beat the code! We beat the code!” he said.
1.Who unlocked the mysterious safe?
A.A visitor. B.A volunteer.
C.A blacksmith. D.An employee.
2.How did Mills unlock the old safe?
A.After several attempts. B.Through accurate calculations.
C.By a random guess. D.With professional guidance.
3.What did Mills think of the contents of the safe?
A.Exciting. B.Unexpected.
C.Impressive. D.Valuable.
ARCTIC CIRCLE & NORTHERN LIGHTS TOUR
HIGHLIGHTS
Experience the Arctic Circle and amazing northern lights with us.
Cover a total of 400 miles in this 14-hour expedition.
Cross the broad Yukon River.
En-route, enjoy breathtaking views of Alaska, USA.
You may see moose, lynxes and foxes in their natural habitat.
ATTENTION: The Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) is a natural phenomenon and can not be guaranteed. There is no refund (退款) if the Aurora Borealis does not appear.
PICKUP TIME
12:15 pm — 1:00 pm.
MEETING POINT
Your hotel in Fairbanks.
WHAT TO EXPECT
1:00 pm — Departure from Fairbanks.
Trans-Alaska-Pipeline. — Get a close-up view of the famous pipeline and learn interesting facts about the engineering and building period.
Arctic Circle — Have your picture taken at the Arctic Circle and receive your Arctic Circle Certificate.
Yukon River — Walk right to the edge of Alaska's most famous river.
3:00 pm — Arrival at your hotel in Fairbanks.
On the return journey to Fairbanks we pass many sites, which are perfect: for possible northern lights viewing.
We provide ham (or veggie) sandwich, chips, sweets, two bottles of water and hot drinks. Please feel free to bring extra food.
CANCELLATION POLICY
Cancellations 30 days ahead of tour date are subject to 5% banking charge.
Cancellations within 30 days are non-refundable.
IMPORTANT
A minimum of 2 people is required for online booking. Single travelers and short notice reservations (within 7 days of tour date) always' have to contact us for availability at info@1stAlaskaTours.com or 907-590-5900.
1.Which service does the tour include?
A.Free airport pickup. B.A 14-hour group tour.
C.Three quick meals. D.Photo taking and printing.
2.What can guests surely do on the tour?
A.See some wild animals. B.Enjoy amazing northern lights.
C.Get an Arctic Circle Certificate. D.Go through the Trans-Alaska-Pipeline.
3.Which of the following cases is refundable?
A.Not seeing northern lights. B.Not crossing the Yukon River.
C.Booking within 7 days of tour date. D.Cancelling a month before tour date.
4.Where can the text probably be found?
A.On a tour homepage. B.On a science website.
C.In a photography journal. D.In a geography textbook.
假定你是李华，你最近读了一篇主题为"The True Meaning of Happiness"的文章。请给你的英国朋友Jack发一封邮件，与他分享你对快乐的理解，内容包括：
1.快乐的真正意义；
2.获得快乐的途径。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯
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假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有 10处语言错误,每句中最多有两处;每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加:在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧),并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除:把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉。
修改:在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意:1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
I have been learning English in for several years. Sometimes you communicate with foreign teachers to improve speaking skills. English helps me talked with people from difference countries. With my English ability, I can watch English film. I always want to understand how the journalists are saying, because my great interest in watching baseball games. To total understand the baseball game, I always replay the videos and try to find out more details . Not only do I admire the amazed skills of my favourite players, but also I learn much knowledge. As for me, English has been an useful tool in my daily life.
