Fear may be in the heart as well as in the head, according to a study that has found a link between the cycles of a beating heart and the chance of someone feeling fear.
Tests on healthy volunteers found that they were more likely to feel a sense of fear at the moment when their hearts are contracting (收缩) and pumping blood around their bodies, compared with the point when the heartbeat is relaxed. Scientists say the results suggest that the heart is able to influence how the brain reacts to a fearful event, depending on which point it is at in its regular cycle of contraction and relaxation.
Sarah Garfinkel at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School said: "Our study shows for the first time that the way in which we deal with fear is different depending on when we see fearful pictures in relation to our heart."
The study tested 20 healthy volunteers on their reactions to fear as they were shown pictures of fearful faces. Dr. Garfinkel said, "The study showed that fearful faces are better noticed when the heart is pumping than when it is relaxed. Thus our hearts can also affect what we see and what we don't see-and guide whether we see fear."
To further understand this relationship, the scientists also used a brain scanner (扫描仪) to show how the brain influences the way the heart changes a person's feeling of fear.
"We have found an important mechanism by which the heart and brain 'speak' to each other to change our feelings and reduce fear, "Dr. Garfinkel said.
"We hope that by increasing our understanding about how fear is dealt with and ways that it could be reduced, we may be able to develop more successful treatments for anxiety (焦虑) disorders, and also for those who may be suffering from serious stress disorder."
1.What is the finding of the study?
A.One's heart influences how he feels fear.
B.Fear is a result of one's heartbeat.
C.Fear can't be felt because of one's relaxed heartbeat.
D.One's fast heartbeats are likely to cause fear.
2.The study was carried out by studying________.
A.volunteers' heartbeats when they saw terrible pictures
B.the time volunteers saw fearful pictures and their health conditions
C.volunteers' reactions to horrible pictures and results from their brain scans
D.different pictures shown to volunteers and their heartbrain communication
3.Which of the following is closest in meaning to "mechanism" in Paragraph 6?
A.Order. B.System. C.Machine. D.Treatment.
4.This study may contribute to________.
A.treating anxiety and stress better
B.explaining the cycle of fear and anxiety
C.finding the key to the heartbrain communication
D.understanding different fears in our hearts and heads
Alone in the wilderness. Nothing but jungle. A word of shadow with the rays of light falling like blonde hair from the crowns of the giant trees. Jungle in the middy sun. Everything motionless. Not a sound from sky or earth. Complete silence. Only some coconuts falling, very far away. The world reduced to the soft touch of cool grass along my naked back, and a sweet smell of rich soil and vegetation. Lying with closed eyes beside my heavy fruit and firewood, I enjoyed the feeling of fresh blood streaming through every part of my body and fresh jungle air filling every corner of my body.
Resting motionless, I could see the sun through my closed eyelids, alone in the sky, as lonely as I, and as motionless and silent as everything else. The earth had surely stopped turning and somewhere on this planet there was supposed to be noisy traffic in busy streets. What a crazy, unbelievable thought!
Another coconut fell, to make the world come to a complete standstill. I had to roll over onto my stomach to feel that at least I could move and make noises. Then I found company (陪伴). A little brown ant was struggling (挣扎) to find its way with a bit of dry straw (草) through the jungle of leaves and grass below my nose. I wondered if I could give the little fellow a lift with its burden (重负), but it showed not the slightest sign of tiredness and struggled on with all six legs, head first or head last, waving its feelers energetically as if the trip had just started. Who ever saw a tired ant? Tiredness, disagreeable tiredness, is impossible to hunted animals, slaves and modern man. It is as great an effort for an office to walk five blocks with a heavy brief-case as it is for a farmer to cross a valley with a goat on his back. It is as hard to get up and climb or run when you have been seated for years as it is to get up and walk when you have been in bed for months. The body is strange. Spare it, and you get really tired for almost nothing; use it, and almost nothing makes you really tired.
I rose to my feet. I had heard a horse neighing down in the valley. Above me, on the open highland places, there were wild horses. But down in the valley there was never a horse if there wasn't a man on it. Somebody was making his way up the valley and my wife was alone.
1.What's the right order of the following events?
① I heard a horse neighing down in the valley.
② I went to the jungle.
③ I found an ant carrying a bit of dry straw.
④ I lay on the ground to have a break.
⑤ I picked fruits and chopped firewood.
A.②③⑤①④ B.⑤③②④① C.②⑤④③① D.⑤④③②①
2.How does the author feel about the ant?
A.He admired its behavior toward work.
B.He was amazed at its tireless efforts.
C.He had pity on the little ant.
D.He was happy to have its company.
3.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that the writer would probably _____ .
A.work harder than before B.talk to the man on the horse
C.make his way home D.stay in the valley to enjoy the beautiful view
Taking online classes is becoming increasingly popular, but students have different opinions about it.
Wang Qi, 14 | I love taking online courses. They give me a lot more choices and freedom. We can choose to learn whatever we want. Also, online classes enable us to study whenever and wherever we want, which is very convenient. |
Wu Jun, 13 | I don’t think taking online classes is a good way to study. There are many temptations (诱惑) on the internet. Students can be distracted (使分心) from their courses easily. The whole learning process is not as organized as it is in the classroom. |
Zhou Siya, 13 | Online classrooms are beneficial (有益的). We might feel more focused on (集中于)learning when we are alone in front of a computer with no one to distract us. In addition, taking courses online also means we can have more time to use a computer, which is a good way to practice our computer skills. |
Li Chunjie, 14 | I think the idea of taking online courses is crazy. It can increase our exposure (接触) to computers and the radiation (辐射) from them could do harm to the human body, especially our eyes. Also, sitting in front of a computer for a long time without exercising can be harmful to our health. |
1.How many students support online learning?
A.One. B.Two. C.Three. D.Four.
2.What’s NOT Zhou Siya’s opinion about taking online courses?
A.Students can feel more focused on learning. B.Students can practice their computer skills.
C.No one can distract students from the courses. D.Students can choose to learn whatever they want.
3.According to Li Chunjie, taking online courses________.
A.can be beneficial in many ways B.causes a lot of distractions
C.will make students go crazy D.is harmful to students’ health
When my brother and I were children, we spent a few weeks in the countryside with our uncle. He was a geologist (地质学家) and loved to go on walks to___________ stones. One day, he bought us _________ and asked us to go to the mountain with him and carry the stones.
The whole day we_________ around. Every now and then he put___________ in our bags. We were a bit___________ that he also took some stones out from our bags at times. But we thought he had just found ___________ stones than the ones we already had. Still, when we returned to the house, we were very_________ . The backpacks were so_________ that we felt great relief(轻松) when we took them off._________ uncle’s backpack was half empty.
“Why did you give us so many stones?” we asked.
“I didn’t. You did,” he said. “You didn’t know it, but I gave you a little attitude (态度) ________ today. Whenever you were complaining, I added a stone to your bags. Whenever you talked about something with positive (积极的) thinking, I __________a stone. And now look at your backpacks.”
The bags were almost ________ .
“Your negative (负面的) thoughts are like stones. You carry them in your____________ just like those stones in a backpack. The more negative thoughts you have, the __________ your mind is.”
With great love, our uncle taught us one of the most important __________ in life – the power of attitude.
1.A.carry B.collect C.research D.kick
2.A.baskets B.ropes C.instruments D.backpacks
3.A.climbed B.jumped C.ran D.walked
4.A.leaves B.stones C.grasses D.sticks
5.A.surprised B.interested C.relaxed D.disappointed
6.A.harder B.better C.stronger D.weaker
7.A.sad B.ill C.tired D.excited
8.A.heavy B.light C.big D.small
9.A.So B.As C.Since D.Yet
10.A.power B.stress C.test D.question
11.A.put off B.took over C.took out D.put back
12.A.full B.empty C.messy D.smooth
13.A.brain B.memory C.mind D.back
14.A.clearer B.easier C.better D.heavier
15.A.suggestions B.lessons C.purposes D.cases
— Sorry, it's already 6 o'clock. I have to be off for an important dinner.
— OK. .
A.It couldn't be better B.You really have me there.
C.Take your time D.Let's call it a day
— Have you heard that Lei Haiwei, a courier brother (外卖小哥), won the championship at the Chinese Poetry Conference?
— It's not surprising, . He has worked hard at it these years.
A.every dog has its day B.actions speak louder than words
C.no pain, no gain D.many hands make light work
