Running is often tiring and a lot of hard work, but nothing beats the feeling you get after finishing a long workout around the track.
But while it’s long been believed that endorphins (脑内啡)—chemicals in the body that cause happiness — are behind the so-called “runner’s high”, a study suggested that there may be more to this phenomenon than we previously knew.
According to a recent study published by a group of scientists from several German universities, a group of chemicals called endocannabinoids (内源性大麻素) may actually be responsible for this familiar great feeling.
To test this theory, the scientists turned to mice.
Both mice and humans release high levels of endorphins and endocannabinoids after exercise along with many other chemicals. After exercising on running wheel, the mice seemed happy and relaxed and displayed no signs of anxiety.
But after being given a drug to block their endorphins, the mice’s behavior didn’t seem to change. However, when their endocannabinoids were blocked with a different drug, their runner’s change.
“The long-held notion of endorphins being responsible for the runner’s high is false. Endorphins are effective pain relievers, but only when it comes to the pain in your body and muscle high symptoms seemed to fade you feel after taking exercise,” Patrick Lucas Austin wrote on science blog Lifehacker.
Similar studies are yet to be carried out on humans, but it’s already well known that exercise is a highly effective way to get rid of stress or anxiety.
The UK’s National Health Service even prescribes (开药方) exercise to patients who are suffering from depression.
“Being depressed can leave you feeling low in energy, which might put you off being more active. Regular exercise can cheer you up if you have depression, and it’s especially useful for people with mild to moderate (中等的) depression,” it wrote on its website.
It seems like nothing can beat that feeling we get after a good workout, even if we don’t fully understand where it comes from. At least if we’re feeling down, we know that all we have to do is put on our running shoes.
1.What have scientists from German universities recently discovered?
A.The runner’s high can be caused by endocannabinoids.
B.Working out is a highly effective way to treat depression.
C.Endorphins may contribute to one’s high spirits after running.
D.The level of endorphins and endocannabinoids could affect a person’s mood.
2.The scientists gave mice drugs in their experiments with the intention of ________.
A.testing what influences the level of endocannabinoids released
B.identifying what the cause of the runner’s high is
C.observing the specific symptoms of the runner’s high
D.finding what reduces the runner’s high symptoms
3.The underlined word “notion” in Paragraph 7 has the closest meaning to ________.
A.effect B.suggestion C.question D.belief
4.According to the UK’s National Health Service, working out regularly ________.
A.can help ease depression symptoms
B.is the best way to treat depression
C.can help people recover from depression completely
D.can work for those with serious depression effectively
Facebook has taken over a start-up named CTRL-Labs, which is developing devices that can pick up electrical signals from the brain and transmit them to a computer. CTRL-Labs has designed a wristband that can identify the signals the brain sends to the hand telling it to move, and decode (解码) them. It could then transmit that command — for example, to press a button — to a computer or other devices.
It also captures (捕捉) your intention”, said Facebook VR president Andrew Bosworth. “So you can share a photo with a friend using an imperceptible (极细微的) movement or just by, well, intending to,” he said in a post on his personal Facebook page.
Facebook has not confirmed a report by CNBC which claimed that the deal was worth between $500 m and $ l bn (£0.4bn and £0.8bn).). Mr Bosworth said he hoped the CTRL-Labs team would help Facebook to “build this kind of technology, at scale and get it into consumer products faster”.
There was a mixed response to the news.
“Facebook needd to leave us alone. Step away from our lives more.” tweeted tech commentator Azeem Azhar.
“I’m very curious to see what the response is from regulators here,” wrote an analyst Fatemeh Khatibloo.
Underneath Andrew Bosworth’s Facebook post, Josh Chan, founder of an educational app, said the news was exciting.
“As an educator, I’m imagining how this could transform how we all learn,” he said.
Facebook implied it would be some time before the product came to market. “The CTRL-Labs technology is an innovative input that Facebook hopes will be used to significantly improve the upcoming Facebook VR experiences a few years down the road to fundamentally improve the user experience.” it said.
Facebook may have more to say about the new acquisition on Wednesday at its annual VR headset event, which the firm purchased in 2014 for around $2bn.
1.What does the underlined sentence imply?
A.Facebook should not affect people’s lives any more.
B.Facebook should get less involved in people’s lives.
C.Facebook should be less concerned about people’s lives.
D.People’s lives have been totally disturbed by Facebook.
2.What is the author’s attitude towards CTRL-Labs?
A.Positive. B.Negative. C.Objective. D.Indifferent.
3.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A.The acquisition of a start-up company that has designed a fancy wristband.
B.The design of a high-tech product that can greatly affect people’s lives.
C.The development of a wristband that can capture users’ intentions.
D.The purchase of a start-up company that is developing a mind-reading product.
Mid-Autumn Festival is the second grandest festival in China after Chinese New Year. It’s a time when families come together to appreciate the full moon and eat mooncakes during the festival. In fact, besides these two traditions, there are many others.
1. Watching the tide
In ancient times, watching the tide on the Qiantang River in East China’s Zhejiang province was another grand event of Mid-Autumn Festival. It has been recorded in detail since the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220). Many famous ancient poets, like Su Shi in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) wrote about the grand occasion in their poems.
2. Making colorful lanterns
On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, people usually make colorful lanterns to decorate th beautiful night. They also make Kongming lanterns, which can fly because the burning candles h t the air in the lanterns. Children write good wishes on the lanterns and let them fly up into the sky.
3. Burning pagodas (佛塔)
When night falls, people gather together in an empty place, and pick up broken bricks and tiles to pile up several pagodas. The pagodas are hollow and are filled with firewood. Then the firewood in the pagodas is lit, and the red flames rise and sparks explode, through which people express the joy of harvest in autumn.
4. Stealing vegetables
Among the Dong ethnic group in Central China’s Hunan province, it is the custom for young ladies to steal vegetables on Mid-Autumn Festival night. Whoever eats vegetables with sweet dew on this night will be healthy and happy. Also, women and girls express their adoration to their favorite young men by this way.
5. Drinking osmanthus-flavored wine
Osmanthus-flavored wine is a gift during this season. Drinking Osmanthus fragrance wine at Mid-Autumn Festival implies sweetness, wealth and luck, and prosperity of the family.
People gather together to appreciate the moon, on which Wu Gang, who chases Chang’e, is cutting a sweet-scented osmanthus tree outside the Moon Palace, according to a legend. They drink the sweet osmanthus-flavored wine to echo the festival atmosphere.
1.What do people usually do during Mid-Autumn Festival?
A.People in Hunan province steal vegetables on Mid-Autumn Festival night.
B.People drink Osmanthus fragrance wine to appreciate the moon and honor Chang'e.
C.People make Kongming lanterns to express good wishes and the joy of harvest in autumn.
D.People watch the tide on the Qiantang River, which dates back to the Han Dynasty.
2.Which column of a magazine does this article probably belong to?
A.Science. B.Culture. C.Advertisement. D.History.
As children enter and move through their school years, they become increasingly able to manage matters like homework and school projects on their own. _______, each year they should take on more responsibilities in the classroom and at home. These daily chores (家务) and responsibilities are an important part of learning that life requires _______, not just play.
Normally, of course, children are still single-minded with their _______ to have fun. While they may join in, particularly if _______ gives them time with their parents, children are not _______ to ask for household tasks, and parents often need to assign responsibilities as part of _______ to the family. At this age, many children find it difficult to _______ their chores, at least initially. Responsibility and initiative (积极性) are learned through a _______ process of guidance and reward.
As your own child takes on more responsibilities, he or she will probably have periods of acting _______, procrastinating(拖延) and dawdling (懒散). Most children do. During these times, parents need to step in and, with encouragement and gentle guidance, point him in the ________ direction.
Sometimes parents may demand too much ________ their children, or may see a problem in everything their children do. They may ________ them with too many responsibilities — an unfair number of chores, extra hours of taking care of younger siblings or a too strict schedule of after-school activities. When that happens, children may ________ taking on any responsibility at all. Parents need to ________ this kind of overloading, while still making sure that their youngsters are assuming a(n) ________ of responsibility. Children, of course ________ in the personalities. Some are simply not very persistent in the middle of chores. Others have difficulty getting organized. ________ others have trouble shifting from one activity to another. You should have a good ________ of your child’s style, and shape your ________ accordingly.
Children need to have some obligations and duties within the family, ________ they will notlearn to accept responsibility.
1.A.Next B.Also C.Therefore D.Alike
2.A.work B.music C.love D.sport
3.A.courage B.time C.effort D.desire
4.A.helping out B.coming out C.running out D.trying out
5.A.anxious B.likely C.afraid D.able
6.A.attending B.belonging C.appealing D.referring
7.A.check B.present C.record D.complete
8.A.gradual B.virtual C.casual D.punctual
9.A.inaccurately B.irresponsibly C.illegally D.impolitely
10.A.free B.usual C.right D.same
11.A.of B.with C.in D.out
12.A.replace B.compare C.combine D.burden
13.A.forget B.resist C.forgive D.risk
14.A.carry B.offer C.prevent D.protect
15.A.temporary B.limited C.universal D.appropriate
16.A.conflict B.differ C.fail D.change
17.A.Still B.Only C.Again D.Almost
18.A.point B.taste C.sense D.place
19.A.collections B.assumptions C.expectations D.conditions
20.A.and B.but C.for D.or
—I really think Johnson’s character is as good as that of Fang Yifan, a Senior 3 student in the TV play Xiao Huanxi.
—________. He often holds a positive attitude towards anything in life.
A.That’s not the point B.You can say that again
C.It counts for nothing D.It doesn’t matter
This television documentary will show you ________ 70 years ago.
A.how our city Wuxi looked like B.what did our city Wuxi look like
C.what our city Wuxi looked like D.how did our city Wuxi look like
