Science can"t explain the power of pets, but many studies have shown that the company of pets can help
lower blood pressure (血压) and raise chances of recovering from a heart attack, reduce loneliness and spread
all-round good cheer.
Any owner will tell you how much joy a pet brings. For some, an animal provides more comfort than a
husband/wife. A 2002 study by Karen Allen of the State University of New York measured stress (紧张)
levels and blood pressure in people - half of them pet owners-while they performed 5 minutes of mental
arithmetic (算术) or held a hand in ice water. Subjects completed the tasks alone, with a husband/wife, a
close friend or with a pet. People with pets did it best. Those tested with their animal friends had smaller
change in blood pressure and returned most quickly to-baseline heart rates. With pets in the room, people
also made fewer math mistakes than when doing in front of other companions. It seems people feel more
relaxed (放松) around pets, says Allen, who thinks it may be because pets don"t judge.
A study reported last fall suggests that having a pet dog not only raises your spirits but may also have
an effect on your eating habits. Researchers a Northwestern Memorial Hospital spent a year studying 36
fat people and their equally fat dogs on diet-and-exercise programs a separate group of 56 people without
pets were put on a diet program. On average, people lost about 11 pounds, or 5% of their body weight.
Their dogs did even better, losing an average or 12 pounds, more than 15% of their body weight. Dog
owners didn"t lose any more weight than those without dogs but, say researchers, got more exercise
overall - mostly with their dogs-and found it worth doing.
A. people with dogs did more exercise
B. dog lost the same weight as people did
C. dogs liked exercise much more than people did
D. people without dogs found the program unhelpful
阅读理解。 |
Sometimes we cry because we are sad and sometimes because we are extremely happy. An irritant (刺激 物),such as onion (洋葱) smell or grains of sand in the eye,can also make cry. In this case tears perform an obvious role in getting rid of substances that might harm the surface of the eye. Dr. William Frey of the Dry Eye and Tear Research Center at St. Paul in Minnesota,USA,believes that tears from emotional causes may perform a similar role. He thinks that crying could get rid of emotional stress by washing away a chemical in the blood caused by strong emotions. To prove his theory, he hopes first to identify this chemical and then see if it is found in tears of sadness or happiness. So far, Dr. Frey has failed to find out the difference between emotional tears and tears caused by an irritant in the eye. This may be because these substances themselves cause a degree of stress and emotion. What he has identified in all tears is a variety of biochemicals (生化物) which are one of the causes of stress. A more detailed study may help us understand why sufferers from stress-related disorders cry less often than healthy people. Dr. Frey is also very interested to see if there are any physiological (生理学的) explanations for why women, in general, cry five times more often than men,on average. |
1. The main purpose of Dr. Frey"s study of tears is to _____. |
A. show that there are two types of tears,caused by irritants and by emotions B. find out the cause of stress-related problems and emotional disorders C. explain why women cry more often than men D. prove that tears can remove a chemical in the blood caused by strong emotions |
2. Which of the following is true according to the passage? |
A. Tears fail to help get rid of emotional stress. B. Irritants in the eye result in tears without causing stress and emotion. C. Healthy people cry more often than those with stress-related problems. D. The biochemical identified by Dr. Frey has nothing to do with stress. |
3. We can learn from the passage that _____. |
A. crying does us more harm than good B. inner feelings don"t affect our bodies C. sorrow may cause some chemicals in our blood D. emotional tears are different from tears caused by irritants in the eye |
4. Dr. Frey believes that tears from emotional causes may play a role in getting rid of _____. |
A. emotional stress by washing away a chemical in the blood B. onion smell or grains of sand C. sufferings from irritants D. substances that might not harm the surface of the eye |
阅读理解。 |
Be careful what you say around your dog. It might understand more than you think. A border collie named Rico recognizes the names of about 200 objects, say researchers in Germany. The dog also appears to be able to learn new words as easily as a 3-year-old child. Its word-learning skills are as good as those of a parrot or chimpanzee (黑猩猩). In one experiment, the researchers took all 200 items that Rico is supposed to know and divided them into 20 groups of 10 objects. Then the owner told the dog to go and fetch one of the items and bring it back. In four tests, Rico got 37 out of 40 commands right. As the dog couldn"t see anyone to get clues, the scientists believe Rico must understand the meanings of certain words. In another experiment, the scientists took one toy that Rico had never seen before and put it in a room with seven toys whose names the dog already knew. The owner then told Rico to fetch the object, using a word the dog had never heard before. The correct object was chosen in seven out of l0 tests, suggesting that the dog had worked out the answer by process of elimination (排除法). A month later, Rico remembered half of the new names, which is even more impressive. Rico is thought to be smarter than the average dog. For one thing, Rico is a border collie, a breed (品种) known for its mental abilities. In addition, the 9-year-old dog has been trained to fetch toys by their names since the age of nine months. It"s hard to know if all dogs understand at least some of the words we say. Even if they do, they can"t talk back. Still, it wouldn"t hurt to sweet-talk your dog every now and then. You might just get a big, wet kiss in return! |
1. From paragraph 2 we know that _____. |
A. animals are as clever as human beings B. dogs are smarter than parrots and chimpanzees C. chimpanzees have good word-learning skills D. dogs have similar learning abilities as 3-year-old children |
2. Both experiments show that _____. |
A. Rico is smart enough to get all commands right B. Rico can recognize different things including toys C. Rico has developed the ability of learning mathematics D. Rico won"t forget the names of objects once recognizing them |
3. Which of the following statements is true? |
A. The purpose of the experiments is to show the border collie"s mental abilities. B. Rico has a better memory partly because of its proper early training. C. The border collie is world-famous for recognizing objects. D. Rico is born to understand its owner"s commands. |
4. What does the writer want to tell us in the last paragraph? |
A. To train your dog. B. To talk to your dog. C. To be friendly to your dog. D. To be careful with your dog. |