B

American researchers found females are the more talkative sex because of a special “language protein” in the brain.

The study, conducted by neuroscientists(神经学家) and psychologist from the University of Maryland, concluded that women talked more because they had more of the Foxp2 protein. The research, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, found that higher levels were found among humans that were women but in rats that were males. Their findings came after it was previously claimed that ladies speak about 20,000 words a day – over 13,000 more than men. “This study is one of the first to report a sex difference in the expression of a language-associated protein in humans or animals,” said Prof Margaret McCarthy, who led the study. In their study, the researchers attempted to determine what might make male rats more vocal than their female friends.

They separated four-day-old rats from their mothers and then counted the number of times they cried out in the “ultrasonic(超声波的) range”, the frequencies higher than humans can hear, over five minutes. While both sexes called out hundreds of cries, the males called out twice as often, they found. But when the pups were returned to their mother’s cage, she fussed over her sons first. Tests conducted on the parts of the brain known to be associated with vocal calls showed the male pups have up to twice as much Foxp2 protein as the females. The researchers then increased the production in the brains of female pups and reduced it in males. This led to the female rats crying out more often and their mothers showing more interest to them. In contrast, males became less “talkative”.

The researchers then tested samples from ten children, aged between three and five, which showed that females had up to 30 per cent more of the Foxp2 protein than males, in a brain area key to language in humans.

“Based on our observations, we assume higher levels of Foxp2 in girls and higher levels of Foxp2 in male rats is an indication that Foxp2 protein levels are associated with the more communicative sex,” said Prof McCarthy.

“Our results imply Foxp2 as a component (成分)of the neurobiological basis of sex differences in vocal communication in mammals.”

1.From the second paragraph, we can learn that ________.

A. women always speak more words than men

B. men and male rats have low levels of language protein

C. women and male rats have similar levels of Foxp2

D. McCarthy isn’t the first to find females more talkative

2.The underlined phrase “fussed over” in the third paragraph probably means______.

A. paid attention to B. related to

C. put pressure on D. counted on

3.The researchers carried out the experiments on rats in order to _______.

A. test which part of the brain is key to language in rats and humans

B. prove the levels of Foxp2 protein in humans and rats are different

C. determine the reason why female rats are more talkative than male rats

D. discover the association between Foxp2 protein and vocal communication

4.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

A. Tests on humans and rats

B. Why women are the talkative sex

C. Sex differences in Foxp2 protein

D. Foxp2 protein determines oral ability

Teen obesity means the problem of very overweight teenagers. Obesiry for a teenager happens when his or her BMI(身体质量指数)is more than 95 percent greater as compared to other teenagers of the same gender(性别)and age.

The term "obese" is commonly used by doctors wh. en a person's weight can badly affect their health. Obesity can be caused by genetics and habits such as eating unhealthy food and not getting enough exercise.

Teen obesity can lead to several health problems. Obese teens are at greater risk of deve-loping health complication(并发症),such as type-2 diabetes(糖尿病),high blood pressure and high cholesterol(胆固醇). If they remain obese into adulthood, these teens can also raise their chances of developing heart disease.

In addition, there can be many psychological effects of teen obesity. Some experts believe there is a strong link between obesity and self-identity(自我认向).If teens are treated poorly by other teens, they may have the feeling of low self-esteem(自尊), loneliness and depression Health experts recommend several ways to control teen obesity. The most common sugges-tions are eating balanced meals with enough fruit and vegetables in addition to getting 60 minutes of exercise daily. Eating a good breakfast can also help according to some doctors.

Doctors suggest that teens avoid trying to go on a diet and instead learn to how to make lifestyle changes.Some experts also recommend making the entire family take part in healthier habits to make the obese teen feel less alone. Parents can also avoid talking about health weight in terms of "fat' and "thin" and instead say that each person's ideal size is different

Title

Teen obesity

Introduction

Teen obesity happens when he or she BMI is over 95 percent greater than teenagers of the same gender and age

1..

★Genetics

★2. _ - eating habits

★3. to get enough exercise

4.. effects

★It 5. ____ the risk of development health complication.

★Obese teens are likely to develop heart disease when they become 6.. .

★Obese teens may have low self-esteem and feel 7.or depressed.

8.

★Eat balanced meals and take exercise every day .

★Eat a good breakfast

★Change 9. .

★Make the whole family 10. in healthy habits.

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