Researchers are now using 3D printing to create models of the human heart to help heart specialists. The heart doctors can use the models to better help patients before an operation.

Dr. Bramlet, a children’s heart expert at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, says the 3-D models show information he cannot get any other way.

“And so what we’ve done with the printed models? We’ve pulled it out of the screen so that you can actually hold it in your hand and evaluate the anatomy(解剖).”

A 3-D printer uses images from a digital display to create a physical model of a human heart. Matthew Bramlet says doctors can use the model to understand the anatomy.

Pictures from medical tests like CAT scan or MRI are sent to a 3-D printer to create a heart in a plaster(石膏)form. The printer then constructs the heart, thin layer by thin layer. Dr. Bramlet says the model matches the real heart in every detail. “When we’re done with the model and made our decision, we want to be able to go back to the source image and confirm those findings, he says.

Dr. Bramlet has built model hearts for different kinds of heart operations. All of the operations were successful. In his first case, digital images showed only one tiny hole in a baby’s heart. But, the 3-D printed model showed several defects or problems that the baby was born with. Dr. Bramlet says those defects could not be seen easily in the images. The heart surgeon was able to change the type of surgery for the patient based on the 3-D model. He added that 3-D heart models saves time during heart operations.

Kathy Magliato is a heart surgeon at Saint John’s Health Center in Los Angeles. She welcomes the new technology. She says it could help her make better decisions before she operates on the hearts of her patients.

“I can then take this very complicated structure before the operation and I can hold it in my hand and plan an operation around what I’m seeing, touching and feeling. That to me is what can potentially change the game in an operation and save lives.

Dr Bramlet continues to research the technology. He is working with the National Institutes of Health to build a 3-D library that includes heart models and images that others can use.

1.Whats the main idea of the passage?

A. The application of 3-D printing in heart operations

B. The development of 3-D technology.

C. The difficulties of heart operations.

D. Heart operations with the help 3-D models.

2.What is the biggest advantage of 3-D models in the diagnose of heart problems?

A. Surgeons can see, touch and feel the 3-D models.

B. They can help surgeons save time.

C. They can be made exactly like the hearts.

D. They can help discover the otherwise hidden heart problems.

3.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. The 3-D model can be taken out of a screen.

B. CAT scan and MRI are no longer needed.

C. The 3-D model is an exact copy of the heart.

D. Digital images are not reliable in heart operations.

4.What can we infer from the passage?

A. Digital images will mislead heart surgeons.

B. More patients will benefit from the 3-D technology.

C. Heart operations will never fail with 3-D models.

D. Surgeons cannot operate on hearts without 3-D models.

These days, it seems that almost all of us are too serious.My older daughter often says to me, “Daddy, you’ve got that serious look again.” Even those of us who are committed to non-seriousness are probably too serious.People are frustrated and anxious about almost everything -- being five minutes late, witnessing someone look at us wrong or say the wrong thing, paying bills, waiting in line, overcooking a meal, making an honest mistake -- you name it, and we all lose perspective(理性判断) over it.

The root of being anxious is our unwillingness to accept life as being different, in any way, from our expectation.Very simply, we want things to be a certain way but they’re not a certain way.Life is simply as it is.Perhaps Benjamin Franklin said it best: “Our limited perspective, our hopes and fears become our measure of life, and when circumstances don’t fit our ideas, they become our difficulties.” We spend our lives wanting things, people, and events to be just as we want them to be -- and when they’re not, we fight and we suffer.

The first step in recovering from over-seriousness is to admit that you have a problem.You have to want to change, to become more easygoing.You have to see that your own anxiety is largely of your own creation -- it’s made up of the way you have set up your life and the way you react to it.

The next step is to understand the link between your expectations and your frustration level.Whenever you expect something to be a certain way and it isn’t, you’re upset and you suffer.On the other hand, when you let go of your expectations, when you accept life as it is, you’re free.

A good exercise is to try to approach a single day without expectation.Don’t expect people to be friendly.When they’re not, you won’t be surprised or bothered; if they are, you’ll be delighted.Don’t expect your day to be problem-free.Instead, as problems come up, say to yourself, “Ah, another barrier to overcome.” As you approach your day in this manner you’ll notice how elegant life can be.Rather than fighting against life, you’ll be dancing with it.Pretty soon, with practice, you’ll lighten up your entire life.And when you lighten up, life is a lot more fun.

1.Why are people easily frustrated and anxious these days?

A.Because their children are disappointing.

B.Because they have to look serious in public.

C.Because life is becoming a greater burden.

D.Because people have lost sensible judgment.

2.According to Benjamin Franklin, what was the cause of over-seriousness?

A.The fact that people’s perspective, hopes and fears are limited.

B.The fact that people can’t change life itself.

C.The fact that things fail to meet people’s expectations.

D.The fact that circumstances turn out to be difficult.

3.In what pattern is this article developed?

A.Phenomenon, causes and solutions.

B.Problems, explanation and conclusion.

C.Examples, causes and arguments.

D.Phenomenon, analysis and conclusion.

4.What might be the best title for the passage?

A.People seem to be too serious

B.Life is simply as it is

C.Hopes can turn into difficulties

D.A good exercise removes over-seriousness

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