If you are sending a text, watching the TV or listening to the radio, you may want to stop and give this your full attention. Multi-tasking shrinks (萎缩) the brain, research suggests.

A study found that men and women who frequently used several types of technology at the same time had less grey matter in a key part of the brain. University of Sussex researchers said, “Simultaneously using mobile phones, laptops and other media devices could be changing the structure of our brains.”

The finding follows research which has linked multi-tasking with a shortened attention span, depression, anxiety and lower grades at school. The researchers began by asking 75 healthy men and women how often they divided their attention between different types of technology. This could mean sending a text message while listening to music and checking email, or speaking on the phone while watching TV and surfing the web. The volunteers were then given brain scans which showed they had less grey matter in a region called the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). The findings held even when differences in personality were taken into account.

The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, is the first to make a link between multi-tasking and the structure of the brain.

Researcher Kep Kee Loh said, “Media multi-tasking is becoming more common in our lives today and there is increasing concern about its impacts on our cognition and social-emotional well-being.”

He added that more research is needed to prove that multi-tasking shrinks the brain. This is because it is also possible that people with less grey matter in the ACC are more drawn to using lots of small devices simultaneously.

Scientists have previously demonstrated brain structure can be changed on prolonged exposure to new environments and experience. Other studies have shown that training — such as learning to juggle or taxi drivers learning the map of London — can increase grey-matter densities (密度) in certain parts. Experts have also warned of the harmful impact technology can have on our memory and attention span.

1.According to Kep Kee Loh, ________.

A. the link between multi-tasking and brain shrinkage needs further research

B. people with less grey matter in the ACC are more attracted to multi-tasking

C. multi-tasking has harmful impacts on our cognition and social-emotional well-being

D. multi-tasking leads to a shortened attention span, depression, anxiety and lower grades

2.Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A. What multi-tasking is probably linked with.

B. How researchers draw inferences about multi-tasking.

C. How different health conditions affect brain structure.

D. Significance and limits of the research from University of Sussex .

3.The purpose of the passage is to ________.

A. compare the latest research with previous ones

B. prove the dangers of multi-tasking

C. inform readers of research on multi-tasking

D. discuss the benefits and problems of multi-tasking

根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

Doctors say anger can be an extremely damaging emotion, unless you learn how to deal with it. They warn that anger can lead to heart disease, stomach problems, headaches, emotional problems and possibly cancer.

___1.__ Some people express anger openly in a calm reasonable way. Others burst with anger, and scream and yell. But other people keep their anger inside. They can not or will not express it. This is called repressing anger.

For years many doctors thought that repressing anger was more dangerous to a person’s health than expressing it. They said that when a person is angry, the brain releases the same hormones (荷尔蒙). They speed the heart rate, raise blood pressure, or sugar into the blood, etc. ___2.___

Some doctors say that both repressing and expressing anger can be dangerous. They believe that those who express anger violently may be more likely to develop heart disease, and they believe that those who keep anger inside may face a greater danger of high blood pressure.

__3.___ They say the first step is to admit that you are angry and to recognize the real cause of the anger, then decide if the cause is serious enough to get angry about. If it is, they say, “___4.___ Wait until your anger has cooled down and you are able to express yourself calmly and reasonably.”

Doctors say that a good way to deal with anger is to find humor in the situation that has made you angry. __5.___

A. In general the person feels excited and ready to act

B. They said that laughter is much healthier than anger.

C. Expressing anger violently is more harmful than repressing it

D. Anger may cause you a cancer.

E. Do not express your anger while angry.

F. Anger is a normal emotion that we all feel from time to time.

G. Doctors say the solution is learning how to deal with anger.

The US plans to extend its endangered species protection to lions in Africa. US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) will classify lions in southern and eastern Africa as threatened. The move will place tighter restrictions on the import of lion “trophies(纪念品)”, such as paws or heads.

While the US cannot regulate hunting in other countries the move is significant because around half of all lion hunting in Africa is conducted by Americans. According to FWS data, more than 5, 600 lions have been killed and imported by American hunters over the past decade.

Under the new FWS rules, bringing lion parts to the US will be banned(禁止) in most circumstances if the animal is from a country where lions are endangered. Hunters will have to show the trophies were “legally obtained” from countries that have a scientifically sound management program that benefits the subspecies in the wild.

This regulation is expected to place a far greater burden of proof upon hunters who claim that the money from lion hunting has been used to help communities in Africa and the overall conservation of lions. The persistent downward trend in lion numbers, due to habitat loss and hunting by locals and foreign tourists, suggests there has been little conservation(保护) benefit from organized hunts.

An international study, published in September, found African lion numbers have decreased by half since 1993, with a further 50% decline expected over the next 20 years for populations in west, central and east Africa.

“The lion is one of the planet’s most beloved species and an irreplaceable part of our shared global heritage,” said Dan Ashe, director of the FWS. “If we want to ensure that healthy lion populations continue to wander around the African savannas(大草原) and forests of India, it’s up to all of us—not just the people of Africa and India--to take action.”

1.Why is the move of US significant?

A. The lions have been killed and imported by American hunters.

B. That is due to habitat loss and hunting by locals and foreign tourists.

C. Around half of all lion hunting in Africa is conducted by Americans.

D. The money from lion hunting has been used to help communities in Africa .

2.Where do most of the lion hunters come from?

A. Southern Africa. B. America.

C. Eastern Africa. D. India.

3.What may be the result of the move?

A. The import of lion parts will be strictly limited.

B. Lion-hunting will be illegal all over the world.

C. communities in Africa will benefit a lot.

D. Lion parts will never be legally obtained.

4.What does Dan Ashe really want to tell us in the last paragraph?

A. Almost everybody loves lions.

B. It’s everyone’s duty to protect lions.

C. Lion populations will increase rapidly.

D. Measures must be taken to keep lions fit.

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