阅读理解

　　If you have read the fairytale about the Italian boy Pinocchio, you will remember that every one knew when he lied because his nose grew．But did you know that your brain can also betray(出卖)you when you tell a lie?

　　A study released last Monday showed that the brains of people who are lying look very different from those who are telling the truth．According to the US researchers, this finding could lead to creating a more accurate lie detector(测谎仪)．

　　“There may be separate areas in the brain involved in truth-telling and cheating that can be measured,” said Scott Faro, head of the research group．

　　Faro and other scientists tested nine volunteers．Six of them were asked to shoot a toy gun and then lie and say they didn't do it．Three others who watched told the truth about what happened．

　　The volunteers were connected to a special machine, which used a strong magnet(磁铁)to provide a real-time picture of brain activity．Clear differences were seen between the liars and the truth-tellers．A total of seven areas were active in the cheating group, but only four in the truth-telling team．

　　“It seemed to take more brain effort to tell the lie than to tell the truth,” Faro said．

　　The traditional lie-detector machine looks at sweat, skin, breathing and heart rate changes．

　　Using such new technology as a lie detector would be expensive, but it might be worthwhile in some criminal cases．

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　　Rome had the Forum．London has Speaker's Corner．Now always on the go New Yorkers have Liz and Bill．

　　Liz and Bill,two college graduates in their early 20s,have spent a whole year trying to have thousands of people talk to them in subway stations and on busy street corners．Just talk．

　　Using a 2-foot-tall sign that says,“Talk to Me,”they attract conversationalists,who one evening included a mental patient,and men in business suits．

　　They don't collect money．They don't push religion（宗教）．So what's the point?

　　“To see what happens,”said Liz．“We simply enjoy lifewith open communication（交流）．”

　　Shortly after the September 11,2001 attacks,they decided to walk from New York City to Washington,a 270-mile trip．They found they loved talking to people along the way and wanted to continue talking with strangers after their return．

　　“It started as a crazy idea,”Liz said．“We were so curious about all the strangers walking by with their life stories．People will talk to us about anything：their jobs,their clothes,their childhood experiences,anything．”

　　Denise wanted to talk about an exam she was about to take．She had stopped by for the second time in two days,to let the two listeners know how it went．

　　Marcia had lost her husband to a serious disease．“That was very heavy on my mind,”Marcia said．“To be able to talk about it to total strangers was very good,”she explained．

　　To celebrate a year of talking,the two held a get-together in a city park for all the people they had met over the past year．A few hundred people showed up,as well as some television cameramen and reporters．

　　They may plan more parties or try to attract more people to join their informal talks．Some publishers have expressed interest in a book,something they say they'll consider．

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阅读理解

　　From the coldest arctic ice to the hottest deserts you will find mammals living and thriving(兴旺)．There seems to be no climate that they can't adapt to, however changeable it may be．Why can mammals adapt to so many different habitats? There is a good reason for this－mammals have the ability to keep their body at a constant temperature whatever the weather．They are “warm-blooded”．

　　Mammals achieve this by chemically “burning” their food as fuel inside their bodies．This is kept under tight control by a region of the brain that acts like a thermostat(恒温器), and this makes sure that the mammal's body temperature stays about the same．

　　A constant body temperature is a great advantage for mammals because all the chemical processes that go on inside a living body are likely to happen more slowly at low temperatures and faster at higher temperatures．Mammals can regulate their temperature at the best condition for all these processes, allowing them to be active at very cold or very hot periods and to keep up tiring activity for a long time．Animals such as lizards(蜥蜴)rely on moving in and out of the warm sunlight to regulate their body temperature．They slow down when they can't warm up and may die if they can't get away from heat．They also tend to overheat quickly when they are active as their muscles produce warmth．

　　Using food energy to keep body temperature constant is expensive, and since mammals need to be efficient at keeping the warmth they create inside themselves, they often have fur and a cover of fat under their skin to prevent heat from escaping．To help lose heat when they are too hot, they have sweat glands(汗腺)that take the heat away from the skin through evaporating(蒸发)water．This means, though, that they need to drink more than other animals．

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How Room Designs Affect Our Work and Feeling

　　Architects have long had the feeling that the place we live in can affect our thoughts, feeling and behaviors．But now scientists are giving this feeling an empirical(经验的，实证的)basis．They are discovering how to design spaces that promote creativity, keep people focused, and lead to relaxation．

　　Researches show that aspects of the physical environment can influence creativity．In 2009, Joan Meyers-Levy at the University of Minnesota, reported that the height of a room’s ceiling affects how people think．Her research indicates that higher ceilings encourage people to think more freely, which may lead them to make more abstract connections．Low ceilings, on the other hand, may inspire a more detailed outlook．

　　In addition to ceiling height, the view afforded by a building may influence an occupant’s ability to concentrate．Nancy Wells and her colleagues at Cornell University result of a family move made the most gains on a standard test of attention．

　　Using nature to improve focus of attention ought to pay off academically, and it seems to, according to a study led by C．Kenneth Tanner, head of the School Design & Planning Laboratory at the University of Georgia．Tanner and his team found that higher scores on tests of vocabulary, language arts and maths than did students whose classrooms primarily overlooked roads and parking lots．

　　Recent study on room lighting design suggests that dim(暗淡的)light helps people to loosen up．If that is true generally, keeping the light low during dinner, or at parties could increase relaxation．Researchers of Harvard Medical School also discovered that furniture with rounded edges could help visitors relax．

　　So far scientists have focused mainly on public buildings．“We have a very limited number of studies, so we are almost looking at the problem through a straw(吸管)”architect David Allison says;“How do you take answers to very specific questions and make broad, generalize use of them?”That is what we are all struggling with”

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