【推荐1】Have you ever wondered if you see the same colours as other people? Most people know what blue is when they see it. They see the colour and call it “blue” because they were taught the word and associated it with what they saw. But how do you know what you see as blue isn’t someone else’s red?

The ability to perceive colours is down to receptors in our eyes. Light waves hit these receptors and they react depending on which colour the light is, sending signals to the brain. The brain then decodes these signals to determine which colour light the eyes are receiving. Some people’s receptors are more developed than others. People with weaker receptors usually have colour blindness. The inability of the receptor to interpret the light waves correctly means that some people cannot tell different shades of a colour.

In the past, most scientists would argue that everyone saw colours in the same way. However, research was conducted on monkeys, in which they were injected with a virus affecting their receptors. This enabled them to understand more colours than usual and brought an interesting discovery. Normally monkeys can only see blue and green, but the virus allowed monkeys to see red. The neurons (神经元) in their brains adapted to be able to understand new colours, which might mean the neurons in our brains are not instinctive (本能的) to automatically understand which colour is which. This implies that our brains and neurons may adapt depending on our stimulus (刺激) during the developmental phase. Colour could be a very personal experience, unique to everyone.

So, the next time you talk about your favourite colour, just remember if yours is blue and your friend says red, you might actually be thinking about the same colour. What if everyone in the world has the same favourite colour, but just calls it different names?

1. What does the underlined word “perceive” in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Explain.

B．See.

C．Analyze.

D．Track.

2. Why do some people have colour blindness?

A．They can see many shades of some colours.

B．Their receptors fail to send signals to their brains.

C．There are not enough light waves hitting their receptors.

D．The receptors in their eyes are not well developed.

3. What can we learn from the experiment on monkeys?

A．Monkeys can only only see two colours-green and blue.

B．The neurons in monkeys’ brain can instinctively distinguish colours.

C．Brains and neurons can be stimulated to recognize new colors.

D．The neurons in human brain work differently from monkey’s.

【推荐3】Scientists have long known that humans are built for endurance（耐力）.Now, a new study shows people’s hearts are also bettered for endurance — though how much depends on whether we run, farm, or stay put on the sofa.

To get to the heart of the matter, researchers examined the hearts of more than 160 adult men from four groups: long-distance runners, sedentary（久坐的）adults, highly trained football player, and the Tarahumara, native American farmers famous for their running ability.

When researchers compared the thickest of the heart’s ventricles（心室）, they found there were clear differences. Endurance runners and farmers had larger, longer ventricles with thin walls, which could help pump（输送）more blood for a long time, the researchers report today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The football player, whose training was short, high-intensity (高强度的）exercise, had shorter, wider ventricles with thicker walls. So did the sedentary humans.

Because high-intensity activity causes blood pressure to increase for a short amount of time, such shorter ventricle, thick walls, and rounder shapes are good for the football players, researchers say, by making sure enough blood is pumped to the brain. But even without those pressures, a couch potato lifestyle seems to result in the same kind of thickening.

But sedentary readers shouldn’t feel heartbroken — the researchers said that changes in heart shape are likely reversible（可逆转的）with more endurance activities.

1. What does the new study find out? (NO MORE THAN 8 WORDS)
________________
2. How many groups did the researchers examine? (NO MORE THAN 3 WORDS)
________________
3. Who had larger and longer ventricles with thin walls? (NO MORE THAN 4 WORDS)
________________
4. What does the underlined phrase “a couch potato lifestyle” mean? (You can use Chinese)
________________
5. Jimmy is a computer engineer who has to work for long hours on computer. Which of the following ventricle and walls may suit him according to the passage?

A.        B.        C.        D.

【推荐1】We all have experienced cold hands when we’re exposed to cold weather conditions. This is absolutely normal. It happens as the body tries to adjust its temperature. The warmth of the hands is restored naturally once you move indoors.     1    

The natural system of the body enables us to keep the hands, feet and other vital organs warm with the help of constant supply of blood throughout the body.     2     In such a case, you’ll experience cold hands. The smaller arteries of the body that are present in the fingers contract abnormally when there’s mild drop in temperature or even after touching a cold object. As a result, the blood flow to the hands gets affected and they become cold.

    3     When you’re under too much stress, the nervous system reacts to the stress by narrowing down the blood vessels present in the extreme ends of the body. So mental stress also can lead to cold hands.

If you always have cold hands, you shouldn’t ignore the problem.     4     In the cold weather condition, be dressed in warm gloves. Proper stress management is necessary to restore the normal blood flow to all parts of the body.     5     If you suffer from frostbitten fingers, keep them clean and dry all the time, and avoid rubbing or pressing them.

A．It can be treated with a healthy lifestyle.

B．It can be identified with the change in the skin color.

C．What can result in cold hands from the aspect of psychology?

D．If it’s serious, then it has to be treated with suitable medicines.

E．However, if it continues all the time, then it’s a matter of concern.

F．Sometimes, for some reasons, the normal blood flow to the hands is restricted.

G．Wearing tight clothing, particularly in the upper part of the body, needs to be avoided.

【推荐2】Many of us don’t pay much attention to the importance of eye care. It is said that if you take care of your body, then you can surely be healthy. That is why our eyes should be given a lot of care. Natural eye care should be put in the first place.

There are several causes leading to poor eyesight like not eating enough food, genes and aging. Televisions, computers and reading are also the causes of having poor eyesight. If you happen to work in front of a computer, you’d better take a break every once in a while.

Something dirty can cause redness and it will make you feel uncomfortable. It is bad for your eyes, too. If this happens, the best way is to clean your eyes by using cold water. You must also try your best to protect your eyes from harmful things. For example, sunglasses are not just for fashion but they can also serve as a great way to protect your eyesight from UV rays.

Eating healthy food will do good to your eyesight. Remember that vitamins A, C and E are good for eyes. Try to eat food groups that have these vitamins. And you should do eye exercises because they protect your eyesight, too. If a person exercises regularly and eats the right kind of food, his eyes will stay in good condition for a long time.

All above are natural ways of eye care that help us keep healthy eyes. Being happy all the time can be helpful to a person’s eyesight, too. In a word, eye care is very important, no matter how old a person is.

1. _________ is the most important way to protect our eyes.

A．Taking medicine	B．Natural eye care
C．Seeing the doctor	D．Being happy all the time

2. All the following causes can lead to poor eyesight EXCEPT _________ .

A．computers	B．aging
C．reading	D．height

3. What should you do if you have to work in front of a computer according to the text?

A．Have a rest after working for a while.	B．Eat healthy food.
C．Clean eyes by using cold water.	D．Wear a pair of sunglasses.

4. What do the underlined words “UV rays” mean?

A．沙土

B．闪电

C．紫外线

D．超声波

5. What is the best title for the text?

A．Ways of doing eye exercises	B．Ways of eye care
C．Ways of being happy	D．Ways of being healthy