1 . If you’re planning to visit Japan, it is a good idea to understand some basic customs.
DON’T WALK AND CHEW GUM.
Americans are always in such a hurry that we grab lunch at the drive with one hand while holding onto the steering wheel with the other.
The Japanese don’t walk around while eating or drinking. This seems strange in a culture that like vending machines (自动售卖机). In fact, the Japanese will often get a snack or soda out of a vending machine and then stand there, next to the vending machine, until they’ve finished it.
SURGICAL MASKS
Seeing photos of people in Japan wearing surgical masks, you might wonder if surgical masks are just a fashion. Meanwhile, in America, we cough into the open air, and sneak out of restrooms without washing up.
In Japan, it’s not nice to share germs (细菌). If you’re sick and you must leave your home, you put a surgical mask because that’s polite. Surgical masks are also worn out of caution — if you travel in a packed train during flu season, it’s a good idea to do so.
THE MISUSE OF SOY SAUCE
You’re probably used to eating white rice with soy sauce (酱汁) all over it in American Asian restaurants, but don’t do it in Japan. Soy sauce in Japan is not meant for drowning out the subtle flavor of white rice.
About YOUR SHOES
Wearing shoe in the house is just not something people do in Japan. You should remove your shoes immediately after entering a Japanese home and also when entering most historic buildings.
1. The author is telling American tourists in Japan to ________.| A．drink while walking | B．eat while driving |
| C．eat food quickly | D．drink near the vending machine |
| A．a fashion | B．a danger |
| C．good manners | D．a good idea |
| A．get a snack | B．remove your shoes |
| C．put soy sauce over the rice | D．wear a mask |
2 . Do you often listen to music at loud volumes (音量)？Over one billion (十亿) young people are at risk of hearing loss (失聪) because of listening to loud noise for long periods of time. Listening to music or watching a TV show at loud volumes is harmful to your hearing.
The United Nations has standards for safe listening. It is not safe to listen to sounds that are louder than 85 decibels (dB 分贝) for eight hours or 100 dB for 15 minutes. The sound of a busy road is about 85 dB and the sound of a rock concert can be about 100 dB.
Loud noise is harmful to the inner ears (内耳). Most of us are born with about 16,000 hair cells (听毛细胞) in our inner ears. However, listening to loud noise for a long time can make these cells work too hard and cause some of them to die. This is what causes hearing loss.
Some people might think that their music isn't all that loud. But this can depend on where you are. For example, if you are in a noisy place like the subway, you might turn up your music too loud without realizing it. Later, when you listen to it at the same volume in a quiet place， you might feel uncomfortable.
The World Health Organization said the “safe level" for most sounds is below 80 dB for up to 40 hours a week. A level of 80 dB is roughly equal to (大约相当于) the noise of a subway.
1. Many young people are at risk of hearing loss because they________.| A．watch TV every day |
| B．listen to music every day |
| C．listen to loud noise in the subway |
| D．listen to loud noise for a long time |
| A．80 dB | B．85 dB |
| C．100 dB | D．110 dB |
| A．The inner ears. | B．The brain. |
| C．The heart. | D．The eyes. |
| A．Keep the Loud Volumes | B．Loud Noise Is Harmful to Hearing |
| C．The Risk of Listening to Music | D．Loud Noise Stops Ears from Working |
3 . If you’re worried about your receding hairline (后退的发际线) and you live in a city, you might want to consider moving, as scientists have found exposure to high levels of air pollution may be linked to retention.
New research presented at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) Congress in Madrid found particulate matter (PM) (颗粒物), which is present in polluted air, could impact both hair growth and retention.
The team took cells from the base of hair follicles (毛囊) and then exposed them to the polluted air. They used various concentrations of PM10, and 24 hours later, they tested the samples to detect whether specific hair-growth proteins in the cells had changed at all.
Researchers found that the presence of PM10 decreased levels of the protein responsible for hair growth — beta-catenin — and morphogenesis, the biological process that causes an organism to develop its shape. According to the study, the levels of three other proteins which are responsible for hair growth and hair retention — cyclin D1, cyclin E and CDK2 — were also decreased.
This meant that the greater the level of pollutant, the greater the decrease in proteins was found.
This is one of the first studies to look at the link between pollution and baldness (秃头).
Hyuk Chul Kwon from the Future Science Research Centre in South Korea said: “While the link between air pollution and serious diseases, such as cancer, are well established, there is little to no research on the effect of particulate matter exposure on the human skin, and hair in particular. And our research explains the mode (模式) of action of air pollutants on human hair follicle cells, showing how the most common air pollutants lead to hair loss.”
1. What does the underlined word “retention” in Para 1 refer to?| A．Hair cells. | B．Hair loss. |
| C．Hair growth. | D．Hair-growth proteins. |
| A．Air pollution can increase levels of hair-growth proteins. |
| B．There’s only one protein that is responsible for hair growth. |
| C．Polluted air has no direct impact on hair growth or retention. |
| D．The more serious air pollution, the more likely you’re to lose your hair. |
| A．Meaningful. | B．Negative. |
| C．Unimportant. | D．Objective. |
| A．The solutions to air pollution. |
| B．The growth mechanism of hair. |
| C．The impact of air pollution on health. |
| D．The close link between air pollution and hair loss. |
