5 . To a chef, the sounds of lip smacking, slurping and swallowing are the highest form of flattery (恭维). But to someone with a certain type of misophonia (恐音症), these same sounds can be torturous. Brain scans are now helping scientists start to understand why.

People with misophonia experience strong discomfort, annoyance or disgust when they hear particular triggers. These can include chewing, swallowing, slurping, throat clearing, coughing and even audible breathing. Researchers previously thought this reaction might be caused by the brain overactively processing certain sounds. Now, however, a new study published in Journal of Neuroscience has linked some forms of misophonia to heightened “mirroring” behavior in the brain: those affected feel distress while their brains act as if they were imitating the triggering mouth movements.

“This is the first breakthrough in misophonia research in 25 years,” says psychologist Jennifer J. Brout, who directs the International Misophonia Research Network and was not involved in the new study.

The research team, led by Neweastle University neuroscientist Sukhbinder Kumar, analyzed brain activity in people with and without misophonia when they were at rest and while they listened to sounds. These included misophonia triggers (such as chewing), generally unpleasant sounds (like a crying baby）, and neutral sounds. The brain’s auditory (听觉的) cortex, which processes sound, reacted similarly in subjects with and without misophonia. But in both the resting state and listening trials, people with misophonia showed stronger connections between the auditory cortex and brain regions that control movements of the face, mouth and throat, while the controlled group didn’t. Kumar found this connection became most active in participants with misophonia when they heard triggers specific to the condition.

“Just by listening to the sound, they activate the motor cortex more strongly. So in a way it was as if they were doing the action themselves,” Kumar says. Some mirroring is typical in most humans when witnessing others’ actions; the researchers do not yet know why an excessive(过分的) mirroring response might cause such a negative reaction, and hope to address that in future research. “Possibilities include a sense of loss of control, invasion of personal space, or interference with current goals and actions,” the study authors write.

Fatima Husain, an Illinois University professor of speech and hearing science, who was not involved in the study, says potential misophonia therapies could build on the new findings by counseling patients about handling unconscious motor responses to triggering sounds—not just coping with the sounds themselves. If this works, she adds, one should expect to see reduced connected activity between the auditory and motor cortices.

1. It can be learnt from the new study that ______.

A．misophonia sufferers can’t help imitating the triggers

B．people with misophonia are more likely to flatter chefs

C．the brains of people with misophonia overreact to sounds strongly

D．misophonia sufferers tend to have similar annoying activities in their brains

2. Compared with people without misophonia, people with misophonia ______.

A．suffer less severely at the resting state	B．own markedly different brain structures
C．react more negatively at a mirroring response	D．lose control of their facial movements easily

3. What might be the significance of the study?

A．Improving speech and hearing science.	B．Developing a treatment for misophonia.
C．Drawing people’s attention to misophonia.	D．Promoting human brain structure research.

6 . Imagine a simple blood test that could flag most kinds of cancers at the earliest, most curable stage. Liquid biopsies could, in theory, detect a tumor (肿瘤) well before it could be found by touch, symptoms or imaging. Blood tests could avoid the need for surgeons to cut tissue samples and make it possible to reveal cancer hiding in places needles and scalpels cannot safely reach. They could also determine what type of cancer is taking root to help doctors decide what treatment might work best to destroy it.

Liquid biopsies are not yet in hand, because it is hard to find definitive cancer signals in a tube of blood, but progress in recent years has been impressive. Last year the journal Science published the first big prospective study of a liquid biopsy for DNA and proteins from multiple types of cancers. Though far from perfect, the blood test called CancerSEEK found 26 tumors that had not been discovered with conventional screenings.

Liquid biopsies can rely on a variety of biomarkers in addition to tumor DNA and proteins, such as free-floating cancer cells themselves. But what makes the search difficult, Ana Robles, a cancer biologist of the National Cancer Institute, explains, is that “if you have an early-stage cancer or certain types of cancer, there might not be a lot of tumor DNA,” and tests might miss it. The ideal blood test will be both very specific and very sensitive so that even tiny tumors can be found. To tackle this challenge, CancerSEEK looks for cancer-specific mutations (突变) on 16 genes, and for eight proteins that are linked to cancer and for which there are highly sensitive tests.

Simple detection is not the only goal. An ideal liquid biopsy will also determine the likely location of the cancer so that it can be treated. “Mutations are often shared among different kinds of cancer, so if you find them in blood, you don’t know if that mutation is coming from a stomach cancer or lung cancer,” says Anirban Maitra, a cancer scientist at the Anderson Cancer Center. To solve that problem, some newer liquid biopsies look for changes in gene expression. Such changes, Maitra notes, are “more organ-specific”.

On the nearer horizon are liquid biopsies to help people already diagnosed with cancer. Last year the government approved the first two such tests, which scan for tumor DNA so doctors can select mutation-targeted drugs. Scientists are working on blood tests to detect the first signs of cancer recurrence (复发) in patients who have completed treatment. This work is moving fast, but does it save lives?

That is the question companies such as Thrive and Grail must answer for their broadly ambitious screening tests. “These companies have to prove that they can detect early cancer and, more important, that the early detection can have an impact on cancer survival,” Maitra observes.

1. According to the passage, liquid biopsies are expected to         

A．flag cancer and determine the treatment

B．detect cancer signals from a sample of blood

C．take images of tumors and prevent potential cancers

D．show types of cancer by measuring the amount of proteins

2. What can we learn from the passage?

A．Signs of cancer recurrence are not detectable.

B．Different kinds of cancer have different gene mutations.

C．Biomarkers are much more reliable than tumor DNA and proteins.

D．Organ-specific cancers will be identified through changes in gene expression.

3. The author is mostly concerned about whether       .

A．liquid biopsies can discover tumors conventional screenings can’t find

B．liquid biopsies can improve the application of mutation-targeted drugs

C．liquid biopsies can help save the lives of those with cancer

D．liquid biopsies can be developed for cancer prevention

8 . 阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个恰当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

When Kylie     1     (treat) by Dr. Michelle Lim, one of Australia’s leading scientific experts on loneliness, she talked about her life.     2     (drive) by two children and a company, she felt that no one understood her struggles. With her hands so full, she didn’t think it was possible to feel lonely. But she discovered loneliness doesn’t only happen to people     3     are isolated. Instead, she said, it was about feeling disconnected from others.

9 . 阅读下面短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个恰当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

Research shows that individuals who sit all day, even if they go to the gym for an hour, are at     1    (great) disease risk than those who are more active during the day. Informal activity such as     2    (walk) is beneficial to overall health. While there is no     3    (publish) recommendation for “safe” sitting time yet, a good rule of thumb is to move for at least 1 to 2 minutes each hour of sitting.

10 . Keep Sight of Dry Eye

Do your eyes feel uncomfortable or dry? If so, you might have dry eye syndrome (综合征).     1     It can affect the enjoyment of social activities and your ability to focus on your studies. But solutions for dry eyes do exist, so read on.

In the past, dry eye syndrome was mainly a condition experienced by older adults, but it now affects many young people as well. Dry eye often results from overuse of computers or smartphones, which causes the user to blink (眨眼) less. Since blinking helps keep our eyes wet, a lack (缺少) of it can lead to dry eye.     2     As a result, those who spend a lot of time indoors are particularly at risk. Finally, wearing a medical mask can cause dry eye, since breathing with a mask on can force air out through the top of the mask and into our eyes.

    3     The first step toward prevention is cleanliness. When you wash your face, clean your eyes with a mild soap. Then, cover your eyes with a warm, wet cloth. Preventing dry eye also means avoiding tiredness in the eyes, so take frequent breaks when using your computer. While you’re on a computer break, focus on blinking, making sure that you close your eyes fully on each blink.     4     Another way to prevent dry eye is to drink more water. For good overall health, experts advise drinking 8 to 10 glasses of water per day, which will increase tear production.

If you suffer from dry eye syndrome, these steps can go a long way toward making your eyes feel better. However, if the problem doesn’t go away, then it’s time to see a doctor.     5    

A．After all, your health is worth keeping an eye on.

B．Blinking can help protect the surface of your eyes.

C．This happens when you don’t produce enough tears.

D．Air-conditioning and fans also contribute to dry eye.

E．Limit screen time and take breaks from staring at screens.

F．Treatments for dry eyes can include eye exercises and eye drops.

G．All it takes is a few lifestyle changes to prevent and treat dry eye syndrome.