Playing sports obviously helps your physical health. But did you know that following sports can __21__ your mental health? So says Daniel Wann, a psychology professor at Murray State University in the US.
His research found that enthusiastic sports fans have lower rates of __22__ and higher self-esteem than non-fans. The main reason? The “tribal” nature and the sense of __23__ . Fans are part of a social network, and any network offers the support that helps to keep people mentally sound.
Cheering a team provides an __24__ outlet, and when they win, fans can feel a similar joy to the athletes’ and a lingering positive feeling. __25__ following a losing team helps fans learn to cope and move on. So if people criticize you about being a sports-obsessed couch potato, tell them you’re doing it for your mental health.
Playing sports obviously helps your physical health. But did you know that following sports can __21__ your mental health? So says Daniel Wann, a psychology professor at Murray State University in the US.
His research found that enthusiastic sports fans have lower rates of __22__ and higher self-esteem than non-fans. The main reason? The “tribal” nature and the sense of __23__ . Fans are part of a social network, and any network offers the support that helps to keep people mentally sound.
Cheering a team provides an __24__ outlet, and when they win, fans can feel a similar joy to the athletes’ and a lingering positive feeling. __25__ following a losing team helps fans learn to cope and move on. So if people criticize you about being a sports-obsessed couch potato, tell them you’re doing it for your mental health.
Playing sports obviously helps your physical health. But did you know that following sports can __21__ your mental health? So says Daniel Wann, a psychology professor at Murray State University in the US.
His research found that enthusiastic sports fans have lower rates of __22__ and higher self-esteem than non-fans. The main reason? The “tribal” nature and the sense of __23__ . Fans are part of a social network, and any network offers the support that helps to keep people mentally sound.
Cheering a team provides an __24__ outlet, and when they win, fans can feel a similar joy to the athletes’ and a lingering positive feeling. __25__ following a losing team helps fans learn to cope and move on. So if people criticize you about being a sports-obsessed couch potato, tell them you’re doing it for your mental health.
Playing sports obviously helps your physical health. But did you know that following sports can __21__ your mental health? So says Daniel Wann, a psychology professor at Murray State University in the US.
His research found that enthusiastic sports fans have lower rates of __22__ and higher self-esteem than non-fans. The main reason? The “tribal” nature and the sense of __23__ . Fans are part of a social network, and any network offers the support that helps to keep people mentally sound.
Cheering a team provides an __24__ outlet, and when they win, fans can feel a similar joy to the athletes’ and a lingering positive feeling. __25__ following a losing team helps fans learn to cope and move on. So if people criticize you about being a sports-obsessed couch potato, tell them you’re doing it for your mental health.
Playing sports obviously helps your physical health. But did you know that following sports can __21__ your mental health? So says Daniel Wann, a psychology professor at Murray State University in the US.
His research found that enthusiastic sports fans have lower rates of __22__ and higher self-esteem than non-fans. The main reason? The “tribal” nature and the sense of __23__ . Fans are part of a social network, and any network offers the support that helps to keep people mentally sound.
Cheering a team provides an __24__ outlet, and when they win, fans can feel a similar joy to the athletes’ and a lingering positive feeling. __25__ following a losing team helps fans learn to cope and move on. So if people criticize you about being a sports-obsessed couch potato, tell them you’re doing it for your mental health.
A “No Kissing” sign has been unveiled at Warrington Bank Quay railway station in northern England. The __26__ is to stop departing passengers from pulling up at a crowded drop-off point to kiss goodbye. The spokesman of Virgin Rail, which runs the station, says that they have __27__ the sign because the drop-off point is not a big area and drivers block the access to the station while saying goodbye to departing passengers. The “No Kissing” sign is necessary in order to make the station more __28__ . Passengers are not __29__ from kissing, says the spokesman. If they want to spend more time with their loved ones and kiss goodbye, they __30__ to park in the short-stay car park nearby.
A “No Kissing” sign has been unveiled at Warrington Bank Quay railway station in northern England. The __26__ is to stop departing passengers from pulling up at a crowded drop-off point to kiss goodbye. The spokesman of Virgin Rail, which runs the station, says that they have __27__ the sign because the drop-off point is not a big area and drivers block the access to the station while saying goodbye to departing passengers. The “No Kissing” sign is necessary in order to make the station more __28__ . Passengers are not __29__ from kissing, says the spokesman. If they want to spend more time with their loved ones and kiss goodbye, they __30__ to park in the short-stay car park nearby.
A “No Kissing” sign has been unveiled at Warrington Bank Quay railway station in northern England. The __26__ is to stop departing passengers from pulling up at a crowded drop-off point to kiss goodbye. The spokesman of Virgin Rail, which runs the station, says that they have __27__ the sign because the drop-off point is not a big area and drivers block the access to the station while saying goodbye to departing passengers. The “No Kissing” sign is necessary in order to make the station more __28__ . Passengers are not __29__ from kissing, says the spokesman. If they want to spend more time with their loved ones and kiss goodbye, they __30__ to park in the short-stay car park nearby.
A “No Kissing” sign has been unveiled at Warrington Bank Quay railway station in northern England. The __26__ is to stop departing passengers from pulling up at a crowded drop-off point to kiss goodbye. The spokesman of Virgin Rail, which runs the station, says that they have __27__ the sign because the drop-off point is not a big area and drivers block the access to the station while saying goodbye to departing passengers. The “No Kissing” sign is necessary in order to make the station more __28__ . Passengers are not __29__ from kissing, says the spokesman. If they want to spend more time with their loved ones and kiss goodbye, they __30__ to park in the short-stay car park nearby.
A “No Kissing” sign has been unveiled at Warrington Bank Quay railway station in northern England. The __26__ is to stop departing passengers from pulling up at a crowded drop-off point to kiss goodbye. The spokesman of Virgin Rail, which runs the station, says that they have __27__ the sign because the drop-off point is not a big area and drivers block the access to the station while saying goodbye to departing passengers. The “No Kissing” sign is necessary in order to make the station more __28__ . Passengers are not __29__ from kissing, says the spokesman. If they want to spend more time with their loved ones and kiss goodbye, they __30__ to park in the short-stay car park nearby.
Scientists have genetically modified mice to enable them to sniff out landmines, the explosives buried just below the surface of the ground. They hope the GM mouse,known as MouSensor, could become a useful tool to help deal with the dangerous devices left from past wars.
Although it sounds peculiar, similar efforts have already been made. A Belgian charity uses giant African HeroRats to sniff out the chemical explosive, TNT. Two of these rats can clear an area in less than two hours that would take two people two days to do. One disadvantage of the HeroRat, however, is that it needs nine months’ training before being ready for landmine detection.
Scientists wanted to improve on the HeroRat concept by creating a “supersniffer” mouse, MouSensor. They found that a receptor in the lab mouse’s nose is sensitive to the odor of the chemical elements in TNT and landmines. By altering the genes of the mouse, scientists are able to enhance the capability of its receptor 500 times stronger than before. Besides having super sniffing power, the MouSensor is cheaper to manage and easier to breed than the rats.
When the MouSensor detects the presence of a landmine, it would have some sort of a seizure and faint because of its extreme sensitivity of the explosives. And this change of the mouse’s physical condition would trigger a chip implanted under its skin to send a signal to a computer monitored by scientists. As a result, the location of the landmine could be identified, and a bomb-disposal expert could go in and neutralize it. The mouse itself would be safe from the landmine, since it would be too small to trigger an explosion.
How would a MouSensor help to identify the location of a landmine?
LOHAS is an acronym for Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability, a way of life that originated in the United States about a decade ago. LOHAS consumers are those who are passionate about the environment, sustainability, social issues, and health. To push social and environmental responsibility, they purchase products such as organic soap, recycled paper, hybrid cars, solar heating, and herbal tea.
Approximately 30% of American people are currently considered LOHAS consumers. The top product selection criterion for 40% of American consumers is organic quality. For 20% of the consumers, sustainability is a key criterion in deciding what to buy. The idea of LOHAS consumption continues to boost organic sales in the US. The US market for organic food is growing by about 3.5 billion US dollars a year, according to the result of Sustainability Research.
The LOHAS trend is also beginning to catch on in Japan, where workaholic “salarymen” are looking for quick fixes for stress and thinking green is becoming fashionable. Japan is receptive to LOHAS because the nation’s traditional culture embraces a nature-loving view on life with hot springs and seasonal gourmet. A Tokyo department store has a section for LOHAS goods. Magazines are singing the praises of the LOHAS lifestyle, including yoga, organic wine, and aroma therapy. A restaurant serving ordinary but healthy dishes such as brown rice and vegetable curry claims to be LOHAS. Not littering is also LOHAS. The values touch something as cheap as a hammock to something more expensive as Louis Vuitton luggage.
What is the main idea of the passage?
(A)
LOHAS consumption is getting popular in the US and Japan.
(B)
The concept of LOHAS applies to food, cosmetics, body care, and clothing.
(C)
Green products are now widely available and the price has declined.
(D)
LOHAS consumption plays an important role in fighting global warming.
Does your older brother think he’s cleverer than you? Well, he’s probably right. According to new research due to be published this week in the journal Intelligence, the oldest children in families are likely to have the highest IQs, and the youngest the lowest.
The research is based on more than 1,000 children whose IQ was tested through childhood and adolescence up to the age of 18. The Dutch study shows a birth-order effect on intelligence in each of the tests. Overall, the IQ of the first-born child was higher than the second-born, which, in turn, was greater than that of children who had two or more older siblings.
This is only the latest research to suggest that the order of birth can have a fundamental effect on diverse factors, ranging from the risk of cancer, asthma and eczema, to weight and even premature death. It can also affect personality, achievement, and career, with first-borns being more academically successful and more likely to win Nobel prizes. However, eldest children are less likely to be radical and pioneering. Charles Darwin, for example, was the fifth child of six.
Exactly why there should be such differences is not clear, and there are a number of theories, with many homing in on environmental influences on the child. The so-called dilution theory, for example, suggests that as family resources, both emotional and physical, as well as economic, are finite, it follows that as more children come along, the levels of parental attention and stimulation will drop.
What is the passage mainly about?
(A)
The dilution theory.
(B)
The effect of birth order on children.
(C)
The academic success of the eldest children.
(D)
Different theories about the differences among children.
The Blue Grotto, or Grotta Azzurra, is a noted sea cave on the coast of the island of Capri, Italy. It was discovered by a German writer in August 1826. Since then it has become a popular tourist attraction. It is said that Roman emperors used the grotto as a private bath and antique statues were found in there. Inside the grotto, the sea seems to be lit from underwater. The brilliant blue of the sea fascinates its visitors. The enchantment results from another opening to the grotto, completely submerged. It allows the sunlight to pass through and light the water from below, creating a blue reflection that illuminates the cave. To get to Grotta Azzurra, there are motorboats that leave from the port of Marina Grande. At the entrance to the cave, passengers get into little rowing boats. The roof of the entrance is only one meter above the sea level so passengers have to lie down in the boat while passing into the cave. The grotto cannot be visited during adverse weather conditions.