A new study says one part of the human brain may become smaller as the result of a condition known as jet lag. Jet lag results from flying long distances in an airplane. People with jet lag feel extremely tired for several days. They may also have problems in thinking clearly and remembering.

Recently a researcher at the University of Bristol in Britain reported the findings of his jet lag study, which involved twenty women who worked for international airlines. They had served passengers on airplanes for five years. These flight attendants flew across many countries and at least seven time zones. In the study, the flight attendants had different amounts of time to recover from jet lag. Half the women spent five days or fewer in their home areas between long flights. The other half spent more than fourteen days in their home areas.

The researcher took some saliva from the women’s mouths to measure levels of a hormone  (荷尔蒙 ) that increases during stress . He tested them to see if they could remember where black spots appeared on a computer screen .And he took pictures of their brains to measure the size of the brain’s temporal lobes. (脑叶).

It was found that the women who had less time between flights had smaller right temporal lobes. This area of the brain deals with recognizing and remembering what is seen. The same group performed worse and had slower reaction times on the visual memory test. And their saliva samples showed higher levels of stress hormones.

The researcher believes the brain needs at least ten days to recover after a long trip. He says airline workers told him their ability to remember got worse after working on planes for about four years. Other studies have shown that increased feelings of stress can cause a loss of cells in the part of the brain that controls memory.

Scientists say more tests are needed to study the effects of jet lag on the brain. They want to find out if too much jet lag could permanently affect memory.

47．According to the text, jet lag _____.

A. can cause difficulties in speaking  

B. can make people feel tired for a few weeks

C. can be only found in flight attendants

D. can be caused by flying over several time zones

48．It can be inferred from the text that ______.

A. the conclusion is refused by many scientists

B. scientists fear that this research is not done properly

C. every scientific conclusion needs the support from many tests

D. the women who were examined in the research were not healthy

49．From the result of the research we can see that _____.

A. the women who have longer rest at home perform better on the test.

B. the women who fly in short time have smaller right temporal lobes

C. the women who have longer flights fail the memory test

D. the women who rest more than 14 days produce more hormones

50．What is the subject discussed in the test?

A. The cause of jet lag.

B. A story of a group of flight attendants.

C. The importance of having enough rest after flights.

D. A research about the effects of jet lag on the brain.

　　A new study says one part of the human brain may become smaller as a result of a condition known as jet lag．Jet lag results from flying long distances in an airplane．People with jet lag may feel extremely tired for several days．They may also have problems thinking clearly and remembering．

　　Recently a researcher at the University of Bristol in Britain reported the findings of his jet lag study, which involved twenty young women who worked for international airlines．They had served passengers on airplanes for five years．These flight attendants flew across many countries and at least seven time zones．In the study, the flight attendants had different amounts of time to recover from jet lag．Half the women spent five days or fewer in their home areas between long flights．The other half spent more than fourteen days in their home areas．

　　The researcher took some saliva from the women's mouths to measure levels of a hormone (荷尔蒙) that increases during stress．He tested them to see if they could remember where black spots appeared on a computer screen．And he took pictures of their brains to measure the size of the brain's temporal lobes (脑叶)．

　　It was found that the women who had less time between flights had smaller right temporal lobes．This area of the brain deals with recognizing and remembering what is seen．The same group performed worse and had slower reaction times on the visual memory test．And their saliva samples showed higher levels of stress hormones．

　　The researcher believes the brain needs at least ten days to recover after a long trip．He says airline workers told him their ability to remember got worse after working on planes for about four years．Other studies have shown that increased feelings of stress can cause a loss of cells in the part of the brain that controls memory．

　　Scientists say more tests are needed to study the effects of jet lag on the brain．They want to find out if too much jet lag could permanently (永久性地) affect memory．

1．According to the text, jet lag________．

[　　]

A．can cause difficulties in speaking

B．can make people feel tired for a few weeks

C．can be only found in flight attendants

D．can be caused by flying over several time zones

2．It can be inferred from the text that ________．

[　　]

A．the conclusion is refused by many scientists

B．scientists fear that this research is not done properly

C．every scientific conclusion needs the support from many tests

D．the women who were examined in the research were not healthy

3．From the result of the research we can see that ________．

[　　]

A．the women who have a longer rest between long flights show better memory

B．the women who fly in a short time have smaller right temporal lobes

C．the women who have longer flights fail the memory test

D．the women who rest more than 14 days produce lower levels of hormones

4．What is the subject discussed in the text?

[　　]

A．The cause of jet lag．

B．A story of a group of flight attendants．

C．The importance of having enough rest after flights．

D．A research about the effects of jet lag on the brain．

Many facts suggest that children are overweight and the situation is getting worse, according to the doctors. I feel there are a number of reasons for this.
Some people blame the fact that we are surrounded by shops selling unhealthy, fatty foods, such as fried chicken and ice cream, at low prices. This has turned out a whole generation of grown-ups who seldom cook a meal for themselves. If there were fewer of these restaurants, then probably children would buy less take-away food.
There is another argument that blames parents for allowing their children to become overweight. I agree with this, because good eating habits begin early in life, long before children start to visit fast food shops. If children are given fried chicken and chocolate rather than healthy food, or are always allowed to choose what they eat, they will go for sweet and salty foods every time, and this will carry on throughout their lives.
There is a third reason for this situation. Children these days take very little exercise. They do not walk to school. When they get home, they sit in front of the television or their computers and play computer games. Not only is this an unhealthy pastime（消遣）, it also gives them time to eat more unhealthy food．What they need is to go outside and play active games or sports.
The above are the main reasons for this problem, and therefore we have to encourage young people to be more active, as well as steering them away from fast food shops and bad eating habits.
【小题1】According to the text, what kind of children may eat more unhealthy food?

A．Those who often take exercise.

B．Those who often watch television.

C．Those who often have meals at home.

D．Those who often walk to school.

【小题2】The author thinks that children are becoming overweight because

A．their parents often cook meals for them

B．they are too busy to go out and play

C．they can' t choose what to eat

D．there are too many fast food shops around

【小题3】The word "steering" underlined in the last sentence most probably means _______.

A．forcing

B．guiding

C．driving

D．moving

【小题4】The main purpose of the text is to _________.

A．tell a story

B．provide facts

C．give advice

D．compare opinions

Many facts suggest that children are overweight and the situation is getting worse, according to the doctors. I feel there are a number of reasons for this.

Some people blame the fact that we are surrounded by shops selling unhealthy, fatty foods, such as fried chicken and ice cream, at low prices. This has turned out a whole generation of grown-ups who seldom cook a meal for themselves. If there were fewer of these restaurants, then probably children would buy less take-away food.

There is another argument that blames parents for allowing their children to become overweight. I agree with this, because good eating habits begin early in life, long before children start to visit fast food shops. If children are given fried chicken and chocolate rather than healthy food, or are always allowed to choose what they eat, they will go for sweet and salty foods every time, and this will carry on throughout their lives.

There is a third reason for this situation. Children these days take very little exercise. They do not walk to school. When they get home, they sit in front of the television or their computers and play computer games. Not only is this an unhealthy pastime（消遣）, it also gives them time to eat more unhealthy food．What they need is to go outside and play active games or sports.

The above are the main reasons for this problem, and therefore we have to encourage young people to be more active, as well as steering them away from fast food shops and bad eating habits.

1.According to the text, what kind of children may eat more unhealthy food?

A．Those who often take exercise.

B．Those who often watch television.

C．Those who often have meals at home.

D．Those who often walk to school.

2.The author thinks that children are becoming overweight because

A．their parents often cook meals for them

B．they are too busy to go out and play

C．they can' t choose what to eat

D．there are too many fast food shops around

3.The word "steering" underlined in the last sentence most probably means _______.

A．forcing

B．guiding

C．driving

D．moving

4.The main purpose of the text is to _________.

A．tell a story

B．provide facts

C．give advice

D．compare opinions

 

Many facts suggest that children are overweight and the situation is getting worse, according to the doctors. I feel there are a number of reasons for this.

Some people blame the fact that we are surrounded （包围） by shops selling unhealthy, fatty foods, such as fried chicken and ice cream, at low prices. This has turned out a whole generation of grown-ups who seldom cook a meal for themselves. If there were fewer of these restaurants, then probably children would buy less take-away food.

There is another argument that blames parents for allowing their children to become overweight. I agree with this, because good eating habits begin early in life, long before children start to visit fast food shops. If children are given fried chicken and chocolate rather than healthy food, or are always allowed to choose what they eat, they will go for sweet and salty foods every time, and this will carry on throughout their lives.

There is a third reason for this situation. Children these days take very little exercise. They do not walk to school. When they get home, they sit in front of the television or their computers and play computer games. Not only is this an unhealthy pastime（消遣）, it also gives them time to eat more unhealthy food．What they need is to go outside and play active games or sports.

The above are the main reasons for this problem, and therefore we have to encourage young people to be more active, as well as steering them away from fast food shops and bad eating habits.

According to the text, what kind of children may eat more unhealthy food?

A．Those who often take exercise.              

B．Those who often watch television.

C．Those who often have meals at home.     

D．Those who often walk to school.

The author thinks that children are becoming overweight because

A．their parents often cook meals for them       

B．they are too busy to go out and play

C．they can' t choose what to eat                         

D．there are too many fast food shops around

The word "steering" underlined in the last sentence most probably means _______.

A．forcing     B．guiding      C．driving     D．moving

The main purpose of the text is to _________.

A．tell a story     B．provide facts  C．give advice           D．compare opinions