閱讀理解

閱讀理解。

     A few years I was on a bicycle trip when I got off my bike for a rest. I sat down on the grass. A few
seconds later, I was covered in ants. They were swarming all over me so I got up and brushed them off.
It was a strange experience but I soon forgot about it.
     A couple of years later, I was living in Jordan. I had just moved into a modern flat and was unpacking
plates when I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I looked over at the kitchen drawer and
there was a cockroach(蟑螂) crawling out of it. I screamed. Then I grabbed a can of insecticide and
sprayed it on the cockroach. He ran under the nearby bathroom door. It took me three days before I
found the courage to open the bathroom door to see if he was still alive. He wasn't.
     Why did I react so violently to one lone insect when a closer encounter with hundreds of ants hardly
affected me? The answer is easy: because cockroaches are creepy crawlies(令人害怕的爬蟲) and ants
aren't. Creepy crawlies are those little bugs which provoke feelings such as apprehension(憂慮), anxiety
or aversion(討厭) - they make your skin crawl.
     Did you know that some people feel such a fear of bugs that it becomes a phobia(恐懼)?
Psychologists have offered many explanations. Some say we associate them with dirt and disease. Or
that these are life forms that are so alien to us, that we find them repulsive(排斥的) for their dissimilarity.
     Insects, however, don't follow our rules - they just do what they want and invade our space.
Unfortunately, although insects and bugs have been a successful animal species up to now, many of them,
like many other species nowadays, are under threat of extinction. Entomologists(昆蟲學家) warn that
this could upset entire ecosystems and lead to all kinds of disastrous consequences. So my plea to you is:
the next time you feel the urge to stamp on, splatter or spray a creepy crawly, give a thought to the planet
and stop.

     Most of the teenagers with major depression never get treatment for it, according to a new federal
report. That depressing news comes as no surprise to healthcare professionals, who say that many kids
and parents don't recognize depression’s symptoms(癥狀). And if they do, it can be difficult or
impossible to get help. This is no small problem; about 2 million teenagers experience clinical depression 
each year, an illness that can do harm to school performance and friendships and is a leading cause of
teen suicide(自殺).
     The new report found that just 39 percent of teens with major depression got treatment. Here are
three ways to make sure your child can get over the problem.
     Getting diagnosed(診斷). Last month, pediatricians(兒科醫(yī)生) and family doctors were required
to examine all teenagers for depression. Courtney Jones, a 17-year-old in Portland, Ore., said that the
examination saved her life when she was 14. She didn't recognize that her loss of confidence and sudden
lack of interest in spending time with friends were warning signs. Symptoms of depression include
frequent sadness, decreased interest in activities, and hopelessness.
      Finding help. It's no surprise to healthcare professionals that families have a hard time finding
mental-health services; there are only 7,418 child and adolescent psychiatrists(精神科醫(yī)生) in the
United States, or about 1 for every 10,000 kids. For now, the best first step is to be examined by a
pediatrician or family doctor, and then go to a psychiatrist for treatment and perhaps medication. David
Palmiter, a psychologist, suggests checking out local universities, which often run clinics, as well as
community mental-health clinics.   
     Paying for treatment. Paying for healthcare is a struggle these days, and mental-health services can
be ever harder to cover. The report found that lack of health insurance coverage was the biggest barrier
to getting help. Only 17.2 percent of teens without health insurance coverage were able to get treatment.
However, there are still ways to find affordable mental-health care that you may not be aware of. In a
word, you should establish a relationship with a doctor, give the doctor a chance to get to know your kid
and help her or him get better.

     All across the country, kids are heading back to school. Despite advice from the nation's secretary
of health and human services, recess(課間休息) and physical education have in many schools been
cut back or canceled. While most of kids are eager to catch up with friends, the general feeling is that
"playtime is over."
     Summer vacation does offer most children a bit of free playtime — the sort that leads to physical
activity and self-organized play, often in short supply during the school year. Still, it's not enough.
Playtime shouldn't be limited to summer vacation: it's important all year.
     For most American children in the past, "going out to play" was the norm. Today, according to a
University of Michigan study, children spend 50 percent less time outside than they did just 20 years
ago. There is a direct line between lack of play and some frightening public health and social trends:
tragic statistics for obesity(肥胖), 4.5 million children diagnosed with attention deficit disorder(ADD)
(兒童多動癥), an increase in childhood depression and classroom behavioral problems, and an
inability to interact well with peers.
     Just an hour a day of active play-running, chasing, games like dodge ball—can provide intense skill
learning. Physical activity is known to lessen the symptoms of mild attention deficit disorder, and
reduces the risk of childhood obesity. Active kids can perform better academically in the long term.
     We should be aware of how important play is to one's development. Even a play-deprived social
mammal(哺乳動物) like a rat or monkey will become unable to tell friend from enemy, and poor at
handling stress when it enters adulthood. My studies of young murderers revealed that most had lacked
normal, developmentally appropriate play as children and pre-adolescents.
     Play is fun, but ultimately it is also useful. The smarter the animal, the more they play. For humans,
play refreshes us because it gets us in touch with our core selves and the joy of life.
     I feel sad about the kids who have given up on play for another nine months. Their devaluation of
play is a tragic loss for them and for our society.

     Last weekend, a girlfriend that I've known since college was visiting. As we left the airport, we had to
stop at the grocery for a case of diet soda. On our way to lunch she asked me "Do you think that drinking diet soda makes you fat?"
     "Depends on whom you ask," I said. Last year, researchers from the University of Texas Health
Science Center in San Antonio reported that adults who drink diet soda did not lose weight. They were
actually more likely to become overweight than those adults who did not drink soda at all or those that
drink regular soda. In fact, the more diet soda consumed, the more likely someone would become
overweight. To be specific, there was a 41% increase in the risk of being overweight for every can or
bottle of diet soda consumed daily.
     In this study, researcher Sharon Fowler followed over 600 normal weight adults ages 25-64 over a
seven to eight year period of time. She has a number of theories as to why weight gain may be a result of
drinking a zero-calorie beverage:
     1.Artificial sweeteners may affect your body’s ability to judge how many calories you consume. When no calories are consumed, the body may continue to crave(渴望) what it expected and could lead to
overeating.
     2.  Some people give up regular sodas to justify their favorite dessert and still take in too many calories. A regular soda contains about 150 calories while your dessert may be double that in calories easily.
     3. For others who were gaining weight already, switching to diet soda wasn’t enough to stop the gain.
     Since her first piece of research, Fowler has tracked another 2000 people with similar results. Do the
faux sweet products induce people to want more sweets? Fowler suggests that perhaps it’s not the soft
drinks themselves that cause weight gain but that there is some link between diet soda drinking and
overweight.

     A few cups of green tea each day may help prevent heart disease,Greek researchers said
on Wednesday.A study published in the European Journal of Cardiovascular (心血管的)
Prevention showed further evidence of the potential health benefits from tea already linked
to a reduced risk of a range of cancers and other conditions.
                                                                             

     The study showed that green tea improves blood flow and the ability of arteries (動脈)
to relax,said Charalambos Vlachopoulos,an expert at the Athens Medical School in Greece
who worked on the study.
     Other studies have shown that black tea also has benefits for cardiovascular health.
     The Greek team said they believed green tea might be even better because it had higher
quantities of beneficial substances called flavonoids (類黃酮)-some of which are lost in the
oxidation (氧化) process that black tea undergoes.
     Flavonoids are also found in cocoa,tomatoes and grapes."A couple of cups a day would
probably be good for people," Vlachopoulos said."This is the first study to show these
effects for green tea."
     The researchers gave 14 healthy volunteers either green tea,coffee or hot water and then
measured the function of endothelial cells (內(nèi)皮細胞)．These cells help relax arteries and
ease blood flow."What is important is these effects are evident within 30 minutes,"
Vlachopoulos said.
     The measurements taken 30,90 and 120 minutes following consumption showed an
almost immediate benefit among people who had drunk green tea,he said.While the researchers
looked only at a short-term effect,Vlachopoulos said the team's studies suggest the protection
is long-lasting.
     "Green tea is consumed less in the Western world than black tea,but it could be more
beneficial,"he said.