Mark is a young man with synesthesia. It is not a__36__ (although it sounds like one), and it does not really have any serious effects on his day-to-day life. However, it is a strange condition. Synesthesia happens when two or more of a person’s senses get __37__ . For example, Mark “tastes” words. His sense of taste__ 38__  when he hears or reads certain words, even if he is not eating anything. For him, the word “box” tastes of eggs.

       His sister is synesthetic, too, and she sees words__39__ color. Hence, when she sees the word “Tuesday” or just thinks of the word “Tuesday,” she gets the feeling of “brown.” Actually, the kind of synesthesia, where the days of the week are colored, is the most common type. Some scholars suggest that synesthesia is__40__  to the way our brains develop language and that there is a link between sounds and shapes.