People are funny about food. Throughout history they have 11 others for eating strange things. In 1755 Samuel Johnson’s dictionary defined oats as “a grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland 12 the people”. Nineteenth-century Japanese nationalists 13 Western culture as bata kusai, or “stinking of butter”. Unkind people today 14 Brits as “limeys”, Mexicans as “beaners” and French people as “frogs”. And food-related insults often have a political 15 . In many countries today, politicians who wish to imply that their rivals have lost touch with ordinary voters sneer that they are latte-drinkers, muesli-munchers or 16 to quinoa. 

This South American grain gets a particularly bad 17 . To its fans, it is a superfood. To its detractors, it is like the erotic sci-fi murals found in Saddam Hussein’s palaces—pretentious and tasteless. A headline from Mother Jones, a left-wing magazine, perfectly captured the confusion of 18 Western foodies: “Quinoa: good, evil or just really complicated?” 

This newspaper takes no view as to whether quinoa tastes nice. But its spread is a 19 of a happy trend. More and more people are chomping unfamiliar grains. Rich Westerners are eating less wheat and more of the cereals that people in poor countries traditionally grow, such as millet, sorghum, teff and yes, quinoa. Middle-class Asians are eating more wheat, in the form of noodles or bread, instead of rice. West Africans are eating 25% more rice per head than in 2006; millet consumption has fallen by the same 20 . 

(AB) rap (AC) deride (AD) partial (AE) symptom (BC) craving (BD) share (BE) well-meaning (CD) yield (CE) supports (DE) mocked (ABC) tinge (ABD) dismissed

    Does your house smell pine fresh? If so, you might want to

    Household chemicals' 'cocktail effect' raises cancer concerns

for watchdog Alastair Lewis, professor of atmospheric chemistry at

York University, says the decision by SC Johnson to publish a list of

ingredients in products such as Mr Muscle and Glade air fresheners,

was helpful for scientists trying to track why high concentrations of

formaldehyde are found in some homes. Lewis points out that while

pinene is naturally occurring, and cleaning products are heavily

tested and regulated, there has been little research on the effects of

the secondary chemicals they produce, because it was always

assumed they would disperse quickly.

    But according to the charity Chem Trust, which looks at the

damage caused by manmade chemicals, there are many more

hidden pollutants in our homes. Michael Warhurst, an

environmental chemist at the organisation, says: “When people

think of the dangers of chemicals, it is often cleaning products or cosmetics that spring to mind, but actually the biggest worries are chemicals in things such as packaging or furniture.” So what other

dangers are lurking in our homes?

　　Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770. His father, Johann Beethoven, was also a musician and wanted his son to be a child prodigy.   26   

　　Johann’s resolution to make his son into a successful musician was so extreme that he would pull poor Ludwig out of bed in the middle of the night and force the young boy to practice piano until the early hours of the morning. 

　　At the age of 11, Ludwig received professional piano and composition training in Bonn under the royal court’s organist, and by the mid-1790s he had made a reputation for himself as a master pianist in Vienna, the musical capital of the age.   27   

　　A huge turning point in Beethoven’s life occurred in 1798, when his hearing started to become impaired.   28   This caused him to shun company and become depressed. He even contemplated suicide. 

　　Battling both depression and his loss of hearing, Beethoven continued to produce music with a special adaptation to his piano.   29   The music that he created during this period expressed heroism and struggle and went on to become some of his most famous compositions. 

　　 30   After the performance of his Ninth Symphony, he turned around to see the ecstatic applause of the audience but broke down in tears when he realized that he couldn’t hear them. 

　　 After a long illness, Beethoven died at the age of 56 on March 26, 1827. The true cause of his death was unknown for a long time, but later analysis of his hair and skeleton suggests that he was accidentally poisoned by his doctors, who prescribed excessive doses of lead-based medicine. Whatever the cause, the death of the great man shocked Vienna. Twenty thousand people attended his funeral procession, paying their respects to a true musical genius of their time. 

    They lie buried- their long, tentaclelike arms outstretched—in all the tissues of our bodies that interact with the environment. In the lining of our nose and lungs, lest we inhale the influenza virus in a crowded subway car. In our gastrointestinal tract, to alert our immune system if we swallow a dose of salmonella bacteria. And most importantly, in our skin, they lie in wait as stealthy sentinels should microbes breach the leathery fortress of our epidermis.

    They are dendritic cells, a class of white blood cells that encompasses some of the least understood but most fascinating actors in the immune system. Over the past several years, researchers have begun to unravel the mysteries of how dendritic cells educate the immune system about what belongs in the body and what is foreign and potentially dangerous. Intriguingly, they have found that dendritic cells initiate and control the overall immune response. For instance, the cells are crucial for establishing immunological “memory,” which is the basis of all vaccines. Indeed, physicians, including those at a number of biotechnology companies, are taking advantage of the role that dendritic cells play in immunization by “vaccinating” cancer patients with dendritic cells loaded with bits of their own tumors to activate their immune system against their cancer. Dendritic cells are also responsible for the phenomenon of immune tolerance, the process through which the immune system learns not to attack other components of the body.

    Dendritic cells are relatively scarce: they constitute only 0.2 percent of white blood cells in the blood and are present in even smaller proportions in tissues such as skin. In part because of their rarity, their true function eluded scientists for nearly a century after they were first identified in 1868 by German anatomist Paul Langerhans, who mistook them for nerve endings in the skin.

    In 1973 Ralph M. Steinman of the Rockefeller University rediscovered the cells in mouse spleens and recognized that they are part of the immune system. The cells were unusually potent in stimulating immunity in experimental animals. He renamed the cells “dendritic” because of their spiky arms, or dendrites, although the subset of dendritic cells that occur in the epidermis layer of the skin are still commonly called Langerhans cells.

    There are several subsets of dendritic cells, which arise from precursors that circulate in the blood and then take up residence in immature form in the skin, mucous membranes, and organs such as the lungs and spleen. Immature dendritic cells are endowed with a wealth of mechanisms for capturing invading microbes: they reel in invaders using suction cup-like receptors on their surfaces, they take microscopic sips of the fluid surround them, and they suck in viruses or bacteria by engulfing them in sacks known as vacuoles. Once they devour foreign objects, the immature cells chop them into fragments (antigens) that can be recognized by the rest of the immune system.

    Dendritic cells are very efficient at capturing and presenting antigens: they can pick up antigens that occur in only minute concentrations. As they process antigens for presentation, they travel to the spleen through the blood or to lymph nodes through a clear fluid known as lymph. Once at their destinations, the cells complete their maturation and present their antigen-laden molecules to naïve helper T cells, those that have never encountered antigens before. Dendritic cells are the only cells that can educate naïve helper T cells to recognize an antigen as foreign or dangerous. This unique ability appears to derive from costimulatory molecules on their surfaces that can bind to corresponding receptors on the T cells.

    Once educated, the helper T cells go on to prompt so-called B cells to produce antibodies that bind to and inactivate the antigen. The dendritic cells and helper cells also activate killer T cells, which can destroy cells infected by microbes. Some of the cells that have been educated by dendritic cells become “memory” cells that remain in the body for years—to combat the invader in case it ever returns.

    Activating naive helper T cells is the basis of vaccines for everything from pneumonia to tetanus to influenza. Scientists are now turning the new knowledge of the role that dendritic cells play in immunity against microbes and their toxins into a strategy to fight cancer.

    Cancer cells are abnormal and as such are thought to generate molecules that healthy cells don’t. If researchers could devise drugs and vaccines that exclusively targeted those aberrant molecules, they could combat cancer more effectively while leaving normal cells and tissues alone—thereby eliminating some of the pernicious side effects of chemotherapy and radiation, such as hair loss, nausea and weakening of the immune system caused by destruction of the bone marrow.

    Such trials generally employ vaccines made of dendritic cells precursors that have been isolated from cancer patients and grown in the laboratory together with tumor antigens. During this process, the dendritic cells pick up the antigens, chop them up and present them on their surfaces. When injected back into the patients, the antigen-loaded dendritic cells are expected to ramp up patients’ immune response against their own tumors.

     Several researchers fear that such vaccines might induce patients’ immune systems to attack healthy tissue by mistake. In addition, tailoring a dendritic cell vaccine to fight a particular patient’s tumors might not be economically feasible. But many scientists are working to circumvent the costly and time-consuming steps of isolating cells from patients and manipulating them in the laboratory for reinjection.

    As we learn more about the molecules that control dendritic cells, we will find ways to harness their therapeutic potential. The increasing number of scientists and corporations working on dendritic cells portends that we will soon be able to maximize the biological power of these cells to treat and prevent the diseases that plague humankind.

Although voting rights have steadily expanded in the United States, the numbers of people who vote have been steadily decreasing. Even in presidential elections, half the potential electorate stays home. In fact, lower percentages of registered voters now vote in the United States than in any other industrialized democracy. After the election, some editorialists criticize the nonvoters for being lazy, while others criticize the candidates for being uninspiring－but the question of why eligible voters abstain is more complicated than newspaper editorials usually suggest. 

 Voting is dear. If you are paid by the hour and you take time off in order to vote, you lose a portion of your wages. Otherwise, you may have to wait in long lines to be able to vote before or after work. If you are a parent who cares for small children, you may need to pay the cost of a sitter. Even if you are a professional who can leave work early or arrive late, you may do less work on Election Day if you take the time to vote. Moreover, not all costs are tangible. The time you spend at the voting precinct is time that you may not spend on other activities, some of which may seem more fulfilling. For some people with little information about politics, the entire voting situation can be uncomfortable; staying home enables them to avoid the discomfort. If you are surprised that such seemingly small considerations could lower turnout, consider that turnout generally falls when the weather is rainy or very hot. 

There also are benefits to voting, of course. The most obvious is likely the least important: the possibility that your vote might swing an election. Your vote affects an electoral outcome only if it creates or breaks a tie. 

 Otherwise, you could stay home and the election would come out the same way. The chance that a single voter will swing a state or national election is very low, even when turnout falls to its lowest levels. In the 1996 presidential election, which attracted the lowest turnout rate of any presidential election in the twentieth century, almost 100 million Americans voted. In the 1998 elections for the U.S. House of Representatives, which featured the lowest midterm  election turnout in half a century, an average of 140,000 citizens voted in each congressional race. Given numbers like these, a desire to determine who wins the election cannot be a very powerful individual motivation for turning out. From a purely practical standpoint, the puzzle is not that turnout is so low in the United States but, rather, that turnout is as high as it is. 

Late in the nineteenth century, when turnout levels were especially high－well over 75 percent outside the South－some voters had a compelling reason to show up at the polls: They were paid to do so. Historians estimate that the going price of a vote in New York City elections could soar as high as $25 in today’s dollars when adjusted for inflation. 

 Material rewards are a much rarer benefit of voting today, but sop for voting still exists here and there, mainly in the poorer areas of eastern cities. Citizens also may feel compelled to vote in elections because the outcome can directly affect their material interests. For example, government employees vote at higher rates than people employed in the private sector, other things being equal－especially in low-turnout local elections. Today, however, most of the individual motivations for voting are not material but psychological. For example, some people feel a civic duty to vote. They avoid guilt by showing up at the polls. Americans are highly individualistic, though, so they are not especially prone to place much emphasis on civic duty. Perhaps the most compelling benefit of voting is the pleasure it can bring. Some Americans take satisfaction in expressing their preference for a candidate or an issue position, much as they might enjoy cheering for an athletic team. Psychological benefits are an important incentive for voting. Whereas your vote makes no difference unless it affects the outcome, you receive the psychological benefits regardless of the closeness of an election. Indeed, voters may take even more satisfaction when they can be part of a political team that wins big, much as sports teams gain in popularity when they enjoy a particularly good season. Another reason people vote goes beyond simple individual motivations. Sometimes people participate in elections because they have been encouraged to vote by others who have personal incentives to increase turnout. Voter mobilization consists of the efforts of parties, groups, and activists to canvass for their candidate. Campaign workers provide baby sitters and rides to the polls, thus reducing the individual costs of voting. They apply social pressure by contacting citizens who haven’t voted and reminding them to do so. Various groups and social networks to which individuals belong also exert social pressures, encouraging the feeling that one has a responsibility to vote. Although pressures and benefits like these may seem small, remember that the costs of voting are relatively small as well.

For most of us, summer is a season to enjoy outdoor activities. But for people who live in tropical regions,

 summer can bring huge storms capable of damaging buildings with wind and floods. This is because hurricanes

 occur when the water temperatures in the ocean rise above normal levels. What may start out as a minor 

storm can quickly be whipped up in to a devastating hurricane after gathering strength from warm water. A hurricane is an enormous circular vortex of clouds and wind. In order to develop, a hurricane requires water temperatures of at least twenty-six degrees Celsius. When a tropical storm occurs, the energy of the 

warm water and the moisture in the air can turn the storm into a hurricane. The location and size of hurricanes are observed by meteorologists using satellite equipment and radar. The media get the information and are able to warn the public about when and where the hurricane will strike. Hurricanes are given names by meteorologists to help people identify them. Although hurricanes are easily located by using sophisticated equipment, they are difficult to be judged because of their unpredictable movement and speed. Most hurricanes last for about ten days. When they cross onto land, they frictional drag from the ground causes their winds to slow and weaken. The most dangerous hurricanes, therefore, are the ones that move along a coastline and inflict damage on land while keeping their energy source of warm water. Every year the south-eastern coast of the United States becomes exposed to hurricanes that form thousands of kilometers away in the Atlantic Ocean. Hurricanes are most likely to occur in August and September because at this time the water temperature is high due to several months’ direct sunlight and humidity. In September 1999, a tropical storm gathered strength in the Atlantic. It was named Hurricane Floyd after four days of growth. American meteorologists used satellite equipment to track Hurricane Floyd and issued severe weather warnings for the states of Georgia and South Carolina. As Hurricane Floyd approached the coast, more than two million people were forced to evacuate the coast under government instructions. Fortunately, only a small number of people were killed by the hurricane and once it crossed the coast, its strength died down. Another area prone to hurricanes is the Bay of Bengal, between India and Bangladesh. In November 1970,

 the worst damage in modern times occurred when approximately three hundred thousand people died in 

Bangladesh as a result of the tidal waves and flooding caused by a slow-moving hurricane. East Asia is also

 frequently affected by hurricanes. Countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines and China are threatened every year by an average of five hurricanes that occur between August and October. In recent years, Hurricane

 Nicole traveled along the coastline of China and caused flooding which broke the banks of the Yangtze River. As a result, two million Chinese people were left homeless and the flooding was the worst seen in this region for fifty years.

 Damage will always occur if a hurricane passes over land. People exposed to a hurricane must therefore take the following precautions. All objects outside the house must be securely fastened so they won’t be blown away. Shutters must be placed over house windows to prevent them being smashed. People must remain inside during a hurricane as flying debris and lightning can be deadly. It is also important to have candles and flashlights handy in case of electricity failure.

 Every year about fifty hurricanes occur around the world. All we can do is to try to restrict the damage by making sure people are well prepared in regions where hurricanes most often occur. Experts, however, are predicting that in the future we will experience more hurricanes per year than we currently do. Because of the greenhouse effect and global warming, the warmer water temperatures are expected. With warmer water on our planet, hurricanes will occur more often and with greater force than they do today.

        The good news is that over the past several decades, psychologists and other researchers have developed some effective behavioral and pharmacological treatments for phobia, as well as technological interventions. Now researchers are taking the next step, says psychologist and phobia researcher Arne Ö hman, PhD, of the clinical neuroscience department at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. They are using neuroimaging techniques like positron-emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to understand the brain circuitry that underlies phobia and what happens in the brain during treatment. They’re finding that the amygdala—a small, almond-shaped structure in the middle of the brain's temporal lobes—is a key player, and that malfunctions of the amygdala and associated brain structures may give rise to many phobias. Still, researchers have yet to work out the details of how this happens.

        In addition, genetic and environmental factors are also found to cause phobias. Children who have a close relative with an anxiety disorder are at risk of developing a phobia. Distressing events, such as nearly drowning, can bring on a phobia. Exposure to confined spaces, extreme heights, and animal or insect bites can all be sources of phobias. People with ongoing medical conditions or health concerns often have phobias. There’s a high incidence of people developing phobias after traumatic brain injuries. Substance abuse and depression are also connected to phobias.

        Phobias have different symptoms from serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. In schizophrenia, people have visual and auditory hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, negative symptoms such as anhedonia, and disorganized symptoms. Phobias may be irrational, but people with phobias do not fail reality testing.

        Technology trailblazer Elon Musk has unveiled a pig with a computer chip implanted in her brain that could pave the way to computer-to-brain interfaces in humans. Mr. Musk has a near-unrivalled record in pioneering technology, from electric cars and hyperloop travel to space tourism. Gertrude the pig showcases his latest ambition - to allow us to control computers with our brains. Conversely, computers could enhance our brainpower and abilities. The interface is part of a tech startup called Neuralink. Mr. Musk announced that trials would soon begin on humans. He believes the technology represents a giant leap into the future and will considerably change our lives by giving us superhuman powers. 

        We’re only beginning to understand why we sleep to begin with, but we do know it’s essential. Adults need seven to eight hours a night, and adolescents need about ten. We grow sleepy due to signals from our body telling our brain we are tired, and signals from the environment telling us it's dark outside. The __(3)__ in sleep-inducing chemicals, like adenosine and melatonin, send us into a light__(4)__ that grows deeper, making our breathing and heart rate slow down and our muscles relax. This non-REM sleep is when DNA is repaired and our bodies__ (5)__ themselves for the day ahead. 

        In the United States, it's estimated that 30% of adults and 66% of adolescents are regularly sleep-deprived. This isn't just a minor__ (6)__ . Staying awake can cause serious bodily harm. When we lose sleep, learning, memory, mood, and reaction time are affected. Sleeplessness may also cause inflammation, hallucinations, high blood pressure, and it's even been linked to diabetes and obesity. In 2014, a__ (7)__ soccer fan died after staying awake for 48 hours to watch the World Cup. While his untimely death was due to a stroke, studies show that __(8)__ sleeping fewer than six hours a night increases stroke risk by four and half times compared to those getting a__ (9)__ seven to eight hours of shuteye. For a handful of people on the planet who carry a rare inherited genetic mutation, sleeplessness is a daily reality. This __(10)__ , known as Fatal Familial Insomnia, places the body in a nightmarish state of wakefulness, forbidding it from entering the __(11)__ of sleep. Within months or years, this__ (12)__ worsening condition leads to dementia and death. 

        How can sleep deprivation cause such __(13)__ suffering? Scientists think the answer lies with the accumulation of waste products in the brain. During our waking hours, our cells are busy using up our day's energy sources, which get broken down into various__ (14)__ , including - 2 - adenosine. As adenosine builds up, it increases the __(15)__ to sleep, also known as sleep pressure. In fact, caffeine works by blocking adenosine's receptor pathways. Other waste products also build up in the brain. If they're not cleared away, they collectively overload the brain and are thought to lead to the many negative symptoms of sleep deprivation.

        So, what's happening in our brain when we sleep to prevent this? Scientists found something called the lymphatic system, a clean-up mechanism that removes this buildup and is much more active when we're asleep. It works by using cerebrospinal fluid to__ (16)__ away toxic byproducts that accumulate between cells. Lymphatic vessels, which__ (17)__ as pathways for immune cells, have recently been discovered in the brain, and they may also play a role in clearing out the brain's daily waste products. While scientists continue exploring the restorative __(18)__ behind sleep, we can be sure that slipping into __(19)__ is a necessity if we want to maintain our health and our sanity. 

 (AB) byproducts (AC) mechanisms (AD) condition(AE) consistent (BC) chronically (BD) devoted (BE) doze (CD) flush(CE) identify (DE) inconvenience (ABC) imbalance(ABD) immense (ABE) replenish (BCD) rise (BCE) sanctuary (BDE) serve (CDE) slumber (ABCD) progressively (ABCE) urge

Sections have been identified in the cave: the Great Hall of the Bulls, the Lateral Passage, the Shaft of the Dead Man, the Chamber of Engravings, the Painted Gallery, and the Chamber of Felines. The cave contains nearly 2,000 figures, which can be grouped into three main categories - animals, human figures and abstract signs. Most of the major images have been painted onto the walls using mineral pigments although some designs have also been incised into the stone.

 Of the animals, there are 90 paintings of stags. Also represented are cattle, bison, felines, a bird, a bear, a rhinoceros, and a human. Among the most famous images are four huge, black bullsin the Hall of the Bulls. One of the bulls is 17 feet (5.2 m) long - the largest animal discovered so far in cave art. 6 Additionally, the bulls appear to be in motion. There are no images of reindeer, even though that was the principal source of food for the artists. A painting referred to as 'The Crossed Bison' is often held as an example of the skill of the Palaeolithic cave painters. The crossed hind legs show the ability to use perspective. 

Since the year 2000, Lascaux has been beset with a fungus, variously blamed on a new air conditioning system that was installed in the caves, the use of high-powered lights, and the presence of too many visitors. As of 2006, the situation became even graver - the cave saw the growth of black mold. In January 2008, authorities closed the cave for three months, even to scientists and preservationists. A single individual was allowed to enter the cave for 20 minutes once a week to monitor climatic conditions. 

 ~adapted from https://www.bradshawfoundation.com/lascaux/

       Birth rates are plummeting in many countries, causing concern among politicians in Japan and South Korea regarding the future economic sustainability of their nations. A recent conference held in Italy has addressed the 16 demographic crisis that the country faces. Italy currently has one of the world’s lowest birth rates, and the government is cautioning about the significant    17    that an aging population will place on pensions and the welfare system. Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, has cautioned that the affordability of raising children is    18    out of reach for numerous couples, describing the endeavor of starting a family in Italy as an    19    task reserved for the wealthy elite.
       Pope Francis has encouraged Italians to have more children despite rising costs. He admonished young couples against making “selfish,    20    ” decisions that contribute to record-low birth rates, asserting that such choices    21    Italy’s economic future. Referring to the situation as a “demographic winter,” he    22    attention to the fact that Italy experienced a historically low number of births last year, totaling 392,000,    23    the number of deaths remained high at 713,000. The Pope urged couples to    24    having children over owning pets and even    25    a woman who sought his blessing for her “baby,” which turned out to be a dog. The BBC referred to Italy as “the country of empty cribs” and quoted Elon Musk’s tweet stating, “Italy is disappearing.”

            Inflation, a term that is ubiquitous in economics, refers to the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services is increasing, resulting in the concurrent decline of the purchasing power of currency. Typically, inflation is expressed as a percentage increase over a specified period, usually one year. 

             One of the main reasons for inflation is the escalation of the money supply. When the central bank creates more money, the money supply expands, leading to the devaluation of each unit of currency. The resultant effect is that as more money chases the same quantity of goods and services, prices escalate, which is known as the cost-push inflation. Another factor that drives inflation is the surge in the demand for goods and services. When demand supersedes supply, prices rise, a phenomenon referred to as demand-pull inflation. 

              Inflation has profound effects on the economy. One of the most significant consequences is the reduction of the purchasing power of money. As prices increase, people require more money to buy the same amount of goods and services, leading to a decline in consumer confidence, sluggish economic growth, and elevated unemployment rates. 

              Inflation also impacts interest rates. When inflation is high, the central bank raises interest rates to reduce the money supply and control inflation. This often leads to reduced borrowing and investment, thereby impeding economic growth. 

              Furthermore, inflation can affect the exchange rate of a country’s currency. As inflation surges, the currency value declines, rendering exports cheaper and imports more expensive. Consequently, this can lead to a decrease in the trade balance, which can also impact economic growth. 

              Central banks employ a variety of tools to combat inflation, including adjusting interest rates, controlling the money supply, and using fiscal policies such as taxation and government spending. However, taming inflation is a delicate balancing act, as measures taken to reduce inflation can also lead to a slowdown in economic growth.

        The surge in plant parenting can be attributed to several factors. With an increasing emphasis on wellness and mindfulness, many people have discovered the therapeutic effects of __16__ living plants. The act of caring for houseplants can provide a sense of fulfillment, reduce stress, and create a calming environment by __17__ a connection to nature. Another significant driver trend is the growing awareness of the airpurifying. As more individuals seek to improve indoor air quality and create healthier living environments, the demand for houseplants known for their airpurifying __18__ has surged. 

        Moreover, the __19__ of plant care information and resources through social media, online communities, and plant care blogs has played a pivotal role in popularizing plant parenting. From Instagram to online forums, plant enthusiasts exchange tips and advice. The digital __20__ has formed a sense of community and shared passion for plant care.