2024年5月18日发(作者：)

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Society tells us we should socialize to the fullest, and that those who are surrounded by

people are the most successful and the happiest. These days, we’re almost always connected,

whether in person or through our phone screens and online social networks. But there’s something

to be said for solitude (

独处

) Being alone “ doesn’t necessarily mean ” being lonely”. In fact,

spending time by yourself is an essential element of self-care.

Around the globe, different cultures have wide-ranging perspectives on what it means to

spend time alone. If you live or have spent time in the United States, you’re probably aware that

Americans tend to reject solitude. For many younger people, weekends are packed with social

activities, ranging from brunch with friends to dinner parties to game nights to drinking at bars

and everything in between.

The United States isn’t the only place where you’ll find a heavy emphasis on social time.

Across the Atlantic, the United Kingdom is known for being an extremely extroverted (

外向型的

)

country. A survey of Brits found that more than half had never done and would be unwilling to do

activities like going to theme parks or seeing live music alone. Most Brits spend almost twice as

much of their leisure time socializing with others a as they do being alone.

The home can be a place of rest, relaxation and recharge-that is, if you live by yourself or

have the space to be alone in your home. The country in which people are least likely to live alone

is India, at about 4 percent of the population. China is also quite fond of multiple-person

households, with only about 10 percent of people living by themselves. In more collectivist

cultures like these, many aspects of life revolve(

围绕

) around community. Thus, spending time

alone isn’t as ingrained (

根深蒂固的

) as a social convention in places like these, and the good of

the group takes priority over the needs of one person.

1

．

What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A

．

People can benefit more from solitude.

C

．

Bring alone generally equals being lonely.

B

．

People tend to socialize more nowadays.

D

．

Being alone enables people to be carefree.

2

．

Which of the following best describes young Americans?

A

．

Imaginative and wild.

C

．

Outgoing and sociable.

B

．

Sensitive and energetic

D

．

Optimistic and dutiful.

3

．

How does the author prove his point?

A

．

By making a summary.

C

．

By explaining a concept.

B

．

By drawing comparisons.

D

．

By providing examples.

4

．

Why are most Chinese people more likely to live together?

A

．

Because they share a specific culture. B

．

Because they lack some local customs.

C

．

Because they possess enough home Space. D

．

Because they give priority to their own needs.

Heat, cold and touch are crucial for experiencing the world around us and for our own

survival. But how our bodies actually do it had been one of the great mysteries (

神秘

) of biology.

Scientists who discovered how our bodies feel the warmth of the sun or the hug of a loved one

have won the Nobel Prize.

David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian, from the US, share the 2021 prize in Medicine or

Physiology for their work on sensing touch and temperature. They explored how our bodies

convert physical sensations into electrical messages in the nervous system. Their findings could

lead to new ways of treating pain.

Thomas Perlman, from the Nobel Prize Committee, said: “It was a very important and

profound discovery.” Prof David Julius’s breakthrough, at the University of Calfornia, San

Francisco, came from investigating the burning pain we feel from eating a hot chilli pepper (

辣

椒

) . He experimented with the source of a chilli’s heat and discovered the specific type of

receptor (

感觉器官

) that responded to it. Further tests showed the receptor was responding to heat

and kicked in at “painful“ temperatures. This is what happens, for example

，

if you you’re your

hand on a cup of coffee.

This led to a senses of other temperature sensors being discovered. Prof Julius and Prof

Ardem Palapoutian found one that could detect cold. Meanwhile, Prof Patapoutian, working at the

Scrips Research institute, was also analyzing cells in a dish. Those experiments led to the

discovery of a different type of receptor that a was activated (

激活

)in response to mechanical

force or touch. When you walk along a beach and feel the sand under your feet-it is these receptors

that are sending signals to the brain.

The first heat sensor is also involved’ in lasting pain and how our body regulates its core

temperature. The touch receptor has multiple roles, from urinating to blood pressure. The Prize

Committee said their work had “allowed us to understand how heat, cold and mechanical force