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The Only Way Is Up
Think of a modern city and the first image that come to mind is the skyline.It is full of great buildings,pointing like fingers to heaven.It is true that some cities don't permit buildings to go a-bove a certain height.But these are cities concerned with the past.The first thing any city does when it wants to tell the world that it has arrived is to build skyscrapers.
When people gather together in cities,they create a demand for land.Since cities are places where money is made,that demand can be met. And the best way to make money out of city land is to put as many people as possible in a space that covers the smallest amount of ground.That means building upwards.
The technology existed to do this as early as the 19th century.But the height of buildings was limited by one important factor. They had to be small enough for people on the top floors to climb stairs .People could not be expected to climb a mountain at the end of their journey to work,or home.
Elisha Otis,a US inventor,was the man who brought us the lift-or elevator,as he pre- ferred to call it.However,most of the technology is very old.Lifts work using the same pulley system the Egyptians used to create the Pyramids.What Otis did was attach the system to a steam engine and develop the elevator brake,which stops the lift falling if the cords that hold it up are broken.It was this that did the most to gain public confidence in the new invention.In fact,he spent a number of years exhibiting lifts at fairgrounds,giving people the chance to try them before selling the idea to architects and builders.
A lift would not be a very good theme park attraction now.Going in a lift is such an everyday thing that it would just be boring.Yet psychologists and others who study human behavior find lifts fascinating.The reason is simple.Scientists have always studied animals in zoos.The nearest they can get to that with humans is in observing them in lifts.
“It breaks all the usual conventions about the bubble of personal space we carry around with us—and you just can't choose to move away”,says workplace psychologist,Gary Fitzgibbon.Be-ing trapped in this setting can create different types of tensions,he says.Some people are scared of them.Others use them as an opportunity to get close to the boss.Some stand close to the door. Others hide in the corners.Most people try and shrink into the background.But some behave in a way that makes others notice them.There are a few people who just stand in a corner taking notes.
Don't worry about them.They are probably from a university.
Psychologists find the lift a good place where they can study human behavior because______.
A.here humans behave the way animals do
B.people in a lift are all scared
C.here some people take notes
D.in a lift the bubble of personal space breaks
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Food Fright
Experiments under way in several labs aim to create beneficial types of genetically modified(GM)foods,including starchier potatoes and caffeine-free coffee beans.Genetic engineers are even trying to transfer genes from a cold-water fish to make a frost-resistant tomato.A low-sugar GM strawberry now in the works might one day allow people with health problems such as diabetes to enjoy the little delicious red fruits again.GM beans and grains supercharged with protein might help people at risk of developing kwashiorkor. Kwashiorkor,a disease caused by severe lack of protein,is common in parts of the world where there are severe food shortages.
Commenting on GM foods,Jonathon Jones,a British researcher,said,"The future benefits will be enormous,and the best is yet to come."
To some people,GM foods are no different from unmodified foods."A tomato is a tomato," said Brian Sansoni,an American food manufacturer.
Critics of GM foods challenge Sansoni's opinion.They worry about the harm that GM crops might do to people,other animals,and plants.
In a recent lab study conducted at Cornell University,scientists tested pollen made by Bt corn,which makes up one-fourth of the U .S.corn crop.The scientist sprinkled the pollen onto milkweed,a plant that makes a milky juice and is the only known food source of the monarch but-terfly caterpillar. Within four days of munching on the milkweed leaves,almost half of a test group of caterpillars had died."Monarchs are considered to be a flagship species for conservation,"said Cornell researcher Linda Raynor."This is a warning bell."
Some insects that are not killed by GM foods might find themselves made stronger. How so? The insecticides used to protect most of today's crops are sprayed on the crops when needed and decay quickly in the environment.But GM plants produce a continuous level of insecticide.Insect species feeding on those crops may develop resistance to the plants and could do so in a hurry, say the critics.Insects may also develop a resistance to the insecticide Bt.
At the forum on GM food held last year in Canada,GM crops that have been made resistant to the herbicide might crossbreed with wild plants,creating"superweeds"that could take over whole fields.
So where do you stand?Should GM foods be banned in the United States,as they are in parts of Europe?Or do their benefits outweigh any of the risks they might carry?
What is the writer's attitude to GM foods?
A.He thinks their benefits and risks are balanced.
B.He thinks their risks outweigh their benefits.
C.He thinks their benefits outweigh their risks.
D.We cannot tell from the passage.
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Good Way to Exercise:Jogging
Jogging has become the most popular individual sport in America. Many theories,even some mystical ones,have been advanced to explain the popularity of jogging. The plain truth is that jogging is a cheap,quick and efficient way to maintain(or achieve)physical fitness.
The most useful sort of exercise is exercise that develops the heart,lungs,and circulatory systems.If these systems are fit,the body is ready for almost any sport and for almost any sudden demand made by work or emergencies.One can train more specifically,as by developing strength for weight lifting or the ability to run straight ahead for short distances with great power in football,but running trains your heart and lungs to deliver oxygen more efficiently to all parts of your body.It is worth noting that this sort of exercise is the only kind that can reduce heart disease,the number one cause of death in America.
Only one sort of equipment is needed一a good pair of shoes.Physicians advise beginning joggers not to run in a pair of tennis or gym shoes.Many designs have been made in only the last several years that make a pair of excellent running shoes in dispensable if a runner wishes to develop as quickly as possible,with as little chance of injury as possible.A pair of good running shoes will have a soft pad for absorbing shock,as well as a slightly built-up heel that will give the knee and ankle more stability.A wise investment in good shoes will prevent the foot,ankle and knee injuries and will also enable the wearer to run on paved or soft surfaces.
No other special equipment is needed and you can jog in any clothing you desire.Many joggers wear expensive,flashy and warm suits,but just as many wear a simple pair of gym shoes and T-shirt.In fact,many people just jog in last year's clothes.In cold weather,several layers of clothing are better than one heavy sweater or coat. If joggers are wearing several layers of clothing,they can add or subtract layers as conditions change.
It takes surprisingly little time to develop the ability to run.The American Jogging Association has a twelve-week program designed to move from a fifteen-minute walk(which almost anyone can manage who is in reasonable health)to a thirty-minute run.A measure of common sense,a physical examination.and a planned schedule are all it takes.
The American Jogging Association program limits ages of joggers.
A.Right
B.Wrong
C.Not mentioned
