Passage 9

Crying is hardly an activity encouraged by society.Tears，be they of sorrow，anger，or joy，typically make Americans feel uncomfortable and embarrassed.The shedder of tears is likely to apologize，even when a devastating（毁灭性的）tragedy was the provocation.The observer of tears is likely to do everything possible to put an end to the emotional outpouring.But judging from recent studies of crying behavior，links between illness and crying and the chemical composition of tears，both those responses to tears are often inappropriate and may even be counterproductive.

Humans are the only animals definitely known to shed emotional tears.Since evolution has given rise to few，if any，purposeless physiological response，it is logical to assume that crying has one or more functions that enhance survival.

Although some observers have suggested that crying is a way to elicit assistance from others（as a crying baby might from its mother），the shedding of tears is hardly necessary to get help.Vocal cries would have been quite enough，more likely than tears to gain attention.So，it appears，there must be something special about tears themselves.

Indeed，the new studies suggest that emotional tears may play a direct role in alleviating stress.University of Minnesota researchers who are studying the chemical composition of tears have recently isolated two important chemicals from emotional tears.Both chemicals are found only in tears that are shed in response to emotion.Tears shed because of exposure to a cut onion would contain no such substance.

Researchers at several other institutions are investigating the usefulness of tears as a means of diagnosing human ills and monitoring drugs.

At Tulane University’s Tear Analysis Laboratory Dr.Peter Kastl and his colleagues report that they can use tears to detect drug abuse and exposure to medication（药物），to determine whether a contact lens fits properly or why it may be uncomfortable，to study the causes of“dry eye”syndrome and the effects of eye surgery，and perhaps even to measure exposure to environmental pollutants.

At Columbia University Dr.Liasy Faris and colleagues are studying tears for clues to the diagnosis of diseases away from the eyes.Tears can be obtained painlessly without invading the body and only tiny amounts are needed to perform highly refined analyses.

1.It is known from the first paragraph that______.

A.shedding tears gives unpleasant feelings to Americans

B.crying may often irritate people or even result in tragedy

C.crying usually wins sympathy from other people

D.one who sheds tears in public will be blamed

2.What does“both those responses to tears”（Line 6，Para，1）refer to？

A.Crying out of sorrow and shedding tears for happiness.

B.The embarrassment and unpleasant sensation of the observers.

C.The tear shedder’s apology and the observer’s effort to stop the crying.

D.Linking illness with crying and finding the chemical composition of tears.

3.“Counterproductive”（Lines 6-7，Para，1）very probably means“______”.

A.having no effect at all

B.leading to tension

C.producing disastrous impact

D.harmful to health

4.What does the author say about crying？

A.It is a pointless physiological response to the environment.

B.It must have a role to play in man’s survival.

C.It is meant to get attention and assistance.

D.It usually produces the desired effect.

5.What can be inferred from the new studies of tears？

A.Emotional tears have the function of reducing stress.

B.Exposure to excessive medication may increase emotional tears.

C.Emotional tears can give rise to“dry eye”syndrome in some cases.

D.Environmental pollutants can induce the shedding of emotional tears.

参考译文

哭泣并不是被社会所鼓励的行为。眼泪，无论是出于悲伤、愤怒还是高兴，总是让美国人感到不舒服和尴尬。流泪者很可能会道歉，即便是发生了毁灭性灾难的时候。看到别人掉泪的人则有可能尽一切力量来阻止这种感情的发泄。但是从最近对哭泣行为、哭泣与疾病的联系和眼泪的化学成分所进行的研究来看，以上两种对眼泪的反应经常是不恰当的，甚至可能有害。

毫无疑问，人类是唯一会因感情而流泪的动物。进化几乎不会产生无目的的生理反应，所以认为哭泣对人的生存有一定作用是合理的。

尽管一些观察者认为哭泣是获得别人帮助的一种方法（就像婴儿的哭泣可以获得母亲的帮助一样），但是流泪对于获取帮助很难说是必需的。发出声音的哭泣本已经足够了，它们比眼泪本身更有可能获得关注。所以看起来，眼泪本身一定有其特殊的地方。

确实，新的研究表明因情感而落泪可以直接减轻压力，明尼苏达大学正在研究眼泪化学构成的研究者们最近从情感泪水中分离出两种重要的化学物质。这两种物质都只存在于情感泪水中，因切洋葱而流出的眼泪不包含这样的成分。

其他研究院的研究者们正在研究将眼泪用于诊断人类疾病和监督药物。

在Tulane大学的眼泪分析实验室，Peter Kastl博士和他的同事们报告说，他们能用眼泪来检测药物滥用和药物接触，能得出隐形眼镜是否合适或不舒服的原因，能研究“眼睛干燥综合征”的原因和眼科手术的影响，甚至可能测量对于环境污染物的接触。

在哥伦比亚大学，Liasy Faris和他的同事们正在研究眼泪，以求获取诊断眼部以外疾病的线索。眼泪能够被毫无痛苦地获得，无须深入体内，而且高度精练的分析只需要极少量眼泪。

解题之路

1.选A。细节题。第一段的第二句：眼泪，无论是出于悲伤、生气还是高兴，总是让美国人感到不舒服和尴尬。

2.选C。推理题。根据上下文，对眼泪的那两个反映：当毁灭性的悲剧发生时，一方面流泪者可能要表示歉意；另一方面看到人流泪者会尽一切可能来阻止此情感的宣泄。

3.选D。counterproductive产生相反结果的。根据上下文，对眼泪的那两个反映时常是不恰当的。人们常常说哭多了会伤身体，实情未必如此。

4.选B。细节题。第二段的第二句。既然进化很少会导致无目的的生理反应，我们可以逻辑性地认为：哭泣有一到多个功能——增强生存性。Few…purposeless很少……无目的的，双重否定表示肯定。

5.选A。第四段的第一句：确实，新的研究表明，情绪激动流下的眼泪对减轻压力起着直接的作用。

词汇精解

sorrow n.悲痛，悲哀，悲伤

typically adv.代表性地，有特色地，通常地

uncomfortable adj.不舒服的，不安的，不合意的

embarrassed adj.困窘的，难为情的，尴尬的

shedder n.流泪者

tragedy n.惨案，灾难，悲剧

provocation n.激怒，刺激，挑衅，诱因

emotional adj.情绪的，情感的

outpouring n.倾泻，流出，宣泄

chemical adj.化学的

composition n.写作，作文，合成物，成分

survival n.幸存，残存，生存

observer n.观测者，遵守者，观察者

assistance n.协助，援助，帮助

onion n.洋葱

contain vt.容纳，牵制，包含

substance n.实质，主旨，物质

detect vt.察觉，发觉，侦察，检测

medication n.药物治疗，药物处理，药物

determine vt.确定，测定，决定

syndrome n.综合征

alleviate vt.减轻（痛苦）

inappropriate adj.不适当的，不相称的，不适合的

counterproductive adj.起反作用的

evolution n.进展，发展，演变，进化

response n.回答，响应，反应

purposeless adj.无目的的，毫无意义的

physiological adj.生理学的，生理的

logical adj.合乎逻辑的，合理的

enhance vt.提高，增强，促进

stress n.重压，逼迫，紧张，压力

surgery n.外科，外科学，手术

environmental adj.周围的，环境的

pollutant n.污染物

colleague n.同僚，同事

clue n.线索

diagnosis n.诊断

难句解析

1.Tears，be they of sorrow，anger，or joy，typically make Americans feel uncomfortable and embarrassed.

【参考译文】眼泪，无论是出于悲伤、愤怒还是高兴，总是让美国人感到不舒服和尴尬。

【结构分析】这是一个主从复合句，主句的主语是Tears，谓语是make，宾语是Americans，feel…embarrassed是宾语补足语；be…joy是让步状语从句，使用了倒装结构，正常语序是：whether theymay be of sorrow，anger，or joy，这种句式变化在阅读中很普遍。

【知识链接】make sb.do使某人……

2.But judging from recent studies of crying behavior，links between illness and crying and the chemical composition of tears，both those responses to tears are often inappropriate and may even be counterproductive.

【参考译文】但是从最近对哭泣行为、哭泣与疾病的联系和眼泪的化学成分所进行的研究来看，以上两种对眼泪的反应经常是不恰当的，甚至可能有害。

【结构分析】逗号之后的both…are often inappropriate and may even be counterproductive是主干，to tears是responses的后定语；逗号之前的judging…composition of tears是独立主格结构，from…composition of tears是范围状语，between…composition of tears是links的后定语。

【知识链接】judging from从……判断；links between…and……和……之间的联系

3.Since evolution has given rise to few，if any，purposeless physiological response，it is logical to assume that crying has one or more functions that enhance survival.

【参考译文】进化几乎不会产生无目的的生理反应，所以认为哭泣对人的生存有一定作用是合理的。

【结构分析】这是一个主从复合句，可以切分为：（Since evolution has given rise to few，//if any//，purposeless physiological response），（it is logical to assume//that crying has one or more functions//that enhance survival//）。第一部分是Since引导的原因状语从句，主语是evolution，谓语是has given rise to，宾语是few…purposeless physiological response，中间插入了一个if any条件状语从句；第二部分是主句，即形式主语句，主语it指代后面的that crying…survival，最后的that引导的从句是functions的定语。

【知识链接】evolution（n.）进化；give rise to sth.导致……；if any如果确实有的话；it is logical to assume that很有理由认为……

4.Although some observers have suggested that crying is a way to elicit assistance from others（as a crying baby might from its mother），the shedding of tears is hardly necessary to get help.

【参考译文】尽管一些观察者认为哭泣是获得别人帮助的一种方法（就像婴儿的哭泣可以获得母亲的帮助一样），但是流泪对于获取帮助很难说是必需的。

【结构分析】这个句子的主干比较简单，即主系表结构：the shedding of tears is hardly necessary，不定式to get help是目的状语；Although引导的让步状语从句中that…others是suggested的宾语从句，不定式to elicit assistance是way的后定语，括号内是as引导的方式状语从句，might之后承前省略了elicit assistance。

【知识链接】elicit sth.from…从……获取……；shedding of tears流泪

5.Tears shed because of exposure to a cut onion would contain no such substance.

【参考译文】因切洋葱而流出的眼泪不包含这样的成分。

【结构分析】这个句子的主干是Tears…would contain no such substance，过去分词shed是Tears的后定语，介词短语to a cut onion是exposure的后定语。

【知识链接】because of因为；exposure to sth.接触……

6.At Tulane University’s Tear Analysis Laboratory Dr.Peter Kastl and his colleagues report that they can use tears to detect drug abuse and exposure to medication，to determine whether a contact lens fits properly or why it may be uncomfortable，to study the causes of“dry eye”syndrome and the effects of eye surgery，and perhaps even to measure exposure to environmental pollutants.

【参考译文】在Tulane大学的眼泪分析实验室，Peter Kastl博士和他的同事们报告说，他们能用眼泪来检测药物滥用和药物接触，能得出隐形眼镜是否合适或不舒服的原因，能研究“眼睛干燥综合征”的原因和眼科手术的影响，甚至可能测量对于环境污染物的接触。

【结构分析】这个句子的主语是Dr.Peter Kastl and his colleagues，谓语是report，之后的全部内容是that引导的宾语从句，该从句的主干是they can use tears，they指代前面的Dr.Peter Kastl and his colleagues，之后的四个并列不定式to detect…medication，to determine…uncomfortable，to study…surgery，and perhaps even to measure…pollutants是目的状语；其中第一个不定式中的介词短语to medication是exposure的后定语；第二个不定式中的it指代前面的contact lens；最后一个不定式中的介词短语to environmental pollutants是exposure的后定语。

【知识链接】drug abuse滥用药物；environmental pollutant环境污染物；contact lens隐形眼镜

7.At Columbia University Dr.Liasy Faris and colleagues are studying tears for clues to the diagnosis of diseases away from the eyes.

【参考译文】在哥伦比亚大学，Liasy Faris和他的同事们正在研究眼泪，以求获取诊断眼部以外疾病的线索。

【结构分析】这个句子的主干是Dr.Liasy Faris and colleagues are studying tears，介词短语for clues…eyes是目的状语，to…diseases是clues的后定语，away from the eyes是diseases的后定语。

【知识链接】Columbia University哥伦比亚大学；away from远离……