A relationship between the amount of adult speech children are exposed to and the concentration of myelin, a substance in the brain, has been found, researchers say.

“I think the take-home message is, absolutely talking to your kids. It’s literally shaping the structure of the brain,” says the lead author, Prof. John P. Spencer of the University of East Anglia.

The team find, for the 30-month-olds, larger amounts of adult speech are associated with higher quantities of myelin in language-related pathways in the brain; however, for the 6-month-olds, it goes the opposite way.

While the latter (后者) is unexpected, Spencer points out one possible factor: the brain’s stage of development.

“When babies are six months old, they experience massive growth of new nerve cells,” he says. “So the input comes in and may help extend the period of brain growth.” “While at 30 months, the brain starts to cut back some of the cell growth, and form specific connections. That’s where myelin comes in. So now the input starts to help structure the myelin,” he adds.

The researchers conclude adult speech is significant for both age groups and that the more adult speech children go through, the more sensitive they will be to language. The next step for them is to figure out whether the 6-month-old babies showing that negative connection will surely turn into 30-month-old kids who show positive relationship.

Dr. Saloni Krishnan, Reader in cognitive neuroscience (认知神经科学) at Royal Holloway, University of London, who is not involved in the work, however, notes individual differences in language ability are linked to genetics. “Children who are exposed to more language at home and have higher myelination will also have inherited genes (经遗传获得的基因) from parents who are more excellent in languages,” she said. “No final conclusion could be made before this potential genetic effect are tested. And yet there being currently no standard around the amount of input children should receive, caregivers should not necessarily feel pressure to talk more to their children.”

About ten men in every hundred suffer from color blindness in some way. Women are luckier; only about one in two hundred is affected in this matter. Perhaps, after all, it is safer to be driven by a woman!

There are different forms of color blindness. In some cases a man may not be able to see deep red. He may think that red, orange and yellow are all shadows of green. Sometimes a person cannot tell the difference between blue and green. In rare cases             an unlucky man may see everything in shades of green -a strange world indeed.

Color blindness in human beings is a strange thing to explain. In a single eye there are millions of very small things called “cones”. These help us to see in a bright light and to tell difference between colors. There are also millions of “rods”,             but these are used for seeing when it is near dark. They show us shape but no color.

Some insects have favorite colors. Mosquitoes prefer blue to yellow. A red light will not attract insects, but a blue lamp will. In a similar way human beings also have favorite colors. Yet we are lucky. With the aid of the cones in our eyes we can             see many beautiful colors by day, and with the aid of the rods we can see shapes at night. One day we may even learn more about the invisible colors around us.

Social networking websites enforce the idea that it’s important to stay connected to be happy and achieve success. However, the opportunity to spend time with yourself allows you to look inward and find direction to your life.

·Depend on yourself.

【小题1】 Other people help you get a neutral (中立的) opinion, but your ability to make the final decisions takes you a long way. Some always fear to be all alone, because they don’t notice that being alone helps you learn to depend upon yourself. It paves new ways for success, as you no longer need to be around those who offer their advice which is valuable but takes away the opportunity to be self-dependent.

·【小题2】

A busy routine prevents you from looking at your life from a distance. Sometimes it is important to sit back and analyze your options and the progress you have made so far. 【小题3】

·Learn to value yourself.

Being alone gives you the chance to value your needs and requirements. Most people spend all their lives trying to make other people happy. Others believe that nothing but worldly possessions and a bunch of friends can give them happiness. 【小题4】 Spending time alone helps you learn to be nice to yourself and know that you are above everything else. There is no need to sacrifice your dreams simply because other people do not approve of them. 【小题5】

Being alone gives you an opportunity to explore the unknown side to your personality, which is truly awesome. A true acceptance of who you are enables you to spread love all around you.