時文限時閱讀訓練

多發性硬化癥（Multiple sclerosis）是一種影響包括大腦、視神經和脊髓等中樞神經系統的疾病。來自哈佛大學附屬研究院安·羅姆尼中心研究神經系統疾病的一群專家開始研究為什么多發性硬化癥會隨著季節的變化而變化——隨著白天時間的變短而有所改善。

For patients and clinicians alike， its long been a mystery： Why do symptoms of multiple sclerosis （MS） seem to get better in the winter and worse in the summer？ A group led by Francisco Quintana and collaborators have found an explanation that could lead to a deeper understanding of the disease and more targeted treatment options for patients. By looking first broadly at possible environmental factors and then deeply at preclinical models of MS， the research team found that melatonin—a hormone involved in regulating a persons sleepwake cycle—may influence MS disease activity. The team reports its findings this week in Cell.

“We know that for multiple sclerosis and most autoimmune diseases， both genetic and environmental factors play an important role， but in the last decade， most research has focused only on the genetic side of the equation，” said cocorresponding author Quintana. “But we wanted to see what environmental factors would reveal to us about this disease. We knew that MS disease activity changed with the seasons. What weve uncovered offers an explanation for why that is the case.”

Quintana and his colleagues began by studying patients. The team found that during the fall and winter， the group of 139 relapsing remitting MS patients they studied experienced a significant improvement in symptoms—a phenomenon thats been observed in previous studies. The team then explored a variety of environmental factors that have been proposed as possibly linked to MS symptoms， including vitamin D levels， UV incidence， and upper respiratory tract infections. But the factor that was consistently associated with severity of MS symptoms was melatonin. Melatonin levels are known to correlate with the durations of days—during the longer days of the spring and summer， levels are lower； during the shorter days of the fall and winter， levels are higher.

Based on this observation， the team tested this lead in the lab， studying the role that melatonin may play on a cellular level. Using both a mouse model and human cells， they investigated the effects of melatonin on certain types of cells known to play a role in the immune response that leads to MS symptoms. The team found that melatonin affected the roles of two kinds of cells that are important in MS disease progression： pathogenic T cells， which directly attack and destroy tissue， and regulatory T cells， which are supposed to keep pathogenic T cells in check.

“We found that melatonin has a protective effect，” said Quintana. “It dampens the immune response and helps keep the bad guys—or pathogenic T cells—at bay.”

Although melatonin is available over the counter， it has significant drawbacks， including causing unwanted drowsiness. The teams goal is to tease apart the molecular mechanisms that underlie melatonins role in order to develop targeted， nontoxic drugs that are safe and effective with minimal side effects.

“In the future， melatonin or its derivatives may be used in MS patients after appropriate clinical trials are conducted and dosage is established，” said Quintana. “However， extreme caution should be exercised： Our data do not show that melatonin or its analogs are effective in treating MS.”

1. Which of the following descriptions is not right？

A. Melatonin dampens the immune response and helps keep pathogenic T cells at bay.

B. The team found that pathogenic T cells directly attack and destroy tissue.

C. The research team has no idea whether MS disease changed with the season.

D. It is known that melatonin levels are associated with the durations of days.

2. What can be inferred from the article？

A. Most research focus only on the genetic side because environmental factors are not important.

B. The research has developed targeted， nontoxic drugs that are safe and effective with no side effects.

C. Why symptoms of MS seem to get better in the winter and worse in the summer is a myster.

D. Scientists havent found out whether melatonin or its analogs are effective in treating MS so far.

3. Which of the following factors is consistently linked to severity of MS symptons？

A. Vitamin D levels. B. UV incidence.

C. Upper respiratory. D. Melatonin.

4. Which of the following word can best replace the underlined word in paragrah three？

A. Avoiding. B. Decreasing.

C. Relieving. D. Changing.

5. What is the main idea of this article？

A. Why MS symptoms may improve as days get shorter？

B. What is multiple sclerosis （MS）？

C. How to cure patients of multiple sclerosis （MS）.

D. A deadly disease

參考答案

1—5 CDDCA

（作者：潘井正，江蘇省灌南高級中學）

心靈驛站

高三生如何擺脫強迫癥困擾

很多學子說自己很想學習，卻越學越焦慮，越學成績越下降，以致于越學越學不進去，甚至產生強迫癥、抑郁癥等嚴重心理問題。

高中生一方面面臨巨大的學習壓力；另一方面心身處于急劇變化階段，再加上心智不成熟，很容易產生心理上的困擾，導致影響學習。如內心自卑；內心承受力弱；人際交往困擾；青春期兩性心理困擾等問題不能化解，都會對學習產生極大的不良影響，為此，高中生要學會自我調整：

第一，根據自己的具體情況制定一個合理的目標

順其自然一些，不是所有的鳥都是鳳凰，也并不需所有的人都要向東南飛。三千六百行，行行出狀元。

第二，學會釋放自己的情緒

我們必須認識到，一定的緊張和焦慮對于我們的學習不但沒有害處，相反是有好處的。問題是我們必須把這種緊張和焦慮的心理調整在可以控制的范圍以內，這種壓力必須轉化為動力才能促進我們的學習。當壓力過大的時候，通過轉移注意力或者參加劇烈運動適當釋放和緩解這種壓力，可以幫助我們把緊張和焦慮調整到一個合理的水平。……