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Toads are Arthritis and in Pain

Arthritis c關(guān)節(jié)炎) is an illness thatcan cause pain and swelling in your bones. Toads (蟾蜍),a big problem inthe north of Australia, are suffering from painful arthritis in their legs andbackbone, a new study has shown. The toads that jump the fastest are morelikely to be larger and to have longer legs. (46)
The large yellow toads,native to South and Central America, were introduced into the north-easternAustralian state of Queenslandin 1935 in an attempt to stop beetles and other insects from de-stroyingsugarcane crops. Now up t0 200 million of the poisonous toads exist in thecountry, and they are rapidly spreading through the state of Northern Territory at a rate of up t0 60 kma year. The toads can now be found across more than one million squarekilometers. (47) A Venezuelanpoison virus was tried tin the 1990s but had to be abandoned after it was foundto also kill native frog species.
The toads have severelyaffected ecosystems inAustralia.Animals, and sometimes pets, that eat the toads die immediately from theirpoison, and the toads themselves eat anything they can fit inside their mouth._ (48)
A co-author of the newstudy, Rick Shine, a professor at the University of Sydney,says that lit-tle attention has been given to the problems that toads face.Rick and his colleagues studied nearly 500 toads from Queenslandand the Northern Territoryand found that those in the latter state were very different. They were active,sprinting down roads and breeding quickly.
According to the results ofthe study, the fastest toads travel nearly one kilometer a night. (49) But speed and strength come at aprice-arthritis of the legs and backbone due to con-stant pressure placed onthem.
Inlaboratory tests, the researchers found that after about 15 minutes of hopping,arthritic toads would travel less distance with each hop (跳躍). _ (50) These toads are so programmedto move~ apparently, that even when in pain the toads travelled as fast and asfar as the healthy ones, continuing their constant march across the landscape.
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Scientists have found that although we are prone to snap overreactions, if we take a momen

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But snap decisions in reaction to rapid stimuli aren’t exclusive to the interpersonal realm. Psychologists at the University of Toronto found that viewing a fast-food logo for just a few milliseconds primes us to read 20 percent faster, even though reading has little to do with eating. We unconsciously associate fast food with speed and impatience and carry those impulses into whatever else we’re doing, Subjects exposed to fast-food flashes also tend to think a musical piece lasts too long.
Yet we can reverse such influences. If we know we will overreact to consumer products or housing options when we see a happy face (one reason good sales representatives and real estate agents are always smiling), we can take a moment before buying. If we know female job screeners are more likely to reject attractive female applicants, we can help screeners understand their biases-or hire outside screeners.
John Gottman, the marriage expert, explains that we quickly “thin slice” information reliably only after we ground such snap reactions in “thick sliced” long-term study. When Dr. Gottman really wants to assess whether a couple will stay together, he invites them to his island retreat for a muck longer evaluation; two days, not two seconds.
Our ability to mute our hard-wired reactions by pausing is what differentiates us from animals: doge can think about the future only intermittently or for a few minutes. But historically we have spent about 12 percent of our days contemplating the longer term. Although technology might change the way we react, it hasn’t changed our nature. We still have the imaginative capacity to rise above temptation and reverse the high-speed trend.
The time needed in making decisions may____ .
A.vary according to the urgency of the situation
B.prove the complexity of our brain reaction
C.depend on the importance of the assessment
D.predetermine the accuracy of our judgment
John Gottman says that reliable snap reaction are based on____ .
A.critical assessment
B.“thin sliced”study
C.sensible explanation
D.adequate information
The author’s attitude toward reversing the high-speed trend is____ .A.tolerant
B.uncertain
C.optimistic
D.doubtful
Our reaction to a fast-food logo shows that snao decisions____ .A.can be associative
B.are not unconscious
C.can be dangerous
D.are not impulsive
To reverse the negative influences of snap decisions,we should____ .A.trust our first impression
B.do as people usually do
C.think before we act
D.ask for expert advice