可怕！抠鼻孔或增加痴呆风险

A new study has revealed a link between picking your nose and increasing the risk of developing dementia(痴呆).

In cases where picking at your nose damages internal tissues, critical species of bacteria have a clearer path to the brain, which responds to their presence in ways that resemble signs of Alzheimer’s disease.

A team of researchers led by scientists from Griffith University in Australia ran tests with a bacteria called Chlamydia pneumoniae, which can infect humans and cause pneumonia(肺炎). The bacteria have also been discovered in the majority of human brains affected by dementia. It was demonstrated that in mice, the bacteria could travel up the olfactory(嗅觉的) nerve to the brain. When there was damage to the thin tissue along the roof of the nasal cavity, nerve infections got worse. This led to the mouse brains depositing(沉积) more of amyloid β-protein(β-淀粉样蛋白), which is released in response to infections. This protein is also found in people with Alzheimer’s disease.

“We’re the first to show that Chlamydia pneumoniae can go directly up the nose and into the brain where it can set off pathologies(病状) that look like Alzheimer’s disease,” says neuroscientist James St John from Griffith University in Australia. “We saw this happen in a mouse model.”

“We need to do this study in humans and confirm whether the same pathway operates in the same way,” says St John. “It’s research that has been proposed by many people, but not yet completed. What we do know is that these same bacteria are present in humans, but we haven’t worked out how they get there.”

Nose picking isn’t exactly a rare thing. In fact, it’s possible as many as 9 out of 10 people do it. While the benefits aren’t clear, studies like this one should give us pause before picking. 

本时文内容由奇速英语国际教育研究院原创编写，未经书面授权，禁止复制和任何商业用途，版权所有，侵权必究！（作者投稿及时文阅读定制请联系微信：18980471698） 

1.Which question can the third paragraph answer?

A How does Chlamydia pneumoniae get into people’s brains?

B Why did scientists from Griffith University use mice in the study?

C Who came up with the idea of conducting the study at first?

D How is the amyloid β-protein deposited in mouse brains?

解析：选D。D细节理解题。根据第三段可知，在实验中的老鼠身上，细菌Chlamydia pneumoniae(肺炎衣原体)可以通过嗅觉神经上行至大脑，当鼻腔内壁遭到破坏，会增加上行至脑部的细菌数量。当肺炎衣原体进入大脑的时候，会出现β-淀粉样蛋白沉积，这正是阿尔茨海默病患者的一个特征。但实验中用的是老鼠，排除A。故选D。

2.What may St John’s next study be about?

A What makes people resist amyloid β-protein.

B Why these bacteria damage mouse brains.

C Whether the results work on human beings.

D How these bacteria exist in human body.

解析：选C。C细节理解题。根据上文的实验以及第五段第一句“We need to do this study in humans and confirm whether the same pathway operates in the same way”可知，肺炎衣原体可以直接通过鼻子进入大脑，并在大脑中引发类似阿尔茨海默病的病变，这是已经在小鼠模型实验中观察到的情况。但还需要在人类身上作研究，并确认相同的路径是否以相同的方式运作。故选C。

3.What is recommended by the author?

A Abandoning nose picking.

B Reading more related studies.

C Getting regular checkups.

D Doing what we like to do.

解析：选A。A细节理解题。根据文章最后一句“While the benefits aren’t clear, studies like this one should give us pause before picking.”可知，虽然抠鼻孔的好处还不清楚，但像这样的研究（抠鼻孔会增加阿尔茨海默病和痴呆风险）应该让我们在选择抠鼻孔之前先停下来。故选A。

4.In which section of a newspaper may this text appear?

A Entertainment.

B Health.

C Education.

D Business.

解析：选B。B推理判断题。本文向我们展示了一个最新研究，研究表明挖鼻孔会增加患阿尔茨海默病和痴呆的风险，属于健康方面的。故选B。