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1、AcademicReadingPassage1AIfyoutookoffyourskinandlaiditflat,itwouldcoveranareaofabouttwenty-onesquarefeet,makingitbyfarthebody'slargestorgan.Drapedinplaceoverourbodies,skinformsthebarrierbetweenwhat'sinsideusandwhat'soutside.Itprotectsusfromamultitudeofexternalf
2、orces.Itservesasanavenuetoourmostintimatephysicalandpsychologicalselves.BThisimperviousyetpermeablebarrier,lessthanamillimetrethickinplaces,iscomposedofthreelayers.Theoutermostlayeristhebloodlessepidermis.Thedermisincludescollagen,elastin,andnerveendings.Thein
3、nermostlayer,subcutaneousfat,containstissuethatactsasanenergysource,cushionandinsulatorforthebody.CFromthesefamiliarcharacteristicsofskinemergetheprofoundmysteriesoftouch,arguablyourmostessentialsourceofsensorystimulation.Wecanlivewithoutseeingorhearing–infact
4、,withoutanyofourothersenses.Butbabiesbornwithouteffectivenerveconnectionsbetweenskinandbraincanfailtothriveandmayevendie.DLaboratoryexperimentsdecadesago,nowconsideredunethicalandinhumane,keptbabymonkeysfrombeingtouchedbytheirmothers.Itmadenodifferencethattheb
5、abiescouldsee,hearandsmelltheirmothers;withouttouching,thebabiesbecameapathetic,andfailedtoprogress.EForhumans,insufficienttouchinginearlyyearscanhavelifelongresults."Intouchingcultures,adultaggressionislow,whereasincultureswheretouchislimited,adultaggressioni
6、shigh,"writesTiffanyField,directoroftheTouchResearchInstitutesattheUniversityofMiamiSchoolofMedicine.Studiesofavarietyofculturesshowacorrespondencebetweenhighratesofphysicalaffectioninchildhoodandlowratesofadultphysicalviolence.FWhiletheeffectsoftouchingareeas
7、ytounderstand,themechanicsofitarelessso."Yourskinhasmillionsofnervecellsofvariousshapesatdifferentdepths,"explainsStanleyBolanowski,aneuroscientistandassociatedirectoroftheInstituteforSensoryResearchatSyracuseUniversity."Whenthenervecellsarestimulated,physical
8、energyistransformedintoenergyusedbythenervoussystemandpassedfromtheskintothespinalcordandbrain.It'scalledtransduction,andnooneknowsexactlyhowittakesplace."Sufficeittosaythattheproc
