Do you know how it is when you see someone yawn and you start yawning too? Or how hard it is to be among people laughing and not laugh yourself? Well, apparently it's because we have mirror neurons (神经元）in our brains.
Put simply, the existence of mirror neurons suggests that every time we see someone else do something, our brains imitate (模仿)it，whether or not we actually perform the same action. This explains a great deal about how we learn to smile, talk, walk, dance or play sports. But the idea goes further： mirror neurons not only appear to explain physical actions y they also tell us that there is a biological basis for the way we understand other people.
Mirror neurons can undoubtedly be found all over our brains, but especially in the areas which relate to our ability to use languages, and to understand how other people feel. Researchers have found that mirror neurons relate strongly to language. A group of researchers discovered that if they gave people sentences to listen to ( for example ："The hand took hold of the ball" ) , the same mirror neurons were triggered as when the action was actually performed (in this example, actually taking hold of a ball).
Any problems with mirror neurons may well result in problems with behavior. Much researeh suggests that people with social and behavioral problems have mirror neurons which are not fully functioning. However, it is not yet known exactly how these discoveries might help find treatments for social disorders.
Research into mirror neurons seems to provide us with ever more information concerning how humans behave and interact(互动）.Indeed, it may turn out to be the equivalent (相等物）for ncurosciencc of what Einstein's theory of relativity was for physics. And the next time you feel the urge to cough in the cinema when someone else does--well，perhaps you'll understand why.
小题1:Mirror neurons can explain .
A．why we cry when we are hurt
B．why we cough when we suffer from a cold
C．why we smile when we see someone else smile
D．why we yawn when we see someone else stay up late小题2:The underlined word "triggered" in the third paragraph probably means “ ”
A．set off
B．cut off
C．built up
D．broken up小题3:We can learn from the passage that mirror neurons .
A．relate to human behavior and interaction
B．control human physical actions and feelings
C．result in bad behavior and social disorders
D．determine our knowledge and language abilities小题4:What is the passage mainly about?
A．Ways to find mirror neurons.
B．Problems of mirror neurons.
C．Existence of mirror neurons.
D．Functions of mirror neurons.
小题1:C
小题2:A
小题3:A
小题4:D
解释微笑——说明类
【文章大意】你知道别人打呵欠你也跟着打呵欠，在众多正在大笑的人群中而你很难不笑吗？这是你的神经元起作用，本文主要讲述神经元对于人类的行为和人类互动的作用。
小题1:细节理解题。根据第二段第一句话the existence of mirror neurons suggests that every time we see someone else do something, our brains imitate (模仿)it，whether or not we actually perform the same action.可知答案为C项。
小题2:词义猜测题。根据下文的perform和本句的含义可知“如果他们给人们一些句子来听，那么他们就会发出同样的神经元和进行一些行为动作一样。所以划线部分单词意为“发出”和set off近义。
小题3:推理判断题。根据最后一段第一句Research into mirror neurons seems to provide us with ever more information concerning how humans behave and interact(互动）可知答案。
小题4:主旨大意题。根据第一段的疑问句引出神经元和下文解释神经元对于人类行为和互动提供更多的信息可以知道本文主要告诉我们mirror neurons的作用，D项能概括文章大意。
【长难句解析】
Put simply, the existence of mirror neurons suggests that every time we see someone else do something, our brains imitate (模仿)it，whether or not we actually perform the same action.
简单地说，神经元的存在说明每当我们看到别人做其他事情的时候，无论我们是否想表演同样的动作，我们的大脑就都会模仿。
本句中的suggest意为“说明“，every time“每当…的时候”，whether or not“无论是否”。