People who have lost the ability to understand or use words due to brain damage are called aphasics（失语症患者）.Such patients can be extremely good at something else.From the changing expressions on speakers' faces and the tones of their voices,they can tell lies from truths.

    Doctors studying the human brain have given a number of examples of this amazing power of aphasics.Some have even compared this power to that of a dog with an ability to find out the drugs hidden in the baggage.

    Recently,scientists carried out tests to see if all that was said about aphasics was true.They studied a mixed group of people.Some were normal;others were aphasics.It was proved that the aphasics were far ahead of the normal people in recognizing false speeches—in most cases,the normal people were fooled by words,but the aphasics were not.

    Some years ago,Dr.Oliver Sacks wrote in his book about his experiences with aphasics.He mentioned a particular case in a hospital.Some aphasics were watching the president giving a speech on TV.Since the president had been an actor earlier,making a good speech was no problem for him.He was trying to put his feelings into every word of his speech.

    But his way of speaking had the opposite effect on the patients.They didn't seem to believe him.Instead,they burst into laughter.The aphasics knew that the president did not mean a word of what he was saying.He was lying!

    Many doctors see aphasics as people who are not completely normal because they lack the ability to understand words.However,according to Dr.Sacks,they are more gifted than normal people.Normal people may get carried away by words.Aphasics seem to understand human expressions better,though they cannot understand words.

    I loved my aunt Suzy. She was such a kind old lady. I loved going to her house on holiday. She had been sick for the last few years and, though my job had taken me away across the town, I tried to visit her as much as possible. I helped with the shopping, the cooking and the cleaning and taking her pet cat Mazy to the vet.

    Sad as her passing away was, what happened to Mazy was even more worrying. Because aunt Suzy had no children, there wasn't anyone who seemed to care for her beloved cat friend. I would have taken her in a short time, but my apartment doesn't allow pets. First, we talked with her neighbors. Mr. Jenkins, who was alone and lived across the street, wasn't interested. Joe and Sally who lived next door had a small child with serious skin allergies(过敏症). My aunt's best friend Molly who had lived just down the road was unable to take care of herself as she had serious health problems.

    Second, we thought about our family members. My brother Bobby and his wife Jill were eliminated at once as they aren't cat people. My cousin in California was a bit interested, but we weren't sure about the trip as Mazy was nearly as old as my aunt (in cat years!). Finally, we came to the local humane society to see whether they would be able to help her find a new home. The problem was that most people and families only welcomed a smart little cat into their home, not a dull old one.

    In the end, we had to put Mazy to sleep. I had spoken with the vet and realized it was possible for the best. It was so hard to lose aunt Suzy and then have nowhere for Mazy to live. A few months went by and I had gone to my aunt's house to clear out some of her belongings. I happened to see her mailman. Jerry and we started to talk about my aunt when he asked about Mazy. I told him that we had to put Mazy to sleep because we couldn't find a home for her. Jerry got really quiet. “I promised Suzy that if anything ever happened to her, I'd take care of Mazy”, he said sadly. “Suzy always said she'd told her lawyer the arrangement.”

    Hearing this, my heart sank to my feet and I almost cried. The saddest part, I realized, was this all could have been avoided. I guess we were just so busy in those final months that we didn't think about it. We could have called my aunt's lawyer to take care of it in less than 10 minutes. I'll never forgive myself for not thinking of it sooner. And I'll never forgive myself for losing Mazy.

    Most people who own iPhones use them as their alarm clocks―making it very easy to check emails one last time before falling asleep and hard to ever feel away from work and social networks.

    Several years ago, my boss fainted due to exhaustion after staying up late to catch up on work. She banged her head and ended up with five stitches (缝针) and became what she calls a "sleep evangelist (传教士)." Now she leaves her phone charging in another room when she goes to bed and encourages her friends to do the same.

    "I sent all my friends the same Christmas gift―a lovely alarm clock―so they could stop using the excuse that they needed their very attractive iPhones by their beds to wake them up in the morning." she said.

    If your phone wakes you up in the morning, it may also be keeping you up at night. A 2008 study showed that people exposed to mobile radiation took longer to fall asleep and spent less time in deep sleep. "The study indicates that during laboratory exposure to 884 MHz wireless signals, components of sleep believed to be important for recovery from daily wear and tear are severely affected," the study concluded.

    A quarter of young people feel like they must be available by phone around the clock, according to a Swedish study that linked heavy cellphone use to sleeping problems, stress and depression. Unreturned messages carry more guilt when the technology to deal with them lies at our fingertips. Some teens even return text messages at midnight.

    Most of us choose not to set limits on our nighttime availability. Nearly three quarters of people from the age of 18 to 44 sleep with their phones within reach, according to a 2012 Time poll. That number falls off slightly in middle age, but only people aged 65 and older are leaving the phone in another room as common as sleeping right next to it.

    Judy Wright and her husband decided to move closer to their son, Chris, who lived in Georgia. About a month after the move, Judy fell ill, suffering from her ongoing battle against Parkinson's disease.

    Her condition worsened rapidly and she required medical care at home. The family hired a nursing aid who canceled at the last minute. Instead, a woman named TunDe Hector showed up in her place.

    One day, TunDe shared a story with Judy and her family. She remembered a particularly difficult day in 2014, when a stranger had helped her with a kind gesture. She had run out of gas, and with only$5 in her pocket, was walking to a gas station, gas can in hand. A man saw her walking and turned his car around. He paid for her gas and gave her all the cash left in his wallet. Upon hearing the story, Judy's son, Chris, took off his hat and said, "That was me!” He was the stranger that had helped TunDe on that difficult day.

    During the care of Judy, the Wright family learned about TunDe's family and her own dream. The nursing aid, TunDe hoped that one day she could become an OB-GYN nurse.Her tuition was past due(逾期) and she had a family to care for, but she was determined to achieve that goal for herself and her family.

    Judy died on July 9,2017. Instead of flowers, her family asked mourners(悼念者) to donate to TunDe's education , to assist her in paying for her nursing school. In less than a week, they raised more than $8,000 and presented her with the surprise check.

    People from all over the world visit Disneyland to have fun, not to get sick. But last week, an outbreak of measles(麻疹)spread from the Southern California theme park. As of Monday, January 19, at least 52 people have got the easily spread illness.

    The majority of the reported cases of measles are from people who visited the park before. According to the California Department of Public Health, these people were exposed to the illness at Disneyland from December 17-20.

    Officials believe the cause is likely someone who caught measles abroad and visited Disneyland, but this has yet to be proved. However, in 2014, California had its highest measles infection rate in nearly twenty years. There were 66 cases of measles reported in the state―23 of them in Orange County, where Disneyland is located.

    Measles spreads very easily. It can be caught from coughing and sneezing. Crowded areas like theme parks are especially suitable for its spread.

    The illness starts with a fever and develops into symptoms including a cough, runny nose, red eyes and so on. About three out of ten people infected with measles will develop another health problem, including an ear infection or pneumonia(肺炎).

    The best way to guard against measles is to get vaccinated(打疫苗). An unvaccinated person is 35 times more likely to catch measles than someone who received a vaccination.

It was a fine day. Jeffrey Del Monte was driving With his friend late Friday afternoon along the beach near Ramp 49 in Friso when they heard the screams of children. They surveyed the water trying to locate the screams and, two young girls were spotted apparently struggling while being swept out in a rip current(激流).

Del Monte then swam out into the ocean and helped one of the girls who were caught in the rip current, passing her to his friend for the lengthy swim back to shore. He then went back to search for the second girl and found her in great pain before he swam back to shore, bringing the child to the beach from nearly 100 yards out.

After both girls were safe on the beach, Del Monte and his friend attended to them until Dare County Emergency Medical Services and a Cape Hatteras National Seashore Ranger arrived on the scene. The children's parents also arrived and expressed their thanks to Del Monte and his friend.

"Jeffrey Del Monte's heroic, selfless and quick actions were key to saving these two girls from a very dangerous situation," National Parks of Eastern North Carolina Superintendent David Hallac said in a statement. "His courage and expertise allowed him to perform this successful ocean rescue."

Park officials said the incident was a reminder of how quickly ocean conditions could change, even on what appeared to be a perfect clay.

"A perfect clay on the beach doesn't always mean that it's a perfect day in the ocean, so it is important that all visitors check the beach forecast for danger and rip currents before heading to the beach and always use something that floats when in the water. If individuals do find themselves caught in rip currents, please don't swim against the currents, instead swimming out of the currents and then to shore," David Hallac said.