Question

Ever wonder why sometimes a hug is all you need ? You can’t explain it , but there’s just something comforting about being in your wife’s arms after a rough day or giving mom a hug after a long time apart .

A new study says the warm feeling in a hug is more than just skin deep . Researchers from the University of California , Berkeley believe that this loving feeling could have anti-aging benefits .

Oxytocin , sometimes referred to as the “ love hormone（荷爾蒙）” or the “ trust hormone , ” is responsible for those indescribable feelings we get when we’re bonding with a lover or a loved one .

Levels of the hormone drop as we age , and evidence suggests that could be a contributing factor to the deterioration of our bodies as we age . Muscle loss in particular is one of the major side effects of aging , with our bodies losing up to 5 percent of our muscle mass each decade past our 30s .

In the study , published in the journal Nature Communications , researchers injected oxytocin into older mice with muscle damage . The older mice had lower levels of the homeone than younger mice initially . But after nine days , the older mice who were given the hormone healed better than those who did not . In fact , their ability to repair muscle damage was up to 80 percent that of the younger mice .

The results were not only fast-acting , but provide hope for future uses of the hormone in a variety of anti-aging capacities . “ This is good because it demonstrates that extra oxytocin improves aged tissue stem cells（組織干細胞）without making muscle stem cells divide uncontrollably , ” study co-author Wendy Cousins said in a statement .

Previous uses of anti-aging molecules have also been associated with higher cancer risk , but researchers are hopeful that oxytocin can be useful in humans without this risk . In the future , researchers of Berkeley say oxytocin could be used to fight other age-related health issues by improving bone health and even being used as an alternative to hormone replacement therapy .

Now go out and give someone a hug .

1.According to the passage , oxytocin __________ .

A. decreases when people get older

B. creates loving feeling on the skin

C. leads to the great loss of muscles

D. can be used in humans without any risk

2.The underlined word “ deterioration ” in Paragraph 4 probably refers to the state of __________ .

A. getting fatter B. becoming worse or less

C. growing stronger D. dividing uncontrollably

3.What can be learned from the research ?

A. All the older mice healed faster in the research .

B. Older mice healed better than younger ones after 9 days .

C. Extra oxytocin in older mice controlled muscle cell division .

D. Mice with oxytocin injection improved the ability to repair muscle damage .

4. What can be a suitable title for the passage ?

A. When Do We Need A Hug ?

B. A New Anti-aging Product

C. Hugs Having Healing Power

D. How Can We Grow Muscles ?

Answer 1