Something in chocolate could be used to stop coughs and lead to more effective medicines, say UK researchers.
Their study found that theobromine（可可碱）, found in cocoa, was nearly a third more effective in stopping coughs than codeine, which was considered the best cough medicine at present.
The Imperial College London researchers who published their results online said the discovery could lead to more effective cough treatment. “While coughing is not necessarily harmful it can have a major effect on the quality of life, and this discovery could be a huge step forward in treating this problem,” said Professor Peter Barnes.
Ten healthy volunteers were given theobromine, codeine or placebo, a pill that contains no medicine, during the experiment. Neither the volunteers nor the researchers knew who received which pill. The researchers then measured levels of capsaicin, which is used in research to cause coughing and as a sign of how well the medicines are stopping coughs.
The team found that, when the volunteers were given theobromine, the capsaicin needed to produce a cough was around a third higher than in the placebo group. When they were given codeine they needed only slightly higher levers of capsaicin to cause a cough pared with the placebo.
The researchers said that theobromine worked by keeping down a nerve activity(神经活动), which cause coughing. They also found that unlike some standard cough treatments, theobromine caused no side effects such as sleepiness.
【小题1】According to Professor Barnes, theobromine .A．cannot be as effective as codeineB．can be harmful to people’s healthC．cannot be separated from chocolate D．can be a more effective cure for coughs【小题2】What was used in the experiment to cause coughing?A．Theobromine. B．Codeine.C．Capsaicin.D．Placebo.【小题3】We learn from the text that volunteers in the experiment .A．were patients with bad coughsB．were divided into the three groupsC．received standard treatmentsD．suffered little side effects【小题4】Which of the following would be the best title for the text?A．Codeine: A New MedicineB．Chocolate May Cure CoughsC．Cough Treatment: A Hard CaseD．Theobromine Can Cause CoughsD
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(答案→)D
解析：【小题1】.D 细节题。根据文章第二段that theobromine（可可碱）, found in cocoa, was nearly a third more effective in stopping coughs than codeine,说明他们认为theobromine是一种有效的治疗咳嗽的方法。故D正确。
【小题2】C 细节题。根据文章第四段第三行capsaicin, which is used in research to cause coughing说明C正确。
【小题3】B 细节题。根据第四段1,2行Ten healthy volunteers were given theobromine, codeine or placebo, a pill that contains no medicine, during the experiment.说明他们被分成三队，每一队都服用不同的东西。故B正确。
【小题4】B 主旨大意题。根据文章第一段说明本文主要是讲巧克力中发现的某种物质可以用来治愈咳嗽。故B正确。