单选题 The human body has developed its millions of nerves to be highly aware of what goes on both inside and outside of it. This helps us adjust to the outside world. Without our nerves and our brain, which is a system of nerves, we couldn"t know what"s happening. But we pay for our sensitivity. We can feel pain when the slightest thing is wrong with any part of our body. The history of torture (折磨) is based on the human body being open to pain.
But there is a way to handle pain. Look at the Indian fakir (苦行僧) who sits on a bed of nails. Fakirs can put a needle fight through an arm, and feel no pain. This ability that some humans have developed to handle pain should give us ideas about how the mind can deal with pain.
The big thing in withstanding pain is our attitude toward it. ff the dentist says, "This will hurt a little," it helps us to accept the pain. By staying relaxed, and by treating the pain as an interesting sensation (感觉), we can handle the pain without falling apart. After all, although pain is an unpleasantsensation, it is still a sensation, and sensations are the stuff of life.
单选题 The human body has developed a system of nerves that enables us to ______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 人体的神经系统能够使我们了解我们周同以及自身的状况，而了解这些信息的方式就是在我们的身体发生微小变化的时候向大脑传递疼痛的信号。
单选题 What does the writer mean by saying "we pay for our sensitivity" in the first paragraph?
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 由第一段的末句可知，我们通过神经系统可以了解自身和周边环境，但是为此付出的代价是人体会因为疼痛而备受折磨。
单选题 When the author mentions the Indian fakir, he shows that ______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 举印度苦行僧的例子，是为了解释该段的首句：But there is a way to handle pain，意思就是说我们能够通过一些方式来应对疼痛。
单选题 What is essential for people to stand pain according to the writer?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 短文第三段首句：The big thing in withstanding pain is our attitude toward it.表明忍受疼痛的首要因素是人自身的态度。
单选题 The author believes that ______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 文章末句：After all, although pain is an unpleasant sensation, it is still a sensation, and sensations are the stuff of life.由此可知，疼痛是生活当中必不可少的一部分。符合A的意思。其他选项均不符合原文。