英语六级考试标准的阅读5

　　Without regular supplies of some hormones our capacity to behave would be seriously impaired; without others we would soon die. Tiny amounts of some hormones can modify moods and actions， our inclination to eat or drink， our aggressiveness or submissiveness， and our reproductive and parental behavior. And hormones do more than influence adult behavior; early in life they help to determine the development of bodily form and may even determine an individuals behavioral capacities. Later in life the changing outputs of some endocrine glands and the bodys changing sensitivity to some hormones are essential aspects of the phenomena of aging.

　　Communication within the body and the consequent integration of behavior were considered the exclusive province of the nervous system up to the beginning of the present century. The emergence of endocrinology as a separate discipline can probably be traced to the experiments of Bayliss and Starling on the hormone secretion. This substance is secreted from cells in the intestinal walls when food enters the stomach; it travels through the bloodstream and stimulates the pancreas to liberate pancreatic juice， which aids in digestion. By showing that special cells secret chemical agents that are conveyed by the bloodstream and regulate distant target organs or tissues. Bayliss and starling demonstrated that chemical integration could occur without participation of the nervous system.

　　The term hormone was first used with reference to secretion. Starling derived the term from the Greek hormone，meaning to excite or set in motion. The term endocrine was introduced shortly thereafter Endocrine is used to refer to glands that secret products into the bloodstream. The term endocrine contrasts with exocrine， which is applied to glands that secret their products though ducts to the site of action. Examples of exocrine glands are the tear glands，the sweat glands，and the pancreas，which secrets pancreatic juice through a duct into the intestine. Exocrine glands are also called duct glands，while endocrine glands are called ductless.