题目内容：

You have a backache; your legs are painful after a basketball match—what better than a relaxing massage (按摩)?

Scientists now say they have figured out the reason why a massage brings comfort. They say a massage changes how some of your proteins (蛋白质) act.This makes your muscles less inflamed (发炎的), according to the Los Angeles Times.

The leader of the study, Professor Mark Tarnopolsky at McMaster University, Canada, chose several healthy young men for the experiment.He asked them to do very tiring exercise. Then he looked at how the cells changed in their legs.After this, the men were given a massage on only one leg and Tarnopolsky recorded any cell changes again.

Tarnopolsky and his team found that massaging made the inflammation caused by exercise get better because it weakened the activity of a protein called NF­kB.

Scientists also noticed that massaging helped cells recover from exercise damage.When muscles were being massaged, the amount of another protein called PGC­lalpha increased. This kind of protein can stimulate (促进) the growth of a tiny part inside cells called mitochondria (线粒体)．

People used to think that massaging eases pain by clearing away the lactic acid (乳酸) which built up after exercise. However, Tarnopolsky and his team didn't see any changes to lactic acid.

Thomas Birk is a professor at Wayne State University, US. He said that the study was the first he had seen to analyze massage in such depth.  He said they wanted to start research 10 years ago, but technology was not yet good enough.

One day massages could be used to treat injuries and muscle disease. They may even be able to replace some anti­inflammatory medicines, said Birk. But, he said, more research is needed for masseurs (按摩师) to figure out the best massages for different diseases.

1.What is the article mainly about?

A. A new way to massage.

B. The best way to relax after doing sports.

C. New research into massages.

D. The advantages of a massage.

2.How can a massage bring comfort according to the article?

A. It weakens the activity of the protein NF­kB.

B. It helps protein recover from exercise damage.

C. It can clear away the mitochondria in muscles.

D. It can prevent inflammation in muscles.

3.What does the underlined word “eases” in Paragraph 6 probably mean?

A. makes easier    B. reduces

C. puts up with    D. stops

4.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. It was believed that massages cleared away lactic acid.

B. Research into massages started 10 years ago.

C. Massages are used to treat muscle diseases in hospitals.

D. Massages will reduce the amount of protein PGC­lalpha.