There is an old saying in English, “Laughter is the best medicine”. Until recently, few people took the saying very seriously. Now however, doctors have begun to study laughter and the effects (作用) it has on the human body. They have found evidence(证据) that laughter really can improve people’s health.
Tests were carried out to study the effects of laughter on the body. People watched funny films while doctors checked their heart rate, blood pressure, breathing and muscles. It was found that laughter has similar effects to physical exercise. It increases blood pressure, the heart rate（率） and the rate of breathing. It also works several groups of muscles（肌肉） in the face, the stomach and even the feet. If laughter exercises the body, it must be helpful.
Other tests have shown that laughter appears to make the effect of pain on the body less. In one experiment doctors produced pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programs. The group which could bear the pain for the longest time was the group which listened to a funny program. The reason why laughter can make pain less seems to be that it helps to produce endorphins (内啡肽) in the brain. These are natural chemicals which make both stress and pain less.
There is also some evidence to suggest that laughter helps the body’s immune(免疫) system that is the system which fights infection (感染). In an experiment, one group of students watched a funny video while another group served as the control group — in other words, a group with which to compare the first group. Doctors checked the blood of the students in both groups and found that the people in the group that watched the video had an increase in the activity of their white blood cells that is the cells which fight infection.
As a result of these discoveries, some doctors and psychiatrists (精神病学) in the United States now hold laughter clinics, in which they try to improve their patients’ condition by encouraging them to laugh. They have found that even if their patients do not really feel like laughing, making them smile is enough to produce good effects similar to those caused by laughter.
1.We learn from the first paragraph that laughter________.
A. is good for one’s health
B. has strong effects to do with some illness
C. has been studied long since
D. has no effect on the body
2.Doctors have found that laughter_________.
A. keeps down blood pressure
B. has similar effects to physical exercise
C. decreases the heart rate
D. increases stress and pain
3.Which of the following statements is NOT true of laughter according to the passage?
A. It makes pain less.
B. It exercises the body.
C. It improves the body’s immune system.
D. It can cure cancer.
4.The main idea of this passage is that _________.
A. the doctors should learn how to make people laugh
B. there are several ways of studying the advantages of laughter
C. tests show that laughter can produce positive effects on human body
D. laughter and physical exercise have the same effects on human body
I was recently invited to dinner by a friend. During the meal, the manager came over and said that our meal was free. He stood there at me, he seemed to know me. I asked if he knew me. He laughed and said I had probably _ him, but I had changed his life. He said that twelve years ago he was in stress management class. I asked the group what their number one stress was and of them, including him, said it was their .
He said I listened carefully and then took a chair and placed it in the center of the room. I on the chair for a few minutes and then I invited everyone to do the same. I wanted them to look at the room from there. After everyone had done it, I asked the group to think about how the room looked when they changed their perspective(角度).
Then I asked them to their bosses. Was this the same person who had seen their good__ and hired（雇佣） them? Do they remember how happy they were to be for the job? How did these wonderful people become terrible bosses?
He said I looked at him and asked if he had said thank you to his boss for the opportunity to make a living. He answered no.
He told me his changed that night. He went back to work with a card to his boss. He had been the manager for 8 years. He said he owed（把……归功于） it all to me: I had taught him to look at life from different perspectives and I had taught him to express gratitude（感激之情）.
1.A. Shouting B. smiling C. lookingD. knocking
2.A. Suddenly B. LuckilyC. FinallyD. Firstly
3.A. Remembered B. seenC. dislikedD. forgotten
4.A. their B. ourC. hisD. my
5.A. More B. most C. fewD. fewer
6.A. teachersB. wives C. bossesD. children
7.A. stood B. sat C. walkedD. rested
8.A. down B. rightC. left D. up
9.A. special B. different C. strangeD. same
10.A. miss B. consider C. like D. thank
11.A. qualitiesB. tastes C. looks D. skills
12.A. found B. refused C. chosen D. trained
13.A. never B. always C. sometimesD. ever
14.A. life B. luck C. salary D. job
15.A. sorry B. post C. thank-youD. greeting
—Is your brother at home?
—No. He ________ the library. He hasn’t come back yet.
A. was going to B. has been to
C. has gone to D. goes to
We know that about seventy percent _____ the earth _____ covered by water.
A. /; is B. of; are
C. of; is D. about; are
you drive, you will be.
A. More carefully; safer; B. The more careful, the safer
C. The more carefully, the safer. D. The more careful, the safer
The policeman asked the child ________ cross the street ________ the traffic lights turned green.
A. not, when B. not to, until
C. didn't, before D. not to, after
