Question

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 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 and the rate of breathing. It also works several groups of muscles 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 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 something 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

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.Smiling can produce _________.

A. about the same effects as laughter

B. more effects than laughter

C. fewer effects on the human body

D. no effects on the human body

5.In a laughter clinic doctors __________ .

A. laugh at their patients

B. encourage their patients to laugh

C. smile when they don’t feel like laughing

D. never stop laughing

6.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

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.D

4.A

5.B

6.C

【解析】

试题分析：笑是最好的药剂。科学家通过测试，发现了笑对人身体的积极作用，笑相当于体育锻炼，笑可以降低压力和疼痛。笑可以用于治疗疾病。

1.A 细节理解题。题意：从第一段里我们了解到笑有什么作用？A. is good for one’s health有益健康；B. has something to do with some illness对疾病有疗效；C. has been studied long since被研究很久了；D. has no effect on the body对身体没有效果。由本段最后一句：They have found evidence that laughter really can improve people’s health.可知科学研究发现笑真的能改善人的健康。故选A。

2.2】B 细节理解题。题意：医生发现笑的什么？A. keeps down blood pressure降低血压；B. has similar effects to physical exercise和体育锻炼有相似的效果；C. decreases the heart rate降低心跳的频率；D. increases stress增加压力。由第二段的：It was found that laughter has similar effects to physical exercise.可知笑相当于体育锻炼，故选B。

3.3】D 推理判断题。题意：根据短文下面哪一个不对？A. It makes pain less它降低疼痛；B. It exercises the body.它锻炼身体；C. It improves the body’s immune system改善身体的免疫系统；D. It can cure cancer.治愈癌症。根据短文内容，文中未说明笑对癌症的疗效，故选D。

4.4】A 细节理解题。题意：微笑能够产生什么？A. about the same effects as laughter和笑相同的效果；B. more effects than laughter比笑更多的效果；C. fewer effects on the human body对身体很少的效果；D. no effects on the human body对身体没有效果。由短文最后的句子：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.可知科学家发现微笑和笑对身体有相似的效果。故选A。

5.5】B 细节理解题。题意：在笑的测试中，医生做什么？A. laugh at their patients对病人笑；B. encourage their patients to laugh鼓励病人笑；C. smile when they don’t feel like laughing不想笑时微笑；D. never stop laughing不停地笑。由文中的：they try to improve their patients’ condition by encouraging them to laugh可知他们鼓励病人大笑。故选B。

6.A. the doctors should learn how to make people laugh医生应该学会怎样使人们笑；B. there are several ways of studying the advantages of laughter有几种研究笑的优点的方式。C. tests show that laughter can produce positive effects on human body测试表明笑声对人的身体有积极的作用。D. laughter and physical exercise have the same effects on human body笑和锻炼对人体有同样的效果。短文主要讲述笑对人身体的作用，故选C。

考点：考查健康生活类短文阅读。