There is an English saying that “Laughter is the best medicine.” Until recently, few people took the saying seriously. Now however, doctors have begun to look into laughter and the effects it has on the human body. They have found that laughter can really 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 hearts, blood pressure, breathing and muscles. It was found that laughter has similar effects to physical exercise. It increases blood pressure, makes the heart beat quicker and makes people breathe deeper; it also works on several groups of muscles in the face, the stomach, and even the feet. If laughter exercises the body, it must be beneficial.
Other tests have shown that laughter appears to be able to reduce the effects of pain on the body. In one experiment doctors produced pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programs. The group that tolerated（忍耐）the pain for the longest time was the group which listened to a funny program. The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce a kind of chemical in the brain which diminishes both stress and pain.
As a result of these discoveries, some doctors in the United States now hold laughter clinics, in which they help 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 beneficial effects similar to those caused by laughter.
66．According to the passage, which of the following statements is WRONG?
A．Laughter is good for health
B．Laughter can make you become old quickly
C．Laughter helps to reduce pain.
D．Laughter, just like physical exercise, is good for our body.
67．The underlined word “diminishes” in the third paragraph means “________”.
A．delays B．prevents C．increases D．reduces
68．Why do some doctors hold laughter clinics?
A．Because they want to earn more money.
B．Because they think they will heilp the patients recover from illnesses.
C．Because they want to improve their patients’ condition.
D．Because they want their patients to practice how to laugh
69．According to the author, we should ________.
A．laugh as much as possible
B．watch more funny films
C．smile all the time
D．spend more time in laughter clinics
70．What would be the best title for this passage?
A．Both laughter and physical exercise are good for health
B．Laughter clinics help patients improve their condition
C．Laughter can reduce the effects of pain
D．Laughter is the best medicine.’
Hobbs was an orphan. He worked in a factory and every day he got a little money. Hard work changed him thin and weak. He wanted to borrow a lot of money to learn to paint pictures, but he did not think he could pay off the debts.
One day the lawyer said to him, “One thousand dollars, and here is the money.” As Hobbs took the package of notes, he was very dumbfounded. He didn’t know where the money came from and how to spend it. He said to himself, “I could go to find a hotel and live like a rich man for a few days; or I give up my work in the factory and do what I’d like to do: painting pictures I could do that for a few weeks, but what would I do after that? I should have lost my place of the factory and have no money to live on. If it were a little less money, I would buy a new coat, or a radio, or give a dinner to my friends. If it were more, I could give up the work and pay for painting pictures. But it’s too much for one and too little for the other.”
“Here is the reading of your uncle’s will,” said the lawyer, “telling what is to be done with this money after his death. I must ask you to remember one point. Your uncle has said you must bring me a paper showing exactly what you did with his money, as soon as you have spent it.”
“Yes, I see. I’ll do that.” said the young man.He wanted to borrow money because he wanted to .
| A．study abroad | B．work abroad |
| C．pay for the debts | D．learn to paint pictures |
Hobbs was dumbfounded on receiving the money because he thought .
| A．the money was too much |
| B．the money was too little |
| C．he would be dismissed |
| D．the lawyer meant to punish him |
With the money he got, first Hobbs .
| A．planned to have a happy life for a few days |
| B．decided to give up his work in the office |
| C．was to give a dinner to his friends |
| D．had no idea what to do |
What Hobbs was asked to do was .
| A．to tell the lawyer what he did with the money after spending it |
| B．to read his uncle’s will |
| C．to tell the lawyer what was to be done with the money |
| D．nothing but to buy some pictures |
What Hobbs really loved to do was .
| A．working in the factory |
| B．living in a fine hotel |
| C．painting pictures |
| D．saving the money |
Studies show that laughter is something that makes you feel calm or relaxed for both physical and psychological wounds though it may seem futile to laugh in the face of pain and fear.
When Dan Rather interviewed comedian Bill Cosby just one week after his son, Ennis, was killed, Cosby said, “I think it is time for me to tell people that we have to laugh. You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything, you can survive it.”
Call it a flashlight for dark times: laughter just seems to adjust attitude better than anything else. Inspirational speaker Steve Rizzo recalls a TV interview with an injured firefighter a few days after 9.11．The man had fallen more than 30 stories in one of the towers and had broken a leg. Everyone was crying, and the reporter asked, “How is it that you’ve come out of this alive?” He looked at her and without missing a beat, said, “Look, lady, I’m from New York and I’m a firefighter; that’ all you need to know.”
“Everyone laughed and though the laughter was only a couple of seconds,” says Rizzo. “Sometimes that’s all you need to catch your second breath. Laughter gives you that couple of seconds. You’re sending a message to your brain, and the message is: If you can still laugh even a little among the pain, you are going to be OK.”
Of course, there is a difference between laughing off a serious situation and laughing off the fear that results. The firefighter was doing the latter, states Rizzo, the author of Becoming a Humorous Being, and so should we. “If there is anything we have learnt from 9.11, it’s how precious life really is,” she says. “We have to send a message that our spirit won’t die. One important thing that unites us is our ability to laugh.” The writer uses the examples of the comedian and the firefighter to show .
| A．laughter is a good way to get rid of pain and fear |
| B．laughter is the best way to cure psychological wounds |
| C．it is your attitude that decides whether you can survive the pain or not |
| D．laughing off a serious situation is different from laughing off the fear that results |
We can infer from the passage that Steve Rizzo is .
| A．a reporter | B．a soldier | C．a firefighter | D．a doctor |
The underlined word futile in the first paragraph means .
| A．hopeless | B．useless |
| C．careless | D．worthless |
From the passage, we can know that Americans are .
| A．really inspired after 9.11 | B．hardly united after 9.11 |
| C．nearly surprised by 9.11 | D．greatly hurt by 9.11 |
To see the world is one thing；to have someone to share it with is another.Indeed，travel becomes more interesting when you have a travel partner.A travel partner can be a close friend，a family member，a pal you’ve met online，or a business friend.
You can have someone to talk to
Traveling alone is fun，but wouldn’t you feel lonely？Having a travel partner can remove the feeling of loneliness.This is especially true if you can get a travel companion who is very familiar with the place you’re traveling to.You don’t have to ask any information from the locals，and you can increase the time you spend in the country.
__________________________
One of the major headaches in traveling is the costs involved.You can’t simply ignore the rising price of hotels or plane tickets.You should also think about your daily needs，such as your food.Of course，you can’t simply go back without bringing any souvenirs (纪念品) to your friends and family.All these can ruin your budget.However，when you have a travel friend，you can have someone to share the expenses with.
You can meet a good friend
Having a travel mate is a good way of meeting a new friend or even a lifelong partner.You can never count the number of couples who actually found their way into each other’s heart while traveling together in another country.
You can have someone to watch out for you
When you’re in a foreign land，you’ll never be really safe.You don’t know the rules as well as the culture of the people.A travel mate will be perfect to remind you of your duties in the country and to watch your back just in case you get lost.So why don’t you find a travel companion now?
Let’s find out how ...What’s the author’s purpose in writing this passage?
| A．To introduce a travel company. |
| B．To encourage us to have a travel partner. |
| C．To explain how to be a perfect travel partner. |
| D．To tell an interesting experience with a travel partner. |
What’s the best title for the 3rd paragraph?
| A．You can have someone to share the expenses with. |
| B．You can know the local culture well. |
| C．You can enjoy food with your partner. |
| D．You can save money by bargaining together. |
Which of the following statements agrees with the author’s opinion?
| A．Traveling alone is not fun. |
| B．Buying souvenirs isn’t necessary. |
| C．Many people fall in love when traveling. |
| D．It’s better to choose a stranger as a travel partner. |
The following paragraph will probably talk about________.
| A．how to get along with a travel partner |
| B．how travel can benefit people |
| C．what we can learn from travel |
| D．how to find a travel partner |
Everybody is afraid of something.That’s what more than 1,700 kids told us when we asked them about fears and scary stuff.We gave kids a list of 14 scary things and asked which one frightened them most.Here are the top 5 answers from our survey (调查)：① Scary movies and TV shows；②Scary dreams；③Thunderstorms，hurricanes(飓风)；and other horrible weather；④War and terrorism (恐怖行动)；⑤Sounds heard at night.
But not everyone is afraid of the same thing.And what makes one person scared can be of no big deal for someone else.Plenty of kids said their biggest fear wasn’t on our list.
What is fear?
Fear is a feeling that eyeryone has—it’s programmed into all of us—and that’s a good thing because fear is there to protect us.We’re born with a sense of fear so we can react to something that could be dangerous.The baby cries，and their mom comes over to comfort him or her，helping the baby feel safe and OK again.Real vs.Pretend
The best way to get over a fear is to get more information about it.As kids get older，they understand more and start seeing the difference between what is real and unreal.So when William’s imagination leads him to think of witches，he can tell himself，“Wait a minute.They’re only pretend things.I don’t need to worry about them.”
The same goes for the dark.A kid’s imagination can start playing tricks when the lights go out.What’s under my bed？Is that a thief I hear？With the help of a parent，kids can get more comfortable in the dark.Using a nightlight or shining a flashlight under the bed to see that there’s nothing there can help kids fight that fear.What did the writer find out from the survey?
| A．Some people have never experienced fear. |
| B．Kids don’t like watching scary movies. |
| C．All people are afraid of something. |
| D．People often cry loudly when they are scared. |
What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?
| A．The list of fears is not complete. |
| B．The things people fear are of no big deal. |
| C．Kids have more fears than people think. |
| D．People are afraid of different things. |
In the writer’s opinion，________.
| A．having a sense of fear is not a bad thing |
| B．babies have a weak sense of fear |
| C．fear is not something that we are born with |
| D．not all people can react to dangerous things |
When you’re returning to Australia, be careful that you don’t bring in pests and diseases. Some items you might bring back from overseas can be pests and diseases that Australia doesn’t have. When you return, declare(申报)all food, meat, fruits, plants, seeds, wooden souvenirs, animal or plant materials.
Australia has strict quarantine(检疫)laws and tough on-the-spot fines. Every piece of luggage is now screened or X-rayed. If you fail to declare any quarantine items, or if you make a false declaration, you will get caught. In addition to on-the-spot fines, you could be accused and fined more than $60, 000 and you may risk 10 years in prison. All international mail is also screened.
Some products may require treatment to make them safe. Items that are restricted because of the risk of pests and diseases will be seized and destroyed by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service(AQIS).
In many cases, the goods you declare will be returned to you after inspection. However, any item that presents a quarantine risk will be withheld(扣留). You will be given a range of options for each item depending on the quarantine risk:
Treating the item to make it safe;
Holding the item until an import permit is presented*; ·
Re-exporting the item；
Destroying the item.
Those treatments with the sign “*” are subject to fees.
Further information:
For more detailed information about bringing in food, animals, plants, animal or plant materials, call the AQIS at 1800-020-504. Which of the following don’t you need to declare when returning to Australia?
| A．Tea. | B．Wooden combs. | C．Some bread. | D．A pair of glasses. |
If you make a false declaration, you would _______ .
| A．be fined a lot of money |
| B．be forbidden to return to Australia |
| C．have to declare your items again |
| D．make yourself screened |
Where can we most probably find this passage?
| A．In an advertisement. |
| B．In a traveling guidebook. |
| C．At the police station. |
| D．In a hospital. |
We can learn from the passage that _______ .
| A．you can keep the item before an import permit is presented |
| B．all products must be treated according to the AQIS |
| C．not all treatments for your declared items are free |
| D．travelers can sell their declared items |
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