Kataria is the founder of the worldwide laughter movement. The celebration of World Laughter Day is a positive activity for world peace and is intended to build up a global sense of brotherhood and friendship through laughter. The first “World Laughter Day” gathering took place in Mumbai, India, on 11th January, 1998. 12,000 members from India and international Laughter Clubs attended it. Now there are over 5,000 Laughter Clubs worldwide on all 5 continents.
“HAPPY—DEMIC” was the first World Laughter Day gathering outside India. It took place on 9th January, two years after the Mumbai gathering. In Copenhagen, Denmark, more than 10,000 people gathered at Town Hall Square. The event went into Guinness Book of World Records. “World Laughter Day” is now organized on the first Sunday of May every year. Hundreds of people gather worldwide on that day to laugh together.
Today, many people fear widespread international terrorism. The world has never faced so much unrest before. People are at war within themselves. Laughter is a universal language, which has the ability to unite humanity without religion. Laughter can build a common connection between various religions and create a new world order. The idea may sound over -ambitious(野心太大的), and maybe it is. But maybe it is not. It is our deep belief that laughter and only laughter can unite the world, building up a global sense of brotherhood and friendship.
Studies also say that laughter helps your body do the following: lower blood pressure; lighten depression; reduce stress; work out the heart, especially for those who are unable to perform physical exercise. So in life, when you can laugh, you should laugh loudly and with your entire body-because it’s good for you.The purpose of celebrating World Laughter Day is ________.
| A．to build up a global sense of brotherhood and friendship through laughter |
| B．to build a common connection between various religions |
| C．to reduce stress and lighten depression |
| D．to lower blood pressure |
The first World Laughter Day gathering outside India took place________.
| A．on 11th January, 1998 | B．on the first Sunday of May |
| C．on 9th January, 1996 | D．on 9th January, 2000 |
The author’s attitude towards laughter movement is ________.
| A．positive | B．negative | C．uninterested | D．objective |
The passage is mainly about ________.
| A．World Laughter Day and its significance |
| B．the worldwide laughter movement |
| C．a universal language |
| D．laughter. |
A Charlotte, N.C., man was charged with first-degree murder of a 79-year-old woman whom police said he scared to death. In an attempt to evade policemen after a bank robbery, the Associated Press reports that 20-year-old Larry Whitfield broke into the home of Mary Parnell. Police say he didn’t touch Parnell but that she died after suffering a heart attack that was caused by terror. Can the guy be held responsible for the woman’s death? Prosecutors(公诉人) said that he can under the state’s murder rule, which allows someone to be charged with murder if he or she causes another person’s death while committing or fleeing from a severe crime like robbery—even if he or she doesn’t kill someone on purpose.
But, medically speaking, can someone actually be frightened to death? We asked Martin Samuels, chairman of the neurology department at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Absolutely, no question about it.
The body has a natural protective method called the fight-or-flight response(战或逃反应), which was originally described by Walter Cannon，the chairman of Harvard University’s physiology department from 1906 to 1942. If, in the wild, an animal is faced with a life-threatening situation, the autonomic nervous system responds by increasing heart rate, increasing blood flow to the muscles, and slowing digestion, among other things. All of this increases the chances of succeeding in a fight or running away from an aggressive beast. This process certainly would be of help to primitive humans. However, in the modern world there is obvious decline of the fight-or-flight response.
The autonomic nervous system uses the chemical messenger to send signals to various parts of the body to activate the fight-or-flight response. This chemical is toxic in large amounts; it damages the organs such as the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys. It is believed that almost all sudden deaths are caused by damage to the heart. There is almost no other organ that would fail so fast as to cause sudden death. Kidney failure, liver failure, those things don’t kill you suddenly.
By the way, any strong positive or negative emotions such as happiness or sadness can cause the same result. There are people who have died in intercourse or in religious passion. There was a case of a golfer who hit a hole in one, turned to his partner and said, “I can die now”, and then he dropped dead. For about seven days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon there was an increase of sudden cardiac death among New Yorkers. Why the Charlotte, N.C., man was charged?
A. Because he threatened the policemen to kill an old woman.
B. Because he caused an old woman’s terror and she died.
C. Because he beat an old woman and caused her heart attack
D. Because he murdered an old woman while robbing a bank. What is Martin Samuels’ attitude to the possibility of being frightened to death?
| A．Approval. | B．Disapproval. | C．Doubtful. | D．Indifferent. |
Which of the following about the fight-or-flight response is true?
A. The fight-or-flight response was raised and proved by Martin A. Samuels.
B. It is a natural protective method that can’t be found in all creatures but humans.
C. The ancient humans had a superior fight-or-flight response than modern ones.
D. The fight-or-flight response is beneficial to both our actions and organs. What activity can we infer is less
likely to damage the organs?
| A．Winning a big lottery. | B．Missing a dead family. |
| C．Watching a horror movie. | D．Listening to a sweet song. |
The purpose of the passage is_________.
| A．to explain why people will die of a heart attack |
| B．to offer some advice on protecting us from heart failure |
| C．to compare different kinds of feelings to cause a death |
| D．to show strong emotions can cause a sudden death |
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项标号涂黑。
A
| HIGHFIELD COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL SCHOOL REPORT Form Teac  her: G. Baker Pupil’s Name: Simon WatkinsTerm: Summer 2010 Form: Ⅳ B
FORM TEACHER’S REMARKS HEADMASTER |
According to the comments of the Physical Education teacher, Simon .
| A．is too talkative in the class |
| B．likes to work with his classmates |
| C．doesn’t exercise his body at the right time |
| D．becomes weak because he doesn’t exercise at all |
Which of Simon’s subjects will attract the headmaster’s attention in future?
| A．Biology and Maths. | B．History and French. |
| C．English and Chemistry. | D．Physics and Physical Education. |
Which of the following statements best describes Simon?
| A．He has made great progress in language classes. |
| B．His potential has been fully reflected in science classes. |
| C．His grade in maths makes him a born scientist. |
| D．He needs to improve his attitude on certain subjects. |
Based on the school report, which of the following statements is true?
| A．Simon didn’t bother his teacher to revise French. |
| B．Basically, Simon did a good job in science. |
| C．Simon is a determined learner in English. |
| D．Simon is able to pay attention to history for long. |
Astronauts’ meals have come a long way from the free-dried powders and semi—liquid pastes of decades ago，now US scientists want to grow vegetables in mini—greenhouses on the moon．
Scientists say they are looking forward to a time when residents of future lunar or even Martian outsteps will be able to dine on fresh vegetables．Paragon Space Development Corporation has unveiled what it called the first step toward growing flowers——and eventually food on the moon．
This is a sealed greenhouse that looks like a bell jar encased in a 46-cm triangular aluminiumframe．It is designed to safely land a laboratory plant on the lunar surface，and protect it while it grows．
The miniature greenhouse is to be launched into space by Odyssey Moon Ltd, a participant in the Google Lunar X Prize. This competition offers $21 million to any entrant who can launch, land and operate a rover on the lunar surface.
Paragon officials say future testing of the “Lunar Oasis” will be driven by Odyssey’s flight Schedule, which will not happen until 2012 at the earliest．
When it does lift off the greenhouse will contain the seeds of Brassica, a hardy plant related to Brussels sprouts and cabbage. Because Brassica goes from seed to flower in just 14 days, it can complete its life cycle in a single lunar night.
“Colonizing the Moon or Mars seems so far away，but it is important that we do this research now. ”Paragon president Jane Poynter said．
“It takes a long time to get a lot of research, and to get integrated, reliable efficient systems before colonists move in. ”she said．The article is written mainly to__________．
| A．predict the astronauts’ meals in the future |
| B．introduce an experiment “Lunar Oasis’’ |
| C．tell us the future development of astronomy |
| D．focus on the human’s great progress |
The article implies that__________．
| A．astronauts can grow flowers in space at present | |
| B．Paragon and NASA will carry out the test separately | |
C．Lunar Oasis is a series of experiments carried out in space |
D．the earliest testing of the Lunar Oasis may be in 2012 |
The underlined word “colonists” in the last paragraph probably has the meaning of______．
| A．plants | B．wild beasts | C．human beings | D．scientists |
The seeds of Brassica will be contained in the greenhouse mainly because _________.
| A．their life cycle is much shorter |
| B．they are more nutritious than other food |
| C．they are related to Brussels sprouts and cabbage |
| D．they are very delicious |
The Harvard Student—led Walking Tour
Let a student show you Harvard···on a free walking tour．
We welcome our neighbours to stop by the Harvard University Events＆Information Centre,
located in the Holyoke Centre Arcade at 1350 Massachusetts Avenue in the heart of Harvard Square in Cambridge．
Let a student take you and your family, school，or organization on an engaging，hour-long free historical tour of the Harvard Campus. The tours leave from the Events＆Information Centre．Not only will you discover the location of fascinating exhibition and programmers on campus，you will also see Harvard’s rich sampling of American history and architecture from the Colonial period to the present.
Schedule of Tours
Tours leave the Events＆Information Centre at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, and at 2 p.m. on Saturday through the academic year 
(February4 through May 2；September 23 through December 16).Summer tours(June 24 through August 15)are offered at 10 a.m.,11：15 a. m．，2p.m．，and 3：15 p.m. Monday through Saturday．Reser—vacations for special tours of 20 or more people may be made by calling the Events＆Information Centre at (617)495-1573 or emailing icenter@ camail Harvard, edu. Tours are suspended March23 through April2 for Spring Break．May3 through June23 for Spring intercession(祷告),and August16 through September 22 for Summer intercession．
NOTE：Prospective(未来的)students may take tours originating at the Harvard Admission Office, located at Byerly Hall on 8 Garden Street in Cambridge．From April through August，the Admissions staff conducts an information session at l0a.m. followed by an 11 a.m. tour．Monday through Friday On Saturdays．there is no information session but the 11 a．m．tour is still scheduled．Another session is held year-round at 2 p.m. with a 3 p.m. tour following. For more information on tours for prospective students，please call at(617)495-1551．
Harvard University Events＆Information Centre
Location：Holyoke Centre Arcade．1350 Massachusetts Avenue，Cambridge MA 02138
Phone：(617)495-1573A person can join in a tour at ________on Saturday through the academic year．
| A．10 a.m. | B．2 p.m. | C．11：15 a.m. | D．3：15 p.m. |
If you want to go for an information session, you can go on __________.
| A．May 2 | B．June 23 | C．August 20 | D．September 1 |
A student who wants an information session may _________for more information．
| A．call (617)495-1573 | B．call (617)495-1551 |
| C．email icenter@ camail. Harvard.edu. | D．go to the Events＆Information Centre |
The above ad．is mainly intended for________．
| A．foreign visitors | B．freshmen |
| C．high school students | D．those living near Harvard University |
Depression(抑郁症)is a serious problem today．Depression causes workers to be unproductive，causing companies and countries to lose billion of dollars．One expert says that depression is like cancer because it is “widespread, costly and deadly”．Depression hits one person in five around the world．
Although people have believed depression to be a problem among the rich and educated，studies show that depression is a problem among everyone．Over any six-month period, between five to seven percent of the world’s population will be suffering from a serious depression．
Suicide(自杀)rates among people suffering from the disease in its extreme, or clinical form were 80 percent higher than in the population at large, and sufferers were four times more likely to have heart attacks．People who suffer from depression often have problems sleeping，getting up on time，and doing work productively.
Depression, which researchers agree has its origin in the genes(基因)，brings loss of confidence and ability to concentrate, making it possible for employees and managers to work efficiently．
Depression is made more serious in China by Chinese’s inability to face it．Many people believe that depressed people are either weak or lazy．Besides，there is no good treatment，with few specialists available．
“Most patients in China just don’t get help,” a Chinese doctor says．“In my hospital，I have
to see 30 or 40 patients in a morning，and just have time to say ‘Hello，how do you feel ?…’”
In Western countries，people are not afraid to admit that they have depression，but most do not tell it to their boss，because they fear that their boss would fire them．
“In my e
xperience，aging bosses are the most willing to admit they have it, because they feel
the most secure about themselves, ” an American doctor says．
Hopefully，in the near future，people around the world will be able to admit that they have depression so that they can get the right treatment.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．It is widely believed that everyone may suffer from depression． |
| B．Depression brings great problems to its sufferers in their life and work． |
C．Depression is a commonly- existing problem only in rich countries． |
| D．The poorer and the less educated a person is，the less he will suffer from depression． |
Compared to normal people，depressed people are likely to be________．
| A．very unconfident and often absent-minded | B．easy to avoid being hit by heart attacks |
| C．working efficiently and productively | D．either weak or lazy |
Depression becomes more serious in China because of_________．
| A．the understanding of the problem | B．the lack of treatment and doctors |
| C．their unwillingness to tell it to their boss | D．the doctors’ careless work |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．People are suffering from depression because of the shortage of specialists． |
| B．The aging bosses around the world dare to say they are depressed． |
| C．More and mote patients will turn to specialists for help |
| D．Western people are braver than Chinese people |
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