Although most people believe that laughter is one of the nature’s great treatments for a whole range of mental and physical diseases, it is still a serious scientific subject that researchers are trying to figure out.
“Laughter above all else is a social thing,” says Baltimore neuroscientist(神经科学家), Robert Provine, who has studied laughter for many years. “All laughter groups laugh ‘ha-ha-ha’ basically the same way. Whether you speak Mandarin, French or English, everyone will understand laughter. There is a pattern generator(发生器) in our brain that produces this sound.”
Laughing is our first way of communicating. Babies laugh long before they speak. No one teaches them how to laugh. They just do. People may laugh at a prank(恶作剧) on April Fools’ Day. But surprisingly, only 10 to 15 percent of laughter is the result of someone making a joke. Laughter is mostly about social responses rather to a joke. Deaf people laugh without hearing and people on cell phones laugh without seeing, showing that laughter isn’t dependent on single sense but on social interactions.
And laughter is not just a people thing. Chimps tickle(挠痒) each other and even laugh when another chimp pretends to tickle them.
Jaak Panksepp, a Bowling Green University Psychology professor, studies rats that laugh when he tickles them. It turns out rats love to be tickled — they return again and again to the hands of researchers tickling them.
By studying rats, scientists can figure out what’s going on in the brain during laughter. Northwestern University biomedical engineering professor, Jeffrey Burgdorf has found that laughter in rats produces a chemical that acts as an antidepressant(抗抑郁药). He thinks the same thing probably happens in humans, too. This would give doctors a new chemical target to develop drugs that can fight depression.
Even so, laughter itself has not been proved to be the best medicine, experts said. Margaret Stuber, a professor at University of California, studied whether laugher helped patients. She found that distraction(分心) and mood improvement helped, but she could not find a benefit of laughter alone.
“No study has shown that laughter produces a direct health benefit,” Provine said, mainly because it’s hard to separate laughter from just feeling good. But he thinks it doesn’t really matter: “Isn’t the fact that laughter feels good when you do it enough?”The underlined word “figure out” in Paragraph 6 means “________”.
| A．deal with | B．work out |
| C．look out of | D．come up with |
According to the passage, scientists studied rats in order to find ______.
| A．how they laugh |
| B．if they like laughing |
| C．what laughter in rats produces |
| D．how rats react while being tickled |
What can we know from Robert Provine’s research?
| A．Laughter makes a person feel good. |
| B．Laughter produces a direct health benefit. |
| C．Laughter depends on all kinds of senses. |
| D．Laughter is a way of communicating. |
What is probably the best title for this passage?
| A．Why Rats Laugh |
| B．When Laughter Happens |
| C．How Laughter Works |
| D．Why Laughter Matters |
Do you shop online with websites like Taobao？ The money you pay doesn't go directly to the seller． Instead， it goes through Alipay， which keeps your money for a while． After you receive your goods and click the "confirm receipt" button， Alipay then gives the money to the seller．
The process is called "third party online payment"． There is a transfer station， or a third account， between sellers and buyers to make online shopping safe． Buyers don't need to worry about paying for goods and then receiving nothing． Sellers also get rid of the risk of receiving no money after sending out goods．
These transfer stations are usually set up by payment service companies such as Alipay， Tenpay and Yeepay． Among them， Alipay is the biggest in China． It has more than 270 million active users， according to Xinhua．
While most online sellers and shoppers like the third party online payment system， banks are not very happy． That is because companies like Alipay are fighting over money with the banks． Users can invest in financial products through Alipay and make money． Thus lots of people choose to put money in Alipay rather than in banks．
But WeChat payment is not the same． WeChat doesn't have its own account． When paying through WeChat， the buyers' money goes directly to the sellers． That's why so many people are excited about receiving and handing out "red envelopes" or gift money to their friends on WeChat，
Whether Alipay or WeChat payment， they are all trying to attract more users and make online shopping easier． These two companies are also promoting payments through fingerprints． New payment methods such as quick response codes have become popular too．
（1）How many ways to pay are mentioned in the passage？
A． 2
B． 3
C． 4
D． 5
（2）Para l and 2 mainly want to introduce how ．
A． to run a Taobao shop
B． to make your money safe
C． Alipay works
D． to make money by using Alipay
（3）According to the passage， we can imagine in the future．
A． real money will not be used
B． payment through fingerprints will be popular
C． third party online payment is sure to avoid all the risks in trade
D． Alipay will take the place of banks
（4）According to the passage， which of the following is not referred to？
A． New payment methods make our life easier．
B． Putting money in Alipay is a good way to make money．
C． Banks are angry about losing some customers．
D． Quick response codes are more popular than any other methods．
（5）What does the passage mainly talk about？
A． Using new technologies to do online shopping
B． Some ways to pay in our daily life
C． The advantage of third party online payment
D． It is convenient to do shopping online using Alipay and WeChat
EXCITING stories are everywhere in animation movies． Little villages， wild jungles and a faraway island…Get ready for trips to these places in some new films． |
||
Name |
Release date |
Introduction |
Kung Fu Panda 3 |
Jan 29 2018 In China |
The chubby Panda Po is back! In the new movie Kung Fu Panda 3， Po finds the Secret Panda Village， and meets many other pandas． But not all is well． A new enemy Kai comes． He wants to beat all the kung fu masters around China and take away their power． Po has to stop him． He tries to teach kung fu to other pandas， and they try to save China． |
The Jungle Book |
April 15 2018 In the US |
This is a story about finding one's human nature while living in the wild． The boy Mowgli grows up with a family of wolves in the jungle． A tiger thinks humans are bad because they hurt him once． As a human， Mowgli finds he is no longer welcome there and decides to leave． The boy starts his trip of self﹣discovery in the jungle． |
The Angry Birds Movie |
May 20 2018 In the US |
If you played the mobile phone game Angry Birds， you must remember those colorful little birds with angry faces． But why on earth are they so angry？ That's the story The Angry Birds Movie wants to tell． The birds live on an island far away from the rest of the world and they know nothing of the outside world． One day， the island meets its first visitors﹣the green pigs． They are up to something． See how the conflict between the birds and the green pigs began in the 3﹣D animated movie． |
（1）The underlined word "animation" can be replaced by ．
A． play
B． cartoon
C． war
D． opera
（2）In order to destroy Kai's plan， Po tries to ．
A． find his father Li Shan for help
B． come to China to learn Kung Fu
C． go to his birth place to find villagers for help
D． teach villagers Kung Fu to fight against him
（3）Why does Mowgli decide to leave in The Jungle Book at last？ Because ．
A． he doesn't find humans' nature
B． he wants to start his trip of self﹣discovery
C． animals don't want to accept him any more
D． he likes living with wolves to find human's nature
（4）From The Angry Birds Movie we can guess that ．
A． living on an island far away from the rest of the world may be very boring
B． people who play the mobile phone game will remember the birds' angry face
C． the first visitors and the birds are up to something
D． the birds might not get along well with the pigs in the following story
（5）The information most probably comes from ．
A． a fiction
B． a newspaper
C． a note
D． a book
Some people seem to have unusual memories． Zheng Aiqiang， a "memory athlete" on TV show Super Brain， can remember 2， 660 numbers in just one hour!
You would think people like him must have special brains． But according to a recent study by researchers from America and Holland， the brain structure （结构） of ordinary people and 23 of the world's lending memory athletes shows no difference．
Good memories can be trained． New research in the magazine Neuron suggests that a person will get a super memory with just six weeks of hard training．
Researchers found that a technique （技巧） called loci， invented by the ancient Greeks， can greatly help improve memory．
By using loci， you are using your imagination to improve the brain's memory networks． You can link （关联） something you need to remember with a place that you know very well． For example， to remember a list of numbers， imagine yourself walking through your house． Each thing is linked to a number． For example， zero could be the handle on the door and five could be the painting on the wall．
In one study， some ordinary people were given 20 minutes to remember 72 nouns． At the beginning， they could only remember 26 words， but when they were taught loci， they could remember 62 words．
"Not everyone can become a memory winner． But everyone using the technique can improve his memory greatly，" said Boris Konrad， one of the researchers in the study．
（1）From the recent study， we know that ordinary people and memory athletes have similar ．
（2）To memorize a list of numbers by using loci means you are using your to link it with a you know well according to the passage．
◆（3）请根据短文内容回答问题
What does the new research in the magazine Neuron suggest？
◆（4）请用一句话概括段落大意．
Paragraph 6 tells us that
◆（5）请将文中划线句子译成汉语．
Heritage（遗产） is traditional customs， history and beliefs． We use the word "heritage" in many different ways． People talk about their family heritage， city heritage and national heritage．
Today， heritage is changing， The Internet connects people around the world． In many ways this is a good thing， because we can learn about the heritage of other countries， and we can show our own heritage to the world． however， some people worry that traditional heritage is disappearing． In many ways， countries are becoming more and more alike（相似的）． In most countries around the world， you can find KFC， Nike shoes， Starbucks coffee， American movies and so on． Some people think this is a good change， and others don't like it． You can decide whether or not it's a good thing．
However， everyone wants to protect traditional heritage， and sometimes this is hard． For example，when a new KFC opens in your city，a traditional restaurant might have to close．
That is why heritage protection is so important． Heritage protection is a simple thought． It means keeping your country's or your city's heritage alive． People do this in many ways． The biggest part of heritage protection is probably preserving（保护）old buildings． Some suggestions of heritage protection are making sure your kids speak your traditional language， and teaching knowledge about heritage to them．
The world is changing． No matter how it changes， never forget the heritage of our parents and grandparents．
（1）Is the heritage nowadays the same as it used to be？
A． No． It's being changed by the Internet．
B． Yes． Traditional customs， history and beliefs never change．
C． It is not mentioned in the passage．
（2）The examples mentioned in the second paragraph ．
A． show the importance of heritage
B． describe people's love for heritage
C． help people understand heritage better
（3）The underlined sentence shows that ．
A． it is necessary to learn about the heritage of other countries
B． the writer is worrying about the traditional heritage protection
C． countries are becoming quite different in some ways
（4）The following statements are parts of heritage protection EXCEPT ．
A． trying to change traditional customs
B． preserving old buildings
C． keeping traditional language alive
（5）What may be the best title for the passage？
A． Internet and Heritage
B． Heritage Is Disappearing
C． Heritage Protection
On sale! Girl's Purple Tent It has light weight and is easy to fit together and take down． There are small holes in the windows． These holes let the air in and keep the bugs out． Price： £30（£66） For more interesting things﹣Tel： 768﹣3647 |
Peng Lai Chun Restaurant Yuxi Road A Chinese restaurant． Delicious and great value! You can get a starter， a main course and a drink only for ￥18！ Book early because it gets busy! Wednesday： Kids under 8 half price． Tel：623﹣2972 |
Bookshop assistant Dicken's Books Lincoln Road Monday﹣Friday， plus one Saturday per month 8 a．m． 4 p．m． £8 per hour Telephone 879﹣6634 and speak to the shop manager， John Hunter |
Summer Fashion Show Golden Shopping Plaza 2： 00 P． M． Saturday Men's and women's swimwear and summer wear． See 26 pretty and cool models in the latest fashions． All clothing on sale after the show for under ￥60． For more information：goldenplaza@．com |
（1）What can we know about the tent？
A． It's pink．
B． It's for boys．
C． It's easy to fit together and take down．
（2）Why is it of great value to eat at Peng Lai Chun Restaurant？
A． Because the food there is cheap and delicious．
B． Because it is very busy．
C． Because all kids can eat at half price on Wednesdays there．
（3）If Susan wants to work as an assistant at Dicken's Books， she ．
A． should call John Hunter at 768﹣3647
B． can earn at most £384 a week
C． A and B
（4）We can't in Golden Shopping Plaza．
A． buy the clothing on sale for under ＄60 before the show
B． see women's swimwear or summer wear
C． see 26 pretty and cool models in the latest fashions
（5）According to the information above， which of the following is NOT true？
A． The assistant at Dicken's Books has to work for 8 hours a day．
B． The holes in the windows of the tent can let the air and bugs in．
C． The Summer Fashion Show starts at 2：00 in the afternoon on Saturday．
粤公网安备 44130202000953号