Some people worry about being the target of laughter. These people are frightened. They suffer from an emotional disorder called gelotophobia. That long name comes from the Greek language. The word Gelos means laugh, while phobos means fear.
Victor Rubio is an expert on human behavior at the Autonomous University of Madrid. He says people laugh at others for many different reasons. He says being laughed at causes a fear response in the victim. That fear leads the victim to avoid social situations. Sadly, gelotophobia limits the way they lead their lives.
Victor Rubio was among researchers in a huge international study about laughter. The researchers wanted to understand the difference between normal shyness and true gelotophobia. Another goal was to measure the fear of being laughed at within different cultures.
A team from the University of Zurich led ninety-three researchers from many countries in search of answers.
The researchers surveyed more than twenty-two thousand people. They used questions provided in forty-two languages. Their findings were reported in the scientific publication Humor.
Some of the people questioned said they felt unsure of themselves in social situations. But they hid their feelings. Others said they avoided social situations where they had been laughed at before. People also admitted to differing levels of fear that they themselves were the targets of other people’s laughter. The researchers measured and compared all these reactions.
Fear of being laughed at, being made fun of, is a common emotion. But the researchers learned that these feelings differed from nation to nation.
For example, the study found that people in Turkmenistan and Cambodia are likely to hide insecure (不安) feelings when they are around others’ laughter. But people in Iraq, Egypt and Jordan who feel they have been victims before may avoid such situations.
People in Finland were the least likely to believe that people laughing in their presence were making fun of them. Only eight and a half percent of Finns said they would – compared to eighty percent of those questioned in Thailand.
64. The passage is mainly about______________.
A. a common emotion B. laughter C.shyness D. gelotophobia
65. In which country are people most likely to avoid social situations where they have been laughed at before?
A. Turkmenistan B. Iraq C. Finland D. Thailand
66. According to the text the following is true EXCEPT that ________.
A. people suffer from gelotophobia because they are shy
B. not all the people questioned hid their feelings in social situations
C. perhaps Humor is a magazine
D. people in Finland are the least likely to suffer from gelotophobia
67. A person who suffers from gelotophobia will probably ______.
A. be active in social activities B. be easily laughed at
C. like to laugh at others D. like to stay alone
第二部分 阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
A
Since it was published in 1818, Frankenstein, a classic horror story, has been in print in man
y languages. The monster from the novel by Mary Shelley is the result of man's uncontrolled desire to create and apply his knowledge.
The novel features Victor Frankenstein, a student who explores the secrets of life in his laboratory. Fearing that he has created a monster, Victor Frankenstein wants to stop but too late. The monster kills Victor Frankenstein's young brother and causes the murder to be blamed on an innocent girl. Victor and the monster meet in the frozen mountains. The monster asks Victor to create a female monster, promising to afterwards leave with her for the wilds. Victor begins the work and discovers the monster has followed him to watch the work. Victor regrets his decision to create a second monster and worries that together they will begin a species of monster. Victor destroys the monster's bride. The monster soon takes revenge (复仇) on Victor by killing his best friend, his father and finally, his bride, Elizabeth. Victor pursues (追赶) the monster across many places. On the point of death, Victor meets a ship and tells his story to the captain whose letters and diaries are then to form this novel. Victor Frankenstein's last words are, "Farewell, Walton! Avoid ambition, even if it is only the obviously innocent one of distinguishing yourself in science and discoveries."
Frankenstein’s conflicted ambition is with us always. And the Monster stands at our window, reminding us to take care of our creations against experimenting with things we don’t understand.
36. The passage was written to _______。
A. tell us the story from Frankenstein B. encourage us to explore the secret of life
C. entertain us with the monster D. show pity on Victor Frankenstein
37. According to the passage, Mary Shelley' s Frankenstein is made up of_________。
A. poems B. plays C. fairy tales D. letters and diaries
38. The correct order of the following events is_________。
a. The monster follows Frankenstein to watch his work.
b. Frankenstein runs after the monster across many places.
c. The monster kills Frankenstein's bride.
d. Frankenstein kills the monster's bride.
e. Frankenstein creates a monster in experiments.
A. e, b, a, c, d B. e, d, c, b, a C. e, a, c, d, b D. e, a, d, c, b
39. In the last paragraph, the writer of the passage points that_______。
A. the monster is still disturbing people
B. man's ambition in creations should never be allowed
C. man's risky experiments have created many monsters
D. creations in science should be carefully dealt with
E
I went on line to check my pay was in my bank account（账户）. To my amazement I discovered that not only had I been paid, a company I’d never worked for had also paid me! I know I would have been beside myself if my own salary was not in my account, so I tried to get the money back to the right person. Easier said than done.
The bank couldn’t help as it “wasn’t a bank problem.” The human-resource department at the company that paid me was unable to help as I didn’t have enough details. I rang the bank again. Thankfully I had a sympathetic call operator who gave me a name, so I again rang the company “Daniel” worked for.
I expected the bank would contact me to arrange to take the money from my account and repay Daniel. I heard nothing for a month and the money remained in my account when Daniel called, explaining he’d tried to get back his money but had been unsuccessful as neither the bank nor his company felt it was their error. He had rung to ask if I could speak to the bank, but after chatting for a few minutes we realized we could probably fix this problem ourselves.
We decided I would take the money from my account and he would pick it up from me. Due to my busy job I was unable to meet Daniel personally but he left me a lovely bottle of wine in exchange for what was rightfully his. I never had any intention of keeping Daniel’s pay but red tape（繁琐手续）made it difficult to do the right thing. It all came down to two people being able to do what a huge bank and a large company couldn’t do — admit a mistake has occurred and fix it.
52. What was the attitude of the author towards the extra money in his bank account?
A. He didn’t know what to do with it. B. He felt lucky to get it.
C. He thought of keeping it for himself. D. He wanted to return it to the right person.
53. The underlined phrase “beside myself” probably means _______.
A. very fortunate B. very angry C. really thankful D. at ease
54. How was the problem solved in the end?
A. The author and Daniel solved the problem themselves.
B. It cost Daniel a lovely bottle of wine to get back his money.
C. The author gave the money back to the company.
D. The call operator offered to solve their problem.
55. From the passage we can infer that _________.
A. the bank could solve the problem soon and easily with the red tape
B. some large organizations usually have troublesome official rules
C. Daniel didn’t know the error until he contacted the author
D. it was easy for a company to have a mistake which had occurred fixed
D
Like fine food, good writing is something we approach with pleasure and enjoy from the first taste to the last. And good writers, like good cooks, do not suddenly appear full-blown（成熟的）. Quite the opposite ,just as the cook as to undergo a particular training, mastering the skills of his trade, the writer must sit at his desk and devote long hours to achieving a style in his writing, whatever its purpose is — schoolwork, matters of business, or purely social communication. You may be sure that the more painstaking the effort, the more effective the writing, and the more rewarding.
There are still some faraway places in the world where you might find a public scribe（抄写员）to do your business or social writing for you, for money. There are a few managers who are lucky enough to have the service of that rare kind of secretary who can take care of all sorts of letters writing with no more than a quick note to work from. But for most of us, if there is any writing to be done, we have to do it ourselves.
We have to write school papers, business papers or home papers. We are constantly called on to put words to papers. It would be difficult to count the number of such words, messages, letters, and reports put into mails or delivered by hand, but the daily figures must be extremely large. What is more, everyone who writes expects, or at least hopes whatever he writes will be read from first word to last, not just thrown into some “letters-to-be-read” files or into the wastepaper basket. This is the reason we make efforts toward learning and practicing the skills of interesting, effective writing.
48. In this passage, good writing is compared to fine food because both______.
A. are enjoyable B. are easy to learn
C. are unnecessary to life D. take a short time to prepare
49. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Writing skills are less important than experience.
B. A good writer should have his own way of writing.
C. A good writer should learn to write the same kind of article.
D. The more efforts one makes, the more money one can earn.
50. The authour thinks that the most important reason for us to practice writing skill is ______.
A. to learn about our life B. to attract others to read
C. to do daily reports easily D. to become good secretaries
51. The purpose of the author in writing his passage is to ______.
A. comment and blame B. introduce and describe
C. explain and persuade D. interest and inform
C
He was the baby with no name. Found and taken from the north Atlantic 6 days after the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, his tiny body so moved the salvage（救援）workers that they called him “our baby. ” In their home port of Halifax, Nova Scotia, people collected money for a headstone in front of the baby's grave（墓）, carved with the words: “To the memory of an unknown child. ” He has rested there ever since.
But history has a way of uncovering its secrets. On Nov. 5, this year, three members of a family from Finland arrived at Halifax and laid fresh flowers at the grave. “This is our baby,” says Magda Schleifer, 68, a banker. She grew up hearing stories about a great-aunt named Maria Panula, 42, who had sailed on the Titanic for America to be reunited with her husband. According to the information Mrs. Schleifer had gathered, Panula gave up her seat on a lifeboat to search for her five children -- including a 13-month-old boy named Eino from whom she had become separated during the final minutes of the crossing. "We thought they were all lost in the sea," says Schleifer.
Now, using teeth and bone pieces taken from the baby's grave, scientists have compared the
DNA from the Unknown Child with those collected from members of five families who lost relatives on the Titanic and never recovered the bodies. The result of the test points only to one possible person: young Eino. Now, the family sees: no need for a new grave. "He belongs to the people of Halifax," says Schleifer. "They've taken care of him for 90 years. "
Adapted from People, November 25, 2002
44. The baby travelled on the Titanic with his___________.
A. mother B. parents C. aunt D. relatives
45. What is probably the boy's last name?
A. Schleiferi B. Eino. C. Magda. D. Panula.
46. Some members of the family went to Halifax and put flowers at the child's grave on Nov. 5__.
A. 1912 B. 1954 C. 2002 D. 2004
47. This text is mainly about how______________.
A. the unknown baby's body was taken from the north Atlantic
B. the unknown baby was buried in Halifax, Nova Scotia
C. people found out who the unknown baby was
D. people took care of the unknown baby for 90 years
B
Parents often believe that they have a good relationship with their teenagers（青少年）. But last summer, Joanna and Henry noticed a change in their older son: suddenly he seemed to be talking far more to his friends than to his parents. “The door to his room is always shut.” Joanna noted.
Tina and Mark noticed similar changes in their 14-year-old daughter. “She used to cuddle up（蜷伏）with me on the sofa and talk ,” said Mark . “Now we joke that she does this only when she wants something. Sometimes she wants to be treated like a little girl and sometimes like a young lady. The problem is figuring out which time is which. ”
Before age 11, children like to tell their parents what’s on their minds. “In fact, parents are first on the list.” said Michael Rita, author of Uncommon Sense for Parents with Teenagers. “This completely changes during the teen years.” Rita explained. “They talk to their friends first, then maybe their teachers, and their parents last.”
Parents who know what’s going on in their teenagers’ lives are in the best position to help them. To break down the wall of silence, parents should create chances to understand what their children want to say , and try to find ways to talk and write to them . And they must give their children a mental break, for children also need freedom, though young. Another thing, parents should remember is that to be a friend, not a manager, with their children is a better way to know them.
40. “The door to his room is always shut” suggests that the son .
A. is always busy with his studies B. doesn’t want to be disturbed
C. keeps himself away from his parents D. begins to dislike his parents
41. What troubles Tina and Mark most is that .
A. their daughter isn’t as lovely as before
B. they can’t read their daughter’s mind exactly
C. they don’t know what to say to their daughter
D. their daughter talks with them only when she needs help
42. Which of the following best explains “the wall of silence” in the last paragraph ?
A. Teenagers talk a lot with their friends.
B. Teenagers do not want to understand their parents.
C. Teenagers do not talk much with their parents.
D. Teenagers talk little about their own lives.
43. What can be learned from the passage?
A. Parents are unhappy with their growing children.
B. Parents have suitable ways to talk with their teenagers.
C. Parents should be patient with their silent teenagers.
D. Parents should try to understand their teenagers.