Patients and doctors alike have long believed in the healing (治疗) power of humor. It is claimed that humor not only affects patients’ moods, but can actually help them recover faster.
Several studies seem to support this. Patients in better spirits are known to have higher immune cell counts. Some have even claimed to have healed themselves of serious illnesses by reading comics and watching comedies.
Despite all this, many researchers are not convinced. They point out the fact that many sufferings have been known to disappear naturally, with or without a daily dose of laughter. They also say that while optimism in general does seem to be related to better health, it is hard to tell which comes first.
Humor in times of stress, however, clearly makes us feel better. On one level, it takes our minds off our troubles and relaxes us. On another, it releases powerful endorphins, a chemical produced by your body that reduces pain.
There are cases where the appreciation of a good joke is indeed directly related to a person’s health. It can show, for example, whether a person has suffered damage to one particular area of the brain: the right frontal lobe (额叶).
Scientists confirmed this by having people read jokes and asking them to choose the funniest endings from a list. Subjects with normal brains usually chose endings that were based on a relatively complex synthesis (综合) of ideas. Subjects with specifically located brain damage, however, responded only to slapstick (闹剧) endings, which did not depend on a particular context. When pressed, the brain-damaged subjects saw the logic in the correct endings. They simply did not find them funny.
Of course, humor is largely an individual matter. Next time your friend does not get one of your jokes, there is no need to accuse him of being a lamebrain. However, you might suggest that he lighten up—for the health of it.
63. We can infer from the passage that ________.
A. all researchers have agreed on the healing power of humor
B. people seldom accuse their friends of not understanding jokes
C. the author holds a positive attitude to the healing power of humor
D. reading comics will surely become a popular way of treating diseases
64. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. Many researchers are not convinced of the healing power of humor.
B. Patients in bad moods are known to have higher immune cell counts.
C. Optimism in general does seem to be related to better health.
D. People should try their best to cheer up for their good health.
65. Scientists had some people read jokes and asked them to choose the funniest endings from a list to confirm that ________.
A. the brain-damaged people are different from those with normal brains
B. a person with a normal brain usually responds to slapstick endings
C. a person suffering certain brain damage doesn’t appreciate a good joke
D. humor takes our minds off our troubles by releasing powerful endorphins
66. Which would be the best title for the passage?
A. Which comes first, humor or health? B. Humor can cure different illnesses
C. People need humor in times of stress D. Humor contributes to good health
第二部分阅读理解(共20小题。每小题3分;满分60分)
阅读下列短文,从每篇短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Scientific experiments can sometimes go wrong and when they do the results may range from the disastrous to the troubling. One such experiment took place in South America about fifty years ago. Whether its final consequences will cause serious damage or nothing more than a small trouble still remains to be seen.
The story began in 1956 when an American scientist working in Brazil decided to solve the problem of increasing the productivity of that country's bees. He imported a very active type of African bee from Tanzania and mated it with the more easy-going native variety to produce a new kind of bees. The new bees worked harder and produced twice as much honey. It seemed that Professor Kerr, for that was the scientist's name, had a total success on his hands.
Then things began to go wrong. For some reason as yet unseen, but perhaps as a result of something in their environment, the new bees began to develop extremely attacking personalities. They became bad-tempered and easy to be angry, attacked the native bees and drove them from their living places.
But worse was to follow. Having taken over the countryside, the new bees, with their dangerous stings (叮), began to attack its neighbours — cats, dogs, horses, chickens and finally man himself. A long period of terror began that has so far killed a great number of animals and about 150 human beings.
This would have been bad enough if the bees had stayed in Brazil. But now they are on the move, heading northwards in countless millions towards Central and North America, and moving at the alarming speed of 200 miles a year. The countries that lie in their path are naturally worried because it looks as if nothing can be done to stop them.
56. The results of the South American experiment_______.
A. have caused a serious trouble B. have proved to be wrong
C. are not yet certain D. are not important
57. The experiment mentioned in this passage was designed to_______.
A. increase the amount of honey in Brazil
B. make Brazilian bees more easy-going
C. increase the number of bees in Brazil
D. make African bees less active
58. Which of the following may be the cause of the new bees' attacking personalities?
A. Their production of honey. B. Their hard work.
C. Their living environment. D. Their bad temper.
59. The last paragraph implies that _______.
A. the bees have been driven to Central and North America
B. the bees may bring about trouble in more countries
C. the bees must be stopped from moving north
D. the bees prefer to live in Brazil
What is the color of the universe? Astronomers did not answer this question until two months ago. This was when two American astronomers reported on their study of all the light in the universe. They said that the universe would appear to the human eye to be a light greenish color, called turquoise(青绿色). Karl Glazebrook and Ivan Baldry of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, reported their findings in January. They presented research at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society. They said that finding the color of the universe was not part of their more serious scientific research. They did it for fun.
However, earlier this month, the scientists admitted to ma
king a mistake. They said their finding was much more colorful than it should have been. They now say the light from our universe is closer to white. It is more like a milky or creamy white color.
The scientists gave a nu
mber to each of the colors of the different star systems. Then they added the numbers together and found the average measurement. The scientists used this average to identify the color of the universe. They said it was a very pretty light green or turquoise color. They called it “cosmic (宇宙的) spectrum (光谱) green.” Many newspapers and television stations reported their finding.
Other scient
ists and color engineers attempted to reproduce the result. Mark Fairchild of the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York was the first person to identify a mistake. He discovered a mistake in the computer software program used by the Johns Hopkins scientists.
When the mistake was corrected, the results changed. The new color of the universe is much less colorful. It is very close to white. The scientists apologized for the mistake. They are now working with the Rochester Institute of Technology to produce more images regarding the color of the universe.
48. Why did the scientists do the research?
A. They wanted to win a Nobel Prize. B. It’s required by the government.
C. They did it just for fun. D. It’s part of their research.
49. We can infer that the passage was probably written in _______.
A. January B. February C. May D. March
50. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. None of the researches done by scientists is right.
B. Scientists sometimes may make mistakes in their work.
C. The color of the universe is light greenish.
D. Mark Fairchild apologized for his mistake about the color of universe.
Scientists say the warming of the Earth’s atmosphere has begun to affect plant and animal life a
round the world. Scientists from the University of Hanover in Germany reported their findings in Nature. They say global warming is affecting endangered species, sea life, and the change in seasonal activities of organisms. Global warming is caused by carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere.
Studies show that the Earth’s climate has warmed by about six tenths of one degree Celsius during the past one hundred years. Most of the increase has taken place in the last thirty years. German scientists have studied different animal and plant population around the world during the past thirty years. They say some species will disappear because they cannot move to new areas when their home climate gets too warm.
The scientists say one of the biggest signs of climate change has been the worldwide decrease in coral reefs. Rising temperatures in the world’s warm ocean waters have caused coral to lose color and die. In the coldest areas of the world, winter freezing periods are now happening later and ending earlier. Researchers say these changes are having severe effects on animals such as penguins, seals, and polar bears.
Changes in temperature and wetness in the air can also affect the reproduction (繁殖) of some reptiles(爬行动物) and amphibians(两栖动物). For example, the sex of baby turtles is linked to the average temperature in July. Scientists say even small temperature increases can threaten the production of male turtles.
In Europe, scientists say warmer temperatures are affecting the spring and autumn seasons. This is affecting the growth of plants and delaying the flight of birds from one place to another.
Scientists are concerned about invasions of warm weather species into traditionally colder areas. Rising temperature has been linked with the spread of diseases in areas such as Asia, East Africa, and Latin America.
44. The best title for this passage would be __________.
A. Effects of Global Warming B. Temperature and Animals
C. Global Warming and the Environment D. A Study on the Environment
45. According to the passage, global warming is affecting all of the following, EXCEPT _________.
A. endangered speciesB. sea life
C. activities of
organismsD. the color of turtles
46. We can learn from this passage that _________.
A. the speed of the earth’s warming is faster now than 50 years ago
B. more animal species will soon come into being
C. animals will refuse to move to warm places in the future
D. cold areas have gained more heat than warm places
47. If the temperature in the Arctic Ocean keeps going up, which of the following will be most likely to happen?
A. More and more people will come to live near the Arctic Ocean.
B. More crops will be grown near the Arctic Ocean.
C. Animals from warm areas will come to live in the Arctic Ocean.
D. There will be more and more fish in the Arctic Ocean.
Recently a Beijing father sent in a question at an Internet forum (论坛) asking what "PK" meant. "My family has been watching the 'Super Girl' singing competition TV program. My little daughter asked me what 'PK' meant, but I had no idea," explained the puzzled father.
To a lot of Chinese young people who have been playing games online, it is impossible not to know this term. In such Internet games, "PK" is short for "Player Kill", in which two players fight until one ends the life of the other.
In the case of the "Super Girl" singing competition, "PK" was used to refer to the stage where two singers have to compete with each other for only one chance to go up in competition ranking.
Like this father, Chinese teachers at high schools have also been finding their students' compositions using Internet jargons (行话) which are difficult to understand. A high school teacher from Tianjin asked her students to write compositions with simple language, but they came up with a lot of Internet jargons that she didn't understand.
"My 'GG' came back this summer from college. He told me I've grown up to be a 'PLMM'. He always took me to the 'KPM'," went one composition.
"GG" means Ge Ge (Chinese pinyin for brother). "PLMM" refers to Piao Liang Mei Mei (beautiful girl). "KPM" is short for KFC, Pizza Hut and McDonald's.
Some specialists welcome Internet jargons as a new development in language. If you do not even know what a Kong Long (dinosaur, referring to an ugly looking female) or a Qing Wa (frog, referring to an ugly looking male) is, you will possibly be regarded as a Cai Niao!
40. By writing the article, the writer tries to ________.
A. expose some Internet languageB. suggest common Internet language
C. laugh at the Beijing father D. draw our attention to Internet language
41. What does the writer think about the term "PK"?
A. Fathers can't possibly know it. B. The daughter should understand it.
C. Online game players may know it. D. "Super Girl" shouldn't have used it.
42. The examples of the Beijing father and the Tianjin teacher are used to show
that Internet jargons________.
A. are used not only online B. can be understood very well
C. are welcomed by all the people D. cause trouble to our mother tongue
43. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. A puzzled father B. Do you speak Internet-ish?
C. Keep away from Internet-ish D. Kong Long or Qing Wa?
第二部分:阅读理解 (共20小题;每小题2分,满分40分)
第一节:阅读下列文章,根据文章内容,从文后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳答案。
Last year my wife and I spent a most interesting month in Turkey. Before we left, we were reminded of the difficulties of driving in Turkey. We certainly did not find this to be the case and, except for a few places in faraway mountain areas, the roads were wide, and well-paved (铺). We drove for 12 days along the Western Coast of Turkey and had no problems at all. We found the Turkish drivers most polite and well educated. We also found that eating lunch in the smaller towns was difficult so we picnicked almost every day.
The following day after our arrival was Turkey’s Children’s Day, started by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Ataturk loved children
and he often said, “Children are a new beginning of tomorrow”. He even dedicated the day 23rd of April to the children. Today, it is celebrated as Children’s Day as well as the date when the Republic of Turkey was founded.
On that day certain children are picked to take over the places of the government, and a lucky kid will be the president of Turkey for a whole day. He can decide what’s going to happen and whether or not he is going to have the president sit next to him. There are a very large number of things you can do but some shops aren’t open because they are celebrating as well.
All in all, it was a more enjoyable trip. I would recommend a trip to Turkey to anyone with an adventurous spirit!
36. Before the author and his wife went on a trip to Turkey, they were told that
_____.
A. it was difficult to travel in Turkey
B. it was not easy to drive in Turkey
C. the streets in Turkey were dangerous
D. there were many mountainous roads
37. Which of the following is TRUE, according t
o the first paragraph?
A. Places in mountain areas were difficult to reach.
B. The couple drove for 12 days during their journey.
C. The Turkish drivers had good manners.
D. It was difficult to eat meals in Turkey.
38. The underlined word “he” in th
e third paragraph refers to ______.
A. every one of us B. the government
C. the president of Turkey D. the lucky child
39. What can be
inferred from the passage?
A. The couple had no difficulty making their way in Turkey.
B. Turkey’s National Day was the 22nd of April.
C. The author joined in celebrating Children’s Day.
D. On Turkey’s Children’s Day everyone had a holiday.