There is an English saying, “Laughter is the best medicine.” Until recently, few people took the saying very seriously. Now, however, doctors have begun to study laughter and the effects it has on the human body. They have found facts that laughter really can 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 heart rate, blood pressure, breathing and muscles. It was found that laughter has similar effects to physical exercise. It increases blood pressure, the heart rate and the rate of breathing. it also works 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 effect of pain on the body. In one experiment doctors produce pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programmes. The group which tolerated(忍受) the pain for the longest time was the group which listened to a funny programme. The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce endorphins(内啡肽) in the brain. These are natural chemicals which diminish both stress and pain.
There is also some fact to suggest that laughter helps the body’s immune （免疫的）system, that is , the system which fights infection. In an experiment, one group of students watched a funny video while another group of students served as the control group--- in other words, a group with which to compare the first group. Doctors checked the blood of the students in both groups and found that the people in the group that watched the video had an increase in the activity of their white blood cells, that is, the cells which fight infection.
As a result of these discoveries, some doctors and psychiatrists( 精神病医生) in the United States now hold laughter clinics, in which they try 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. It can be learnt from the passage that laughter can ______.
| A．make people feel younger | B．change people’s habits |
| C．improve people’s health | D．make people love their lives |
The underlined word “diminish” refers to _______.
| A．test | B．reduce | C．stop | D．find |
Smiling can produce____.
| A．the same effects as laughter | B．more effects than laughter |
| C．less effects on the human body | D．no effects on the human body |
The main idea of this passage is that _____.
| A．there are several ways of studying the benefits of laughter. |
| B．laughter and physical exercise have the same effects on human body. |
| C．tests show that laughter can produce beneficial effects on human body. |
| D．the doctors should learn how to make people laugh. |
A proverb says :“Time is money.”But in my opinion, time is even more valuable than money. Why? Because when money is spent ,we can earn it back .However when time is gone ,it will never return .This is the reason why we must value time.
There is no doubt that the time we have is unusually limited. So even an hour is extremely precious. We should make full use of our time to do useful things .As students we must not relax our efforts to engage in our studies so as to serve our society and our nation in the future.
But it is pity that there are a lot of people who do not know the importance of time .They spend their valuable time smoking, drinking and so on. They do not realize that wasting time is equal to wasting a part of their valuable life.
In a word, we should get into a good habit of saving time. Do not put off what can be done today until tomorrow. Laziness will not only bring us failure but also lead us to the road of poverty.When we say “Time is money.”we mean ______
| A．Time is equal to dollars, pounds… | B．Time is gold . |
| C．Time is valuable . | D．We must spend time in buying goods |
People who spend time smoking, drinking ________.
| A．do not know how to kill time as clearly as others |
| B．doubt that they will become more dangerous to society |
| C．realize how important their lives are |
| D．waste their whole lives without realizing the importance of time |
If people get lazy, _______.
| A．they will bring us failure. |
| B．they are likely to fail |
| C．they are usually busy smoking, drinking and so on |
| D．they will lead us the road of success |
Being students, we must _______.
| A．work hard at our subjects |
| B．do whatever we want to do |
| C．not always engage ourselves in our lessons |
| D．have a rest now, than we can get relaxed from our busy studies |
Thomas Alva Edison (爱迪生)was awarded more patents（专利） on inventions than any other American. When he died in 1931, Americans wondered how they could best show their respect for him. One suggestion was that the nation observe a minute or two of total blackout(关闭，中断). All electric power(电源) would be shut off in homes, streets, and factories. Perhaps his suggested plan made Americans realize fully what Edison and his inventions mean to them. Electric power was too important to the country. Shutting it off for even a short time would have led to complete confusion（混乱）. A blackout was out of the question.
On the day of Edison’s funeral (葬礼),many people silently dimmed(使暗淡) their lights. In this way they honoured the man who had done more than anyone else to the great force of electrity This says that Thomas Edison __________.
| A．was the only important American inventor |
| B．received the first American patent |
| C．received more patents than any other American |
| D．was the first American inventor |
People decided to honor Edison when ________.
| A．he made the first electric light | B．electric power was 100 years |
| C．the country realized electricity’s importance | D．he died in 1931 |
The suggested plan was to _________.
| A．turn off the lights in factories | B．observe a few minutes of total silence |
| C．dim all electric lights | D．shut off all electricity for a short time |
The plan was never carried out because________.
| A．not everyone wanted to honor Edison |
| B．it was too difficult |
| C．electric power was too important to the country |
| D．it honored only one of Edison’s inventions |
"Depend on(依靠) yourself" is what nature says to every man. Parents can help you. Teachers can help you. But all these only help you to help yourself.
There have been many men in history. But many of them were very poor in childhood, and no uncles, aunts or friends to help them. Schools were few. They could not depend upon themselves for an education. They saw how it was and set to work with all their strength to know something. They worked their own way till they became well known.
One of the most famous teachers in England used to tell his pupils, "I can not make worthy men of you, but I can help make men of yourself."
Some young men don't try their best to make themselves valuable to the human beings. They can never gain achievement(成就) unless they see their weak points and change their course. They are nothing now, and will be nothing as long as they live, unless they accept the advice of their parents and teachers, and depend on their own efforts. Which of the following titles fits this article best?
| A．What Nature Says to Every Man. | B．How to Be Famous. |
| C．Men Must Help Each Other. | D．Depend on Yourself. |
According to the famous teacher in England, a teacher can________.
| A．make his pupils worthy men |
| B．help his pupils find a way to be famous |
| C．help his pupils make themselves useful men |
| D．make his pupils men of strength and courage |
From this article we can learn the writer ________.
| A．sings highly praise for parents and teachers |
| B．is a man of strong character |
| C．thinks highly of those who are struggling or success |
| D．feels it the most important of all to accept the advice of others |
The clock struck（敲）eleven at night. The whole house was quiet. Everyone was in bed except me. Under the strong light, I looked sadly before me at a huge pile of that troublesome stuff they call “books”. I was going to have my examination the next day. “When can I go to bed?” I asked myself. I didn’t answer. In fact I dared not(不敢).
The clock struck twelve. “Oh, dear!” I cried. “Ten more books to read before I can go to bed!” We students are the most wretched creatures in the world. Dad does not agree with me on this. He did not have to work so hard when he was a boy.
The clock struck one. I was quite desperate now. I forgot all I had learned. I was too tired to go on. I did the only thing I could. I prayed, “Oh God, please help me pass the exam tomorrow. I do promise to work hard afterwards, Amen.” My eyes were so heavy that I could hardly open them. A few minutes later, with my head on the desk, I fell asleep. The underlined word “wretched” in Paragraph 3 probably means ____________.
| A．happy | B．disappointed |
| C．unhappy | D．hopeful |
Reviewing his lessons that night didn’t help him because ____________.
| A．it was too late at night |
| B．he was very tired |
| C．his eyelids were so heavy that he couldn’t keep them open |
| D．he hadn’t studied hard before the examination |
What do you suppose probably happened to the author the next day?
| A．He went to a church to pray again. | B．He passed the exam all by luck. |
| C．He failed in the exam. | D．He was punished by his teacher. |
The best title for the passage would be ____________.
| A．The Night Before the Examination | B．Working Far into the Night |
| C．A Slow Student | D．Going Over My Lessons |
Americans plan parties for many reasons. As in other cultures, many Americans attend parties for weddings and religious or national holidays. But some parties are especially American. For example, a group of neighbors may gather on their street to eat food, play music and visit with one another. This is called a block party. A woman might invite a group of women to a party called a baby shower for a friend who is about to give birth. Guests bring presents for the new baby.
Americans also attend tailgate parties. A tailgate is the back end of a truck or other vehicle that opens down. The tailgate parties are a big part of sports culture in the United States. Friends bring food and drink to a sports event. They eat together in the parking area of the sports stadium.
Birthday parties are also very popular. Many parents organize a party for their child around a theme. Birthday parties usually include gifts and a birthday cake with candles. In many parts of the United States, cupcakes have become a popular replacement for cakes.
Birthday parties can be low cost or very costly. Some parents take their children’s birthday parties very seriously, even when the child is too young to fully understand the celebration.
One group of parents started a website called Birthdays Without Pressure. They decided that some parents were under too much social pressure to plan costly parties for their children. The group sees this movement as an example of America’s culture of “too much stuff”. The group’s website gives suggestions on how to keep birthday celebrations simple, meaningful and fun without spending a lot of money. Their advice may be very helpful during this period of economic recession（萧条）.. What can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Reasons for parties |
| B．Birthdays without pressure |
| C．American parties |
| D．Different parties in the world |
. How many kinds of parties does the passage mention?
| A．5. | B．6. |
| C．7. | D．8. |
. Eating together in the parking area of the sports stadium belongs to _________parties.
| A．block | B．baby shower |
| C．sports | D．tailgate |
. The purpose of Birthdays Without Pressure is to advise people to _________.
| A．relieve people’s pressure |
| B．have meaningful birthday parties with low cost |
| C．make birthday parties meaningful and costly |
| D．spread America’s culture |
.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Block party is especially American. |
| B．Some parties in America are the same as in other countries. |
| C．There’s a party for the mother before her new baby is born. |
| D．Birthday parties are the most popular in America. |