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When people reunite with their loved ones, it’s usually a wildly happy moment. But what is their most common response to seeing them again? It may seem strange, but most of the time they break down in tears.
Now a group of psychologists from Yale University in the US say they have found the reason why, and that crying tears of joy may well be the body’s way of restoring emotional balance.
“They seem to take place when people are unable to tolerate strong positive emotions, and people who do this seem to recover better from those strong emotions,” Oriana Aragon, the lead researcher, told The Telegraph.
Aragon and her fellow psychologists looked at hundreds of participants’ emotional responses to different things, including happy reunions（重逢）and cute babies.
Many participants said they would react in a negative or aggressive way to the positive things — to cry at happy moments and want to pinch（捏）a cute baby’s face or even tell them“I want to eat you up!”
But then researchers found that these people were able to calm down from strong emotions more quickly.
“We want a happy, middle spot. Extreme is not good. It’s hard on our bodies,” Aragon told The Washington Post.
There are many other examples of times when people respond to a positive experience with a negative emotional reaction.
At an exciting concert, fans scream in horror at their idols. People who have just had a big lottery win are often in floods of tears.
“These findings advance our understanding of how people express and control their emotions, which is importantly related to mental and physical health, the quality of relationship with others, and even how well people work together,” said Aragon.
The psychologists then went further and claimed that the reverse（颠倒）was also true. Strong negative feelings may also bring out positive expressions.
For example, people often laugh when they are nervous or they are in a difficult or frightening situation.
Also, have you ever seen a character smiling at a time of extreme sadness in a movie? Their acting is not over the top, as reacting with this type of expression is just human nature, said researchers.
What does the underlined word “they” in Paragraph 3 mean?
| A．A group of psychologists. | B．People’s loved ones. |
| C．Strong positive emotions. | D．Crying tears of joy. |
Which of the following words best describes the language style of the passage?
| A．Academic and formal. | B．Cheerful and friendly. |
| C．Humorous and concerned. | D．Serious and boring. |
We can conclude from the first two paragraphs that .
| A．crying in the happy moment can also do good |
| B．a character’s smile in a movie makes no sense |
| C．people reveal their emotions by either crying or laughing |
| D．negative emotional reaction is always harmful |
What is the purpose of the passage?
| A．To argue that crying is no worse than laughing. |
| B．To inform readers about the effect of crying and laughing. |
| C．To entertain readers by relating some happy occasions. |
| D．To instruct readers how to cry and laugh. |
The report came to the British on May 21, 1941. The German battleship (战列舰) Bismarck, the most powerful warship in the world, was moving out into the Atlantic Ocean. Her task: to destroy the ships carrying supplies (补给) from the United States to war-torn England.
The British had feared such a task. No warship they had could match the Bismarck in speed or in firepower. The Bismarck had eight 15-inch guns and 81 smaller guns. She could move at 30 nautical miles (海里) an hour. She was believed to be unsinkable.
However, the British had to sink her. They sent out a task force headed by their best battleship Hood to hunt down the Bismarck. On May 24, the Hood found the Bismarck.
It was a meeting that the German commander Luetjens did not want to see. His orders were to destroy the British ships that were carrying supplies, but to stay away from a fight with British warships.
The battle didn’t last long. The Bismarck’s first torpedo (鱼雷) hit the Hood, which went down taking all but three of her 1,419 men with her.
But in the fight, the Bismarck was a bit damaged. Her commander decided to run for repairs to France, which had at that time been taken by the Germans. The British force followed her. However, because of the Bismarck’s speed and the heavy fog, they lost sight of her.
For two days, every British ship in the Atlantic tried to find the Bismarck, but with no success. Finally, she was sighted by a plane from Ireland. Trying to slow the Bismarck down so that their ships could catch up with her, the British fired at her from the air. The Bismarck was hit.
On the morning of May 27, the last battle was fought. Four British ships fired on the Bismarck, and she was finally sunk.The Bismarck sailed (航行) into the Atlantic Ocean ________.
| A．to sink the Hood |
| B．to gain control of France |
| C．to cut off American supplies to Britain |
| D．to stop British warships reaching Germany |
Many people believed that the Bismarck could not be defeated because she ________.
| A．was fast and powerful |
| B．had more men on board |
| C．was under Luetjens’ command |
| D．had bigger guns than other ships |
We learn from the text that on 24 May ________.
| A．the British won the battle against the Bismarck |
| B．the Bismarck won the battle against the British |
| C．the British gunfire damaged the Bismarck seriously |
| D．the Bismarck succeeded in keeping away from the British |
Luetjens tried to sail to France in order to ________.
| A．have the ship repaired | B．join the other Germans |
| C．get help from the French | D．get away from the British |
Which of the following is the immediate cause of the sinking of the Bismarck?
| A．The British air strikes. |
| B．The damage done by the Hood. |
| C．Gunfire from the British warships. |
| D．Luetjens’ decision to run for France. |
At 9:00 Dick Spivak’s bank telephoned and said his payment was late. ‘The check is in the post,’ Dick replied quickly. At 11:45 Dick left for a 12:00 meeting across town. Arriving late, he explained that traffic had been bad. That evening, Dick’s girlfriend wore a new dress. He hated it. ‘It looks just great on you,’ he said.
Three lies in one day! Yet Dick Spivak is just an ordinary man. Each time, he told himself that sometimes the truth causes too many problems. Most of us tell much the same white lies, harmless untruths that help to save trouble. How often do we tell white lies? It depends in part on our age, education, and even where we live. According to one U.S. study, women are more truthful than men, and honesty increases as we get older.
While most people use little white lies to make life easier, the majority of Americans care about honesty in both public and personal life. They say that people today are less honest than they were ten years ago. Although it is believed that things are getting worse, lying seems to be an age-old human problem. The French philosopher (哲学家) Vauvenarges, writing in the eighteenth century, touched on the truth when he wrote, ‘All men are born truthful and die liars (说谎者).’When the writer says ‘Dick Spivak is just an ordinary man’, he means _________.
| A．it is common that people tell white lies |
| B．Dick could do nothing about bad traffic |
| C．it is common that people move their payment to a later time |
| D．Dick found it hard to deal with everyday problems |
According to the text, most Americans _________.
| A．hate white lies | B．believe white lies |
| C．consider others dishonest | D．value honesty |
Vauvenarges’ remark suggests (暗示) that _________.
| A．lying is an age-old human problem |
| B．dishonesty increases as people get older |
| C．people were dishonest in the 18th century |
| D．it is social conditions that make people tell lies |
‘As I stood in front of the grave (墓) of President Richard Nixon, I was thinking about the time 25 years ago when this president helped bring the United States and China closer together. Young people of our two countries should help this relationship grow.’
This remark (评论) was made by a Shanghai student when speaking to his fellow students at the Nixon Library in California, U.S.A. He was one of 80 middle school students from China attending a month-long ‘Youth Summit’. The Summit was to mark the 25th anniversary (周年) of President Nixon’s journey to China, which was the turning point in China-U.S. relations.
The Youth Summit was aimed at increasing understanding and friendship between young students of the two countries through visits and discussions. Seventy-five American students were selected to visit China. They also visited the Nixon Library on July 21 before leaving for Beijing the next day. The head of the Library said he was pleased to see the American and Chinese students talking and laughing together.
One Chinese student said, ‘I didn’t find it particularly difficult to talk with Americans. We have our differences, but we have a lot in common. Dialogue is good for us.’The words ‘Youth Summit’ in the text refer to ________.
| A．visits to the Nixon Library |
| B．the Chinese students’ visit to the U.S. |
| C．a meeting discussing relations between China and the U.S. |
| D．activities to make the ties between the Chinese and American students stronger |
The student from Shanghai thought about the time 25 years ago because it was when Nixon ________.
| A．died |
| B．visited China |
| C．became U.S. president |
| D．started building the library in his name |
The text is mainly about ________.
| A．the China-U.S. relations | B．the Nixon Library |
| C．the youth Summit | D．President Nixon |
Today, roller skating is easy and fun. But a long time ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, the idea of skating didn’t exist (存在). That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin’s work was making musical instruments. In his spare time he liked to play the violin. Joseph Merlin was a man of ideas and dreams. People called him a dreamer.
One day Merlin received an invitation to attend a fancy dress ball (化装舞会). He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think how to make a grand (壮丽的) entrance at the party. He had an idea. He thought he would get a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.
Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skates. Merlin was very proud of his invention and dreamed of arriving at the party on wheels while playing the violin.
On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room playing his violin. Everyone was greatly surprised to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates. He rolled on and on. Suddenly, he ran into a huge mirror that was hanging on the wall. Down fell the mirror, breaking to pieces. Nobody forgot Merlin’s grand entrance for a long time!The text is mainly about __________.
| A．a strange man |
| B．an unusual party |
| C．how roller skating began |
| D．how people enjoyed themselves in the 18th century |
People thought Merlin was a dreamer because he __________.
| A．was full of imagination |
| B．was a gifted (有才华的) musician |
| C．invented the roller skates |
| D．often gave others surprises |
Merlin put wheels under his shoes in order to __________.
| A．show his skill in walking on wheels |
| B．arrive at the party sooner |
| C．test his invention |
| D．impress the party guests |
What is the main point the writer is trying to make in the last paragraph (自然段)?
| A．The roller skates needed further improvement. |
| B．The party guests took Merlin for a fool. |
| C．Merlin succeeded beyond (超出) expectation. |
| D．Merlin got himself into trouble. |
Say (suppose) you are a 17th century construction worker who’s worked long and hard to build a splendid tower for the dead wife of your emperor.
Now say that the emperor orders your fingertips cut off so you can never build another one. Yes, that is the Taj Mahal, one of the most famous buildings in the world. And the tale behind the construction is just as impressive as the building itself.
First, there’s the emperor of northern India, Shah Jehan, also called the King of the World. In 1612, Shah Jehan married Mumtaz Mahal. Madly in love, they had 14 children over the next 20 years. But then sadness came. As Mumtaz was about to give birth to child number 14, she said she had heard her unborn baby cry out. It was a sign of death. And as Mumtaz lay dying, she asked Jehan to build a lasting memorial (纪念物) to celebrate their love.
When the heartbroken Jehan appeared eight days after his wife’s death, his people were shocked to see that his coal-black hair had turned snow-white.
Putting away his sadness, Jehan ordered his wife’s dying wish carried out. More than 20,000 workers labored nearly 22 years to complete the construction. In 1653, Jehan placed Mumtaz’s remains (遗体) in the center under the building.
And then, son number five, Aurangzeb, murdered his brothers and took over the power from his aging father. Jehan lived the rest of his days － eight years, to be exact － imprisoned not far from the Taj Mahal. Jehan was only allowed to climb onto the top of his prison to see the timeless treasure from a distance. But never again would he be allowed to visit it－until he was buried next to his wife.
Today 25,000 people visit the Taj Mahal each day. Though the reason for building the tower was a strange, sad story, those who see its breath-taking beauty are reminded of the happiness that inspired (激发……的灵感) its construction.The first two paragraphs were written to show that ________.
| A．the Taj Mahal is an unusual historic building |
| B．ancient Indian emperors were cruel |
| C．construction workers led a hard life in ancient India |
| D．India has some of the most famous buildings in the world |
The Taj Mahal was first built as ________.
| A．a prison | B．a gift to Mumtaz |
| C．a memorial building | D．a tourist attraction |
We learn from the text that Mumtaz probably died in ________.
| A．1626 | B．1632 | C．1634 | D．1653 |
The underlined word “happiness” in the last sentence refers to ________.
| A．the married happiness of the emperor and his wife |
| B．the great pleasure Jehan once found in exercising his power |
| C．the happiness Jehan felt on completing the Taj Mahal |
| D．the pleasure tourists experience when visiting the Taj Mahal. |