There is an old saying in English, “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 (作用) it has on the human body. They have found evidence 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 helpful.
Other tests have shown that laughter appears to make the effect of pain on the body less. In one experiment doctors produced pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programs. The group which could bear the pain for the longest time was the group which listened to a funny program. The reason why laughter can make pain less seems to be that it helps to produce endorphins (内啡肽) in the brain. These are natural chemicals which make both stress and pain less.
There is also some evidence to suggest that laughter helps the body’s immune system — that is the system which fights infection (感染). In an experiment, one group of students watched a funny video while another group 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 — the cells which fight infection.
As a result of these discoveries, some doctors and psychiatrists (精神病专家) 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 good effects similar to those caused by laughter.We learn from the first paragraph that laughter _______.
| A．is good for one’s health |
| B．has strong effects to do with some illnesses |
| C．has been studied for a long time |
| D．has no effect on the body |
Doctors have found that laughter _______.
| A．keeps down blood pressure |
| B．has similar effects to physical exercise |
| C．decreases the heart rate |
| D．increases stress and pain |
Which of the following statements is NOT true of laughter according to the passage?
| A．It makes pain less. |
| B．It exercises the body. |
| C．It improves the body’s immune system. |
| D．It can cure（治愈）cancer . |
Smiling can produce _________.
| A．about the same effects as laughter |
| B．more effects than laughter |
| C．fewer effects on the human body |
| D．no effects on the human body |
Mrs.Green was eighty，but she had a small car，and she always drove to the shops on Saturday and bought her food.She didn’t drive fast because she was old，but she drove well and never hit(撞)anything.
Sometimes her grandchildren said to her，“Please don’t drive your car，grandmother.We can take you to the shops.”
But she always said，“No，I like driving.I've been driving it for fifty years，and I'm not going to stop driving.”
Last Saturday she stopped her car at some traffic lights because they were red and then it did not start again.The lights were green，then yellow，then red，then green again，but her car didn’t start.
“What am I going to do now? ”she said.
At this time a policeman came and said to her kindly，“Good morning.Don’t you like any of our colours today? ”Mrs.Green drove her small car to the shops to get something__________a week.
| A．to eat once | B．to wear twice |
| C．to read once | D．to use six times |
She drove_______well_______she never hit anything.
| A．much；so | B．very；and |
| C．not；but | D．more；then |
She was old，so she didn’t drive___________.
| A．well | B．slow |
| C．fast | D．badly |
It was_______years since she drove her small car.
| A．80 | B．30 | C．50 | D．10 |
Which of the following is right?
| A．Mrs.Green stopped her car at the red light. |
| B．Her grandchildren wanted to buy some food for her. |
| C．Mrs.Green stopped her car on the street because she enjoyed the lights. |
| D．The policeman wanted to know if Mrs.Green liked any of the colours. |
Some students think it difficult to learn English well. That’s because they don’t find the right way. I think reading is very important for students. The more you read, the better you’ll understand. Reading is helpful to listening, speaking and writing.
If you often read English aloud, you’ll improve your listening. On the other hand, listening a lot can help you to read better. Reading English everywhere when you are free, if you wish. You can get a lot of knowledge when you read. Sometimes you need to express your ideas, you can either speak or write. That means you are using what you learned from reading. The same as Chinese, the more you read, the better you can write. If you want to remember something, you should read again and again. So from now on, you’d better do more reading. It’s a good way to learn English well.Some students think it difficult to learn English well because _________.
| A．they don’t work hard |
| B．they are afraid of English. |
| C．they don’t find the right way |
| D．they aren’t clever |
Reading is helpful to ________.
A. speaking B. listening
C. writing D. A. B & C The writer thinks ________ is a good way to learn English well.
| A．the better you write | B．doing more reading |
| C．the more you remember | D．the more you write |
In Chinese studying, the more you read , _________.
| A．the better you speak | B．the better you write |
| C．the more you remember | D．the more you write |
The title of this passage may be _________.
| A．English is important | B．Reading is helpful |
| C．English is difficult | D．Reading is important |
As a child , Alain Robert was afraid of heights. One day, when he was 12, he returned home from school. At the front door of his building, he looked for his keys. He didn’t have them. It was 3:30 pm and his parent worked until 6:00 pm. Alain looked at his apartment on the eighth floor.
He saw an open window. He closed his eyes and imagined himself climbing the building. When he opened his eyes , he told himself, “I can do it.” Fifteen minutes later, he was in his house and his fear of heights was gone.
Today, Alain still climbs buildings. In 2003, he climbed a building in London dressed as Spiderman to advertise the movie. In 2004, he climbed Taipei 101(one of the tallest buildings in the world). To reach the top of a building, Alain uses only his hands and special shoes. Alain climbs as a hobby. He also does it to make money for charity--- for children and the homeless. When he climbs, he wants to send a message to people. If you have a dream—something you really want to do – it can become real. But you must be brave and keep trying. If something bad happens, don’t give up. Close your eyes and tell yourself, “I can do it”.What was Alain Robert afraid of when he was a child ?
_______________________________________________________________Which floor did Alain live on ?
_______________________________________________________________Why did Alain climb a building in London dressed as Spiderman ?
_______________________________________________________________What does Alain use to reach the top of Taipei 101 ?
_______________________________________________________________What do you think of Alain Robert ?
_______________________________________________________________
Long, long ago there was a very foolish thief. Do you know what he did one day? When he wanted to steal(偷) the bell on his neighbour’s door, he walked up to the door, took hold of(抓住) the bell and pulled hard. The bell made a very loud noise. The thief was afraid and went home.
Then he sat down to think, “I must do something about the noise,” he said. He thought and thought. At last he had an idea. “Ah, I’ll put some cotton in my ears. Then I won’t be able to hear the noise.” The next day he went to the door of his neighbour, and took hold of the bell. This time he pulled even harder. The bell rang loudly, but the thief did not hear anything. With another hard pull he got the bell out. Just then the neighbour came running out.
“Steal my bell? I’ll teach you a lesson(教训),” the angry man shouted. And he hit the thief on the nose.
The foolish thief did not know how the neighbour found out he was stealing the bell. “Why did he come out just then?” he wondered(感到疑惑).The thief was trying to get .
| A．his neighbour | B．his neighbour’s doorbell |
| C．some cotton | D．a door with a bell on it |
The thief put some cotton in his ears. He thought it would befor him to steal the doorbell.
| A．safe | B．difficult |
| C．dangerous | D．easy |
The neighbour ran out probably(很可能) because .
| A．He knew his doorbell was being stolen |
| B．He thought someone was eager(渴望的)to visit him |
| C．He realized(意识到)something strange happened |
| D．Both B and C |
The neighbour hit the thief to .
| A．give him lessons |
| B．punish (惩罚) him for stealing |
| C．help him with the bell |
| D．be his teacher |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The thief understood why he was hit on the nose. |
| B．The thief knew why the neighbour came out. |
| C．The thief thought the neighbour could not hear the bell. |
| D．The thief didn’t want to know why the neighbour ran out just at the time he stole the doorbell. |
The children in the village wear dirty, cheap clothes. They sleep beside cows and sheep in small houses. They have no school. But they can write 26 English letters, and some know a few English words.
How did it happen? It was because a U.S. group called One Computer Every Child offered them 20 computers.
Can children teach themselves to read when they have no schools or teachers but have the help of today’s new technology(技术)? The goal(目的) of the group is to find out the answer. And the results are exciting.
“The children are learning more than they would in one year of school,” said Matt Keller, who organized the programme.
The fastest learner was an eight-year-old boy called Kelbesa Negusse. He said that he himself was like a lion.
Keller said, “Seven months ago he didn’t know any English. But now he has known many words. I think if you give them food and water they will never leave the computer room. They will spend day and night there.”
Kelbesa said, “I like the computer because I can learn things with it.” He added, “I know many English words, like dog, monkey, horse, sheep, cow, pig and cat.”
Keller said that One Computer Every Child was planning a programme for children who couldn’t go to school.From the first paragraph, we can learn that the people in the village are _____________.
| A．easy | B．poor | C．rich | D．bored |
How can the children in the village learn English words?
| A．They go to school every day. |
| B．They have good teachers. |
| C．One Computer Every Child gave them computers. |
| D．They can learn from books. |
What is the goal of One Computer Every Child?
| A．To teach children how to use today’s new technology. |
| B．To help children to spend their free time. |
| C．To help children out of their hard life. |
| D．To help children teach themselves to read through new technology. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Kelbesa is in Grade2 now. |
| B．The computers help the children a lot. |
| C．Keller is the teacher of those children. |
| D．Kelbesa doesn’t like the computer. |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Learning with the help of computers |
| B．The development of One Computer Every Child |
| C．Computers are better than teachers |
| D．How to learn by yourself |