Question

【題目】 It's no secret that laughter works wonders for us. And much research has been carried out into the good that laughter can do for our general health and well-being. It has been found to release endorphins (釋放安多芬), our bodies’natural“feel-good"chemicals, into our blood. But as we grow older, we are more likely to find fewer things funny. A child will laugh on average 300 times a day. By the time we reach adulthood, this number is around 20. But what's behind this? One theory(理論) suggests that it's not a problem of us losing our sense of humor but rather, as we grow older, we're socially conditioned to take things a bit more seriously.

Laughter is very much something we do with others. Studies have shown that we are 30 times more likely to find something funny when we are with others than when we are by ourselves. But to laugh with others, we do need to feel a connection to them. We need to feel comfortable in their company. That's why it can be difficult to laugh in the presence of strangers. Laughter is also very contagious and one person's laugh can spread quickly throughout a group of people. But often what makes us join in is the fear of standing out and being different. We laugh, even if we don' t really get the joke, especially in groups controlled by a powerful person. When the head teacher tells a joke, for example, you laugh, even though later you might wonder if the joke was really that funny at all.

There are many different reasons why we laugh. Here are three widely accepted theories:

The Incongruity Theory: It's often the unexpected that makes us laugh. When things that we are familiar with suddenly take a turn into the unknown, our expectations are challenged and that often results in laughter.

The Superiority Theory: We often find the mistakes and misfortunes of others funny. This would explain the popularity of online videos showing pranks (惡作劇).

The Relief Theory:Laugh offers light relief. It explains why there are so many jokes about the darker things in life. By being able to laugh at them, we are able to face them more easily.

【1】According to the theory in Paragraph 1, why do we laugh less as we grow older?

A.There are fewer funny things.

B.We take things more seriously.

C.Our body releases less endorphins.

D.We gradually lose our sense of humor.

【2】What can we learn from Paragraph 2?

A.More funny things happen when we are with others.

B.It's difficult to build up connections with strangers.

C.We laugh sometimes because of social needs.

D.Powerful people are more likely to be funny.

【3】What is the passage mainly about?

A.The science of laughter

B.the power of laughter.

C.The sign of laughter.

D.The art of laughter

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】C

【3】A

【解析】

本文主要談?wù)撔�。笑對我們有好處，它能釋放安多芬，我們身體的天然“感覺良好”化學(xué)物質(zhì)，進(jìn)入我們的血液。但隨著年齡的增長，我們發(fā)現(xiàn)有趣的事情越來越少。這主要原因是我們更加認(rèn)真地對待事情。笑是我們與他人相處的一種方式。我們笑的原因有很多種。主要有三種理論：不協(xié)調(diào)理論，優(yōu)越論，解脫理論。

【1】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第一段最后一句One theory(理論) suggests that it's not a problem of us losing our sense of humor but rather, as we grow older, we're socially conditioned to take things a bit more seriously.（一種理論認(rèn)為，這不是我們失去幽默感的問題，而是，隨著年齡的增長，我們的社會習(xí)慣于更加認(rèn)真地對待事情。）可知“我們長大后笑得少的原因是因?yàn)槲覀兏�認(rèn)真地對待事情。”故選B。

【2】主旨理解題。第2段第一句Laughter is very much something we do with others.（笑是我們與他人相處的一種方式。）是本段的主題句，本段的主要內(nèi)容。根據(jù)本段內(nèi)容和主題句可知“我們有時(shí)因?yàn)樯鐣�需要而笑�！惫蔬xC。

【3】主旨理解題。本文談?wù)摿诵�對我們有好處原因、隨著年齡的增長笑的次數(shù)減少的主要原因、我們笑的原因。根據(jù)本文主要內(nèi)容可知這篇文章主要是關(guān)于笑的科學(xué)。故選A。