Laughter is a universal way to express joy. But as it turns out, your laughter reveals a lot more than the fact that you are happy. It enables listeners, even those that cannot observe you, immediately to realize if you are having a good time with a close friend or laughing politely with a complete stranger.

At least that is the conclusion reached by a team of scientists led by Greg Bryant, an associate professor of Communication Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. The researchers began by requesting participants from across the globe to send them audio clips(音頻片段) of people laughing. The 48 tapes they received ranged from recent recordings of laughter between two college friends to ones from conversations that occurred a decade ago. The clips also had all possible combinations — interactions between friends, strangers, all-male groups, all-female groups, as well as a mix of both genders(性別).

The team then played the short recording, each lasting less than a second, to 966 people spread across 24 different cultures around the world. The listeners ranged from people living in remote areas to those living in some of the world’s most modern cities. To the team’s astonishment, despite the cultural and regional differences, the listeners were able to identify the difference in laughter between friends and strangers, 61% of the time.

The scientists, who published their findings in the Scientific Journal, say that the accuracy was even higher when it came to recordings of only women laughing. The researchers think that this is probably because women are more transparent in expressing their feelings than men.

Bryant says that the results of this cross-cultural examination show that people all over the world perceive laughter in similar ways. As Neuroscientist Carolyn McGettigan at the Royal Holloway University of London puts it, “A laugh among friends is a special sound, no matter where you live!”

1.What can we learn about Greg Bryant’s research?

A. It was based on tapes from 966 people.

B. Its findings were beyond the team’s expectations.

C. It proved that laughter is a universal way to express joy.

D. Most of his findings were published in the Scientific Journal.

2.Why did the listeners identify all-female laughing more accurately?

A. Women are sensitive to interesting things.

B. Women are less likely to hide their feelings.

C. Women prefer to express their joys by laughing.

D. Women are good at communicating with others.

3.What does the underlined word “perceive” probably mean?

A. Understand. B. Receive.

C. Explain. D. Spread.

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科目：高中英語 來源：河北省2017屆高三上學(xué)期第14周周測英語試卷 題型：完成句子

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科目：高中英語 來源：江西省百校聯(lián)盟2017屆高三2月聯(lián)考英語試卷（有答案） 題型：閱讀理解

Scientists said they have found evidence of a giant planet far out in our solar system. In a statement, the California Institute of Technology(Caltech) said this planet travels a strange “highly elongated orbit in the distant solar system”.

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The scientists said it would take this planet 10,000to 20,000 years just to make one full orbit around the sun. The new planet, called “Planet Nine” has a mass about 10 times the size of Earth.

It is believed that the planet orbits, or travels, around the sun from a great distance. The planet Neptune’s average distance to the sun is about 4.5 billion kilometers. But “Planet Nine” could be 20 times farther away from the sun than that. While they did not get a picture of “Planet Nine” yet, the scientists say they are using the biggest and best telescopes on Earth to try to find it.

Brown and Batygin reported their finding in The Astronomical Journal. They say that this new planet is so large that there should be no doubt that it is a true planet, once they confirm it.

Robert Massey is with the Royal Astronomical Society in London. He told AFP that planets have been predicted before, and then were not found. But, he said the work of the these researchers is definitely worth following up. “It would be a really exciting thing to find. At the moment it’s simply a prediction.”

1.How was the evidence of the ninth planet found?

A. Through a special telescope

B. Through researchers’ direct observation

C. Through studying its special orbit in the solar system

D. Through mathematical modeling and computer simulations

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A. It is much smaller than the earth

B. It travels a normal orbit like other planets

C. Its distance to the sun is about 90 billion kilometers

D. Its picture has been caught by the biggest and best telescope

3.What’s Robert’s attitude towards the discovery of “Planet Nine”?

A. Worried B. Supportive

C. Indifferent D. Opposed

4.What’s the best title for the text?

A. The discovery of the largest planet

B. A big prediction of the solar system

C. A ninth planet may be in the solar system

D. The ninth planet has been found in the solar system

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