题目内容
【题目】 Every so often，someone so young does something so amazing that you can’t help but wonder how he manages it. That’s what happened the first time we heard Matthew Whitaker play the piano. Matthew is a jazz pianist who is blind，and since the age of 11，he’s been performing around the world.
Matthew Whitaker was born at 24th week. He weighed 1 pound and 11 ounces. His parents were told he had less than a 50％chance of survival. One of the many complications(并发症)he faced was a disease which led to blindness.
No one in Matthew’s family was a musician，but his grandfather bought him his first keyboard when he was 3 years old. It didn’t take long for Matthew to show that he had a gift. So the Whitakers decided to get Matthew a teacher，which proved to be difficult. “At the time，we got a lot of answers that he’s too young and they don’t know how to teach a blind child，”Moses Whitaker said. “He was 3 years old at the time. ”
Finally，Dalia Sakas agreed to meet Matthew. Dalia is the director of music studies at a music school in New York City，a school for the visually impaired. To her surprise，Matthew could 1isten to a piece of music once and then play it. “Because it is rare to meet someone of the world and I want to make that possible. ”
She did. Matthew has played in more than 200 clubs and concert halls around the world. His love of music has never been in doubt. Matthew’s latest album is called Now Hear This. One critic noted that it sounded like Matthew was playing with six hands.
【1】Which word best describes Matthew as a pianist?
A.Fruitless.B.Ordinary.
C.Remarkable.D.Ambitious.
【2】What was the root cause of Matthew’s blindness?
A.His premature birth.B.His low weight.
C.His low chance of survival.D.A disease running in his family.
【3】What increased the difficulty finding Matthew a music teacher?
A.His family background.B.His lack of talent.
C.His age and disability.D.His character.
【4】Why did Dalia accept Matthew as her student?
A.Because she sympathized Matthew for his experience.
B.Because she was struck by Matthew’s talent for music.
C.Because she gave in to the insistence of Matthew’s grandfather.
D.Because she knew how to teach a blind student well.
【答案】
【1】C
【2】A
【3】C
【4】B
【解析】
本文为一篇记叙文。文章讲述了Matthew Whitaker在弹奏钢琴方面的天赋、经历以及所取得的成就。
【1】
推理判断题。根据第一自然段最后一句Matthew is a jazz pianist who is blind, and since the age of 11, he’s been performing around the world.可知，马修作为一名盲人钢琴家，在十一岁的时候就开始全世界演出了。通过此句，我们可以推断出他是一个非常卓越、优秀的人。故此题选C。
【2】
推理判断题。根据文章第二自然段第一句Matthew Whitaker was born at 24th week.可知，马修是一个早产儿，所以带来了一系列的问题，从而导致了他的失明。故此题选A。
【3】
细节理解题。根据第三段At the time，we got a lot of answers that he’s too young and they don’t know how to teach a blind child可知，老师们觉得马修太小了，并且是个盲人，所以不愿意接收。由此可知，马修的年龄和残疾增加了给马修找音乐老师的难度。故此题选C。
【4】
细节理解题。根据倒数第二段To her surprise，Matthew could 1isten to a piece of music once and then play it.（让她吃惊的是，马修能听一段音乐，然后就弹出来。）由此可知可知，Dalia接受马修作她的学生，是因为她被马修的音乐天赋所打动。故此题选B。
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What makes us laugh?
Why do we laugh? Well it’s funny you should ask, but this question is a very interesting one to investigate. For what at first seems like a simple question turns out to require a surprisingly complex answer –– one that takes us on a journey into the very heart of trying to understand human nature.
Most people would guess that we laugh because something is funny. But if you watch when people actually laugh, you’ll find this isn’t the case. Laughter expert Robert Provine spent hours recording real conversations at shopping malls, classrooms, offices and cocktail parties, and he found that most laughter did not follow what looked like jokes. People laughed at the end of normal sentences, in response to unfunny comments or questions such as “Look, it’s Andre”, or “Are you sure?”. Even attempts at humor that provoked laughter didn’t sound that funny.
So if we want to understand laughter, perhaps we need to go deeper, and look at what is going on in the brain. The areas that control laughing lie deep in the sub cortex(下皮层), and in terms of evolutionary development these parts of the brain are ancient, responsible for primal(原始) behaviors such as breathing and basic reflexes(反射). This means laughter control mechanisms are located a long way away from brain regions that developed later and control higher functions such as language or even memory.
Perhaps this explains why it is so hard to control a laugh, even if we know it is inappropriate. Once a laugh is started deep within our brains these “higher function” brain regions have trouble interfering. And the opposite is true, of course. It is difficult to laugh on demand. If you consciously make yourself laugh it will not sound like the real thing – at least initially.
But this does not fully answer the original question. To answer this, perhaps we need to look outwards, to look at the social factors at play when people laugh. Provine’s study suggests that it isn’t just some independent process that happens to us while we are talking to someone. He also found that laughter was most common in situations of emotional warmth and so-called “in-groupness”.
Perhaps “transmission” is another most important feature of laughter. Just listening to someone laugh is funny. You can even catch laughter from yourself. Start with a forced laugh and if you keep it up you will soon find yourself laughing for real.
What these observations show is that laughter is both fundamentally social, and rooted deep within our brains, part and parcel of ancient brain structures. All these things are true. And biologists say each time we get closer to an answer for a fundamental question, it deepens our appreciation of the challenge remaining to answer the others. And there is a long way to go.
What makes us laugh? | ||
Introduction | Studying laugh is closely 【1】to understanding human nature. | |
【2】 | ●The popular 【3】is not true that we laugh because something is funny. ●The study of real conversations reveals that laughter didn’t 【4】 follow funny comments. | |
Causes | Inside | ● Ancient areas 【5】for primal behaviors control laughing. ● “Higher function” regions can’t 【6】with laughing. |
【7】 | ● Situations of emotional warmth and in-groupness give 【8】to laughing. ●Laughter can be 【9】, which is another most important feature. | |
Conclusion | The origin of laugh is associated with both brain structures and 【10】factors. | |