Question

While most people consider that laughter is one of the nature’s great treatments for a whole range of mental and physical diseases, it is still a serious scientific subject that researchers are trying to figure out.

“Laughter is social.” says Robert R. Provine, author of the book “Laughter: A Scientific Investigation”, who has been studying laughter for decades. “Almost all people laugh ‘ha-ha-ha’ basically the same way. Whether you speak Mandarin, French or English, everyone will understand laughter. There is a pattern generator(发生器) in our brain that produces this sound.

Laughing is also a good way of communicating. Babies laugh long before they speak. No one teaches them how to laugh. They just do it. People may laugh at a prank(恶作剧) on April Fools’ day. But surprisingly, only 10 to 15 percent of laughter is the result of someone making a joke. Laughter is mostly about social responses rather than reaction to a joke. Deaf people laugh without hearing and people on cell phones laugh without seeing, which shows that laughter isn’t dependent on a single sense but on social interactions.

And laughter is not just a human thing. Chimps tickle(挠痒) each other and even laugh when another chimp pretends to tickle them.

Jaak Panksepp studies rats that laugh when he tickles them. It turns out rats love to be tickled. They return again and again to the hands of researchers tickling them, Panksepp’s video shows.

By studying rats, scientists can figure out what’s going on in the brain during laughter. It has been found that laughter in rats produces a chemical that acts as an antidepressant(抗抑郁药) and anxiety-reducer. Scientists think the same thing probably happens in humans, too. This would give doctors a new chemical target in the brain in their effort to develop drugs that fight depression and anxiety in people.

Even so, laughter itself has not been proved to be the best medicine, experts said. “No study has shown that laughter produces a direct health benefit,” Provine said, “largely because it’s hard to separate laughter from just feeling good.”

1. Why does the writer say “laughter is mostly about social responses rather than reaction to a joke”?

A. because people can communicate with each other by laughing.

B. because laughter is the same sound in all the human’s languages.

C. because laughter is considered a basic language all people can learn.

D. because everyone can understand the meaning of the word laughter.

2.From the last two paragraphs we know that______.

A. laughter has no direct connection with good feelings

B. laughing every day can cure people of many diseases

C. the medical functions of laughter are still under experiment

D. scientists have learned what is happening in a human brain when he laughs

3. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A. Laughter depends on many senses.

B. Laughter is a social response shared by all creatures.

C. If you speak different languages, you will laugh differently.

D. A new medicine has been developed based on the laughter research.

 

Answer 1

1.A

2.C

3.B

【解析】

试题分析：这篇文章介绍了一项对笑的新研究，和以往人们的观点不同的是，研究人员发现笑是人类社会化的反应，而且动物也有相同的情况。

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考点：考查科普类短文