Weighed down by study? Pushed to the limit by the fast pace of life ? Frightened by the possible war ? Well, you’re not alone. Men and women in France are seeking relief using the world’s best medicine-----laughter.
In the past year, more than 15 laughter clubs have been set up across the country. People of all ages go to release their stress with an hour group laughs. “People telephoned me and said they have forgotten what it is to laugh. They want to find a place where they can escape all their problems for a while. So they come,” said 40—year—old Jocelyne Le Moan. She usually takes a class of around 60 people through a series of laughter techniques.
Her pupils range from teenagers to 70 years old, but most are middle---aged white collars seeking 60 minutes of relaxation at the end of a busy day. Le Moan takes them through the “Lion Laugh”and the “Laugh Contest”, where participants “speak”to each other in different ways. And instead of talking, they break into fits of laughter. At the end there are 15 minutes of “meditation”, when they lie on their backs and let the laughs burst out of their mouths.
“I love it. It’s an experience that has changed my life. Through it I rediscovered the child’s laugh inside me,”Said Romain Jouffroy, 24. “US President George W. Bush should give it a try. He has lost his laugh,”she joked . Like Jouffroy, many laughter club members find themselves changed into children again, and why not ? The average preschooler laughs up to 400 times a day.
The average adult only a day seven to 15.
The physical benefits of laughter are already well—recognized. Doctors say the act of laughing releases good chemicals into the blood—stream, while the quick breathing that accompanies it helps massage(按摩)the digestive organs and strengthens the heart.
“A full hour is like having your inside go jogging!One finishes out of breath, but feels revitalized(产生新活力. And on top of that , you’ve had a laugh,”said doctor Alexisd’ Estaing.And many participants in Paris also emphasize the psychological benefits. They believe that laughter is a way of making oneself feel more confident.
【小题1】Which of the following is not included among the benefits of laughing?

A.It can make people rediscover their children’s laugh.
B.It can release good chemical into blood streams.
C.It can make you feel self—confident.
D.It can cure the illness of people.
【小题2】The writer suggested that you should_____________.
A.take the world’s best medicine.
B.talk to each other about what troubles you.
C.learn series of laughter techniques.
D.have a good laugh after a busy day.
【小题3】From the passage , we can conclude the following but___________.
A.Jocelyne Le Moan is a teacher of the club.
B.the members are mostly middle---aged white collars.
C.people always need some way to relax in life.
D.laugh freely and everything goes well.
【小题4】Which of the following is not the reason why so many people join the laughter clubs ?
A.Those members feel too much pressure on them.
B.They want to find a place to relax themselves.
C.Laughters help massage the digestive organs.
D.The members don’t know how to laugh.

As you move around your home, take a good look at the things you have. It is likely that your living room will have a television set and a video, and your kitchen a washing machine and a microwave oven. Your bedroom drawers will be filled with almost three times as many clothes as you need. You almost certainly own a car and possibly a home computer, holiday abroad at least once a year and eat out at least once a week.

         Now, perhaps, more than ever before, people are wondering what life is all about, and what it is for. Seeking material success is beginning to trouble large numbers of people around the world. They feel that the long hours work culture to make more money is eating up their lives, leaving them very little time or energy for family or pastimes. Many are turning to other ways of living and downshifting is one of them. Six percent of workers in Britain took the decision to downshift last year.

         One couple who downshifted is Daniel and Liz. They used to work in central London. He was a newspaper reporter and she used to work for an international bank. They would go to work by train every day from their large house in the suburbs, leaving their two children with a nanny. Most evenings Daniel wouldn’t get home until eight or nine o’clock and nearly twice a month he would have to fly to New York for meetings. They both earned a large amount of money but began to feel that life was passing them by.

  Nowadays, they run a farm in the mountains of Wales. “I always wanted to have a farm then,” says Daniel, “and we took almost a year to make the decision to downshift. It’s taken some getting used to, but it’s been worth it. We have to think twice now about spending money on car repairs and we no longer have any holidays. However, I think it’s made us stronger as a family, and the children are a lot happier.

  Liz, however, is not quite sure. “I used to enjoy my job, even though it was hard work and long hours. I’m not really a country girl, but I suppose I’m gradually getting used to looking after the animals. One thing I do like, though, is being able to see more of my children. My advice for other people wanting to do the same is not to think about it too much or you might not do it at all.”

1.The passage tells us that            .

A.people seldom work long hours to make money

B.people hardly buy more things than necessary

C.people are sure everything they own is in the right place

D.people realize there is more to life than just making money

2.When Daniel was a reporter he ___.

A.lived in central London       B.disliked his job

C.missed his children     D.was well paid

3.Daniel and Liz both agree that the move to the farm ____.

A.was easy to organize B.has improved family life

C.was extremely expensive   D.has been a total success

4.What does the author mean by saying"the long hours work culture to make more money is eating up their lives" in the second paragraph ?

A.People work long hours to earn their living.

B.To make more money through hard work is the aim of people's life.

C.Long hours of hard work occupy too much of people's life.

D.People spent too much time and money eating meals.

5.The underlined word "downshifting" in the second paragraph refers to _________.

A.repairing your car by yourself

B.spending money carefully

C.moving out to the countryside to live a simpler and better life

D.living in a big house in the suburbs and dining out once a week

 

 

Research at the University of Liverpool, UK, has found that Shakespeare’s language stimulates positive brain activity.

   Shakespeare uses a linguistic(语言的)technique known as functional change that involves, for example, using a noun to serve as a verb.Researchers found that this technique allows the brain to understand what a word means before it understands the function of the word within a sentence.This process causes a sudden peak in brain activity and forces the brain to work backwards in order to fully understand what Shakespeare is trying to say.

Professor Philip Davis, from the university’s School of English, said: “The brain reacts to reading a phrase such as ‘he godded me’ from the tragedy of Coriolanus, in a similar way to putting a jigsaw puzzle(拼图玩具)together.If it is easy to see which pieces fit together you become bored of the game.But if the pieces don’t appear to fit, when we know they should, the brain becomes excited.By throwing irregular words into seemingly normal sentences, Shakespeare surprises the brain in a manner that produces a sudden burst of activity — a sense of drama created out of the simplest of things.”

Experts believe that this heightened brain activity may be one of the reasons why Shakespeare’s plays have such a dramatic impact on their readers.

Professor Neil Roberts, from the university’s Magnetic Resonance and Image Analysis Research Center, and Professor Davis, together with Dr Guillaune Thierry, from the University of Wales, UK, monitored 20 participants using an electroencephalogram (EEG) as they read selected lines from Shakespeare’s plays.

“The brain signal is relatively stable when we understand the meaning of a word but when the word changes the grammar of the whole sentence, brain readings suddenly peak.The brain is then forced to retrace its thinking process in order to understand what it is supposed to make of this unusual word,” explains Professor Roberts.

1.The research conducted by the professors has showed that ___________.

         A.Shakespeare uses functional change to mislead readers

         B.Shakespeare’s language excites positive brain activity.

         C.Shakespeare’s plays have a dramatic effect on their readers.

         D.Shakespeare’s language makes the brain signal relatively stable

2.Which of the following words can replace the underlined pronoun “it” in the 2nd paragraph?

         A.technique              B.word            C.brain            C.sentence

3.In the 3rd paragraph, the example of a jigsaw puzzle is used here to state___________.

         A.the function of Shakespeare’s linguistic technique

         B.a sense of drama created by playing the game

         C.the Shakespeare’s thinking process

         D.the brain’s reaction to reading a book

4.Based on the research, Shakespeare’s plays have a great effect on their reader lies in_______.

         A.language used in plays                B.characters showed in works

         C.brain activity increased in reading       D.thinking process when writing

 

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