题目内容
Seriously damaged, the bridge is no longer__________
A.in use B.in order C.in turn D. in danger
A
That cold January night, I was growing sick of my life in San Francisco. There I was, walking home at one in the morning after a tiring practice at the theatre. With opening night only a week ago, I was still learning my lines. I was having trouble dealing with my part-time job at the bank and my acting at night at the same time. As I walked, I thought seriously about giving up both acting and San Francisco. City life had become too much for me.
As I walked down empty streets under tall buildings, I felt very small and cold. I began running, both to keep warm and to keep away from any possible robbers (抢劫犯). Very few people were still out except a few sad-looking homeless people under blankets.
About a block from my apartment (公寓房间), I heard a sound behind me. I turned quickly, half expecting to see someone with a knife or a gun. The street was empty. All I saw was a shining streetlight. Still, the noise had made me nervous, so I started to run faster. Not until I reached my apartment building and unlocked the door did I realize what the noise had been. It had been my wallet falling to the sidewalk.
Suddenly I wasn’t cold or tired anymore. I ran out of the door and back to where I’d heard the noise. Although I searched the sidewalk anxiously for fifteen minutes, my wallet was nowhere to be found.
Just as I was about to give up the search, I heard the garbage truck (垃圾车) pull up to the sidewalk next to me. When a voice called from the inside, “ Alisa Camacho?” I thought I was dreaming. How could this man know my name? the door opened, and out jumped a small red-haired man with an amused look in his eye. “Is this what you’re looking for?” he asked, holding up a small square shape.
It was nearly 3 A.M. by the time I got into bed. I wouldn’t get much sleep that night, but I had gotten my wallet back. I also had gotten back some enjoyment of city life. I realized that the city couldn’t be a bad place as long as people were wiling to help each other.
【小题1】How did the write feel when she was walking home after work?
A.Cold and sick |
B.Fortunate and helpful |
C.Satisfied and cheerful |
D.Disappointed and helpless |
A.solving her problem at the bank |
B.taking part in various city activities |
C.learning acting in an evening school |
D.preparing for the first night show |
A.lost her wallet unknowingly |
B.was stopped by a garbage truck driver |
C.was robbed of her wallet by an armed man |
D.found some homeless people following her |
A.Someone offered to take her back home. |
B.A red-haired man came to see her. |
C.She heard someone call her name |
D.Her wallet was found in a garbage truck. |
A.would stop working at night |
B.would stay on in San Francisco |
C.would make friends with cleaners |
D.would give up her job at the bank. |
There is an old saying in English: "Laughter is the best medicine". Until recently, few people took the saying very seriously. Now, however, doctors have begun to investigate laughter and the effects it has on the human body. They have found evidence that laughter really can improve people's health.
Tests were carried out to study the effects of laughter on the body. People watched funny films, while doctors checked their heart rate, blood pressure, breathing and muscles. It was found that laughter has similar effects to physical exercise. It increases blood pressure, the heart rate and the rate of breathing; it also works several groups of muscles in the face, the stomach, and even the feet. If laughter exercises the body, it must be beneficial.
Other tests have shown that laughter appears to be capable of reducing the effect of pain on the body. In one experiment doctors produced pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programs. The group which tolerated the pain for the longest time was 'the group which listened to a funny program. The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce endorphins (内啡肽) in the brain. These are natural chemicals which diminish both stress and pain.
There is also some evidence to suggest that laughter helps the body's immune(免疫的)system, that is, the system which fights infection. In an experiment, one group of students watched a funny video while another group served as the control group - in other words, a group with which to compare the first group. Doctors checked the blood of the students in both groups and found that the people in the group that watched the video had an increase in the activity of their white blood cells, that is, the cells which fight infection.
As a result of these discoveries, some doctors and psychiatrists (精神病学家) in the United States now hold laughter clinics, in which they try to improve their patients' condition by encouraging them to laugh. They have found that even if their patients do not really feel like laughing, making them smile is enough to produce beneficial effects similar to those caused by laughter.
【小题1】 We learn from the first paragraph that laughter____________________.
A.is good for one's health |
B.is related to some illness |
C.has been investigated long since |
D.has no effect on the body |
A.keeps down blood pressure. |
B.has similar effects to physical exercise |
C.decreases the heart rate |
D.increases stress |
A.It reduces pain. |
B.It exercises the body. |
C.It improves the body's immune system. |
D.It can cure cancer. |
A.critical |
B.doubtful |
C.positive |
D.negative |