There's an old saying that laughter is the best medicine. No matter whether it's caused by a good joke, a cute child or pet, or a pie in the face of a comedian, the simple act of laughing offers medical benefits. Laughter has been shown to reduce stress and help people lose weight. It's a special tonic (滋补品)for older people, who are prone to loneliness and sad thoughts.

In fact, in more than 1,000 American communities, and a couple thousand more around the world, entire clubs have been formed so that people can get together and laugh! U.S. clubs have names like "Laugh-a-holics," "the Ha-Ha Spa," "Granite State Giggles(傻笑)," and "Judy's Joyful Laughter Club."

The idea started in India, where laughing is an oral yoga（瑜珈）exercise using discipline, mind power and a good belly laugh. Laughter is certainly contagious(传染性的). Only a determined grouch（脾气坏的人）could avoid at least smiling when others around him are laughing till it hurts. That's why members of laughing clubs don't just get together to howl with laughter themselves. They meet on street corners, in train stations, and other public places, laugh their fool heads off, and invite everyone around them to join in.

Laughing clubs have become so popular that one can even get training as a "certified laughing leader." And the key qualification? You have to be really good at these, chortling, chuckling, howling, snickering, cackling, tittering, giggling and sniggling.

1．The following are the benefits offered by laughing EXCEPT _____.

　 A．benefiting the older people

　 B．reducing pressure

　 C．helping people keep fit　　

　 D．helping people have a good appetite

2．Why do members of laughing clubs meet in public places instead of in private rooms?

　 A．Because they want to cause others to laugh.

　 B．Because they want to show off their special skills.

　 C．Because they would like people to share their happiness.

　 D．Because they need a large space to laugh.

3．The words in the last sentence “chortling, chuckling, howling, snickering, cackling, tittering, giggling and sniggling” are _____.

　 A．conditions of a laughing leader　　　　　　 B．manners you must follow when laughing

　 C．all forms of laughing　　　 D．tips of laughter

4．Which of the following is the best title?

　 A．Laughter Is More and More Popular in the USA

　 B．Laughter Linked to Health, Happiness

　 C．How We Laugh

　 D．Laughing, an Oral Yoga Exercise

Anne Whitney, a sophomore (大学二年级学生) at Colorado State University, first had a problem taking tests when she began college. "I was always well prepared for my tests. Sometimes I studied for weeks before a test. Yet I would go in to take the test, only to find I could not answer the questions correctly. I would blank out because of nervousness and fear. I couldn't think of the answer. My low grades on the tests did not show what I knew to the teacher. “Another student in biology had similar experiences. He said, "My first chemistry test was very difficult. Then, on the second test, I sat down to take it, and I was so nervous that I was shaking. My hands were moving up and down so quickly that it was hard to hold my pencil. I knew the material and I knew the answers. Yet I couldn't even write them down!"

　　These two young students were experiencing something called test anxiety. Because a student worries and is uneasy about a test, his or her mind does not work as well as it usually does. The student cannot write or think clearly because of the extreme tension and nervousness. Contrary to people’s common belief that poor grades are often a result of poor study habits, sometimes test anxiety plays a role in students’ achieving low grades. Recently, test anxiety has been recognized as a real problem, not just an excuse or a false explanation of lazy students.

　　Special university advising courses try to help students. In these courses, advisors try to help students by teaching them how to manage test anxiety. At some universities, students take tests to measure their anxiety. If the tests show their anxiety is high, the students can take short courses to help them deal with their tensions. These courses teach students how to relax their bodies. Students are trained to become calm in very tense situations. By controlling their nervousness, they can let their minds work at ease. Learned information then comes out without difficulty on a test.

　　An expert at the University of California explains, " With almost all students, relaxation and less stress are felt after taking our program. Most of them experience better control during their tests. Almost all have some improvement. With some, the improvement is very great. "

1.To "blank out" is probably______.

A．to be like a blanket                      B．to be sure of an answer

C．to be unable to think clearly               D．to show knowledge to the teacher

2.Poor grades are usually believed to be the result of______.

A．poor sleeping habit                      B．laziness

C．test anxiety                            D．inability to form good study habits

3.Test anxiety has been recognized as______.

A．an excuse for laziness                    B．the result of poor study habits

C．a real problem                          D．something that cannot be changed

4.A University of California advisor said______.

A．all students could overcome the anxiety after taking a special test anxiety program

B．almost all students felt less stress after taking a University of California advising course

C．students found it difficult to improve even though they had taken a special test anxiety course

D．students found it easy to relax as soon as they entered a University of California advising course

As society advances and basic needs are most often being met, things that were not considered important in the past have taken priority(优先). In the past, people could easily get a job and progress pretty well, as long as they were hard-working; education was important but not as crucial(关系重大) as it is today.

Nowadays, just as clothes are important to first impressions, degree is important to a person’s first job interview or even a job with a good salary. Although experience is important to survive in any trade or profession, the first thing that companies look for is that piece of paper before looking at one’s experience.

A passport into the world of any profession is what having a degree means today, especially for professions that have need of certification and pay well, such as architects, doctors, lawyers, and teachers.

That piece of paper, the degree, is also a passport to jobs in top or middle management in any company, especially so for multi-national corporations(跨国公司). Having a degree opens up opportunities that one would not have had if one did not have any kind of degree. A degree simply proves that one has gone through the necessary training and understanding of how to carry out a job.

Although there are many that may say having a degree may not necessarily equal to success, it would most definitely help any person achieve success in shorter and easier steps. Success cannot simply be a result of hard work and/or depending on one’s experience or degree alone; it is the art and knowledge of how to work that determines one’s success. Therefore, it should not be for the sake to get a degree, but the quality of the degree and experiences that one can learn from that matter as well.

What would be the best title for this passage?

A. People used to be hard-working

B. How important is the degree?　　

C. How can we enter the top management?

D. Degree surely leads to success

Why does the author mention clothes in the second paragraph?

A. To prove the importance of the first impression.

B. To stress the importance of job interviews.　　

C. To show the importance of clothes.

D. To explain the importance of degree.

What does the underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refer to?

A. Having a degree

B. Success

C. Necessary training

D. Having an opportunity

Some animals apparently can resist cancer by strengthening their immune nervous system in preparation for winter，John Hopkins researchers said on Wednesday.

The scientists said their study was the first to show that the central nervous system，reacting to environmental changes，may spark changes in the body’s immune system(免疫系统) that control the growth of tumors.They said if that was the case，a better understanding of how the process works eventually could lead to new cancer treatments.

Dr.Randy Nelson，an associate professor of psychology at Hopkins，stressed at a meeting of the Society of Neuroscience that further study would be needed to confirm a connection between the length of the day，the animals’ immune system and cancer.More work also would be needed to show that the findings could be applied to human cancer.

Dr.Faye Austin，an immunologist with the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda，said，“It’s a very intriguing observation that the length of exposure to light can affect the growth of a tumor.But I think that the draws really need further work to clarify the mechanics.”

But Austin said the findings were surprising and important，only because they open up a new approach for research.

Studies showed that stress weakened the immune system in animals.They figured that because winter is stressful，the season probably causes exertion (影响) on the immune system.

The researchers reasoned that animals that compensated by boosting (促进) their immune systems as winter approached would have a better chance of surviving and producing offspring.

“In the same way that animals have evolved to select the best time to breed，it struck me that animals ought to be able to predict when conditions would be challenging immunologically.”Nelson said.

1．Dr.Nelson has drawn a conclusion that ________.

A．there is a relation between the length of the day，the animal’s immune system and cancer

B．the findings of animals’ resistance to cancer can be applied to human cancer treatments

C．the length of exposure to light can affect the growth of a tumor

D．there is a new approach for studying the function of central nervous system in the body’s immune system

2．Which season can strengthen the immune system in animals?

A．Spring. 　　　 B．Summer.　　　 C．Autumn.　　　 　D．Winter.

3．On which of the following subjects can essays be presented at the meeting of the Society of Neuroscience?

A．The nervous system.

B．The treatment of cancer.

C．The ability to produce offspring.

D．The control of the growth of tumors.