There is an English saying:“ laughter is the best medicine.” Until recently, few people took the saying seriously. Now, however, doctors have begun to look into laughter and the effects it has on the human body. They have found 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 hearts, blood pressure, breathing and muscles. It was found that laughter had similar effects to physical exercise. It increases blood pressure, the heart beating and 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 able to reduce 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 that tolerated(忍耐)the pain for the longest time was the groups which listened to a funny program. The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce a kind of chemicals in the brain which  diminish  both stress and pain .
As a result of these discoveries, some doctors in the United States now hold laughter clinics, in which they help 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.
46.Doctors have proved the following EXCEPT that        .
A. smiling does good to health 
B. laughter can be tolerated
C. there is a way to reduce pain 
D. laughter can work the muscles in the feet 
47.The main idea of the passage is         .
A. laughter and physical exercise have similar effects on the human body 
B. smile can produce the same effects as laughter 
C. pain can be reduced by laughter 
D. laughter is the best medicine 
48.The students who       tolerated the pain for the longest time .
A .listened to different radio programs
B .slept in the room 
C. don’t have stress of pain 
D .listened to a funny program
49.The underlined word “diminish” is similar to       .
A. test    B .stop     C. reduce    D. find 
50. Doctors hold laughter clinics _________. 
A .to give better condition to their patients 
B .in order to improve patients’ health 
C .to make patients smile   
D. to prove smile and laughter have the same effect

Prolonging human life has increased the size of the human population. Many people alive today would have died of childhood diseases if they had been born 100 years ago. Because more people live longer, there are more people around at any given time. In fact, it is a decrease in death rates, not an increase in birthrates, that has led to the population explosion.

Prolonging human life has also increased the dependency load. In all societies, people who are disabled or too young or too old to work are dependent on the rest of society to provide for them. In hunting and gathering cultures, old people who could not keep up might be left behind to die. In times of famine, infants might be allowed to die because they could not survive if their parents starved, where as if the parents survived they could have another child. In most contemporary(当代的) societies, people feel a moral obligation to keep people alive whether they can work or not. We have a great many people today who live past the age at which they want to work or are able to work; we also have rules which require people to retire at a certain age. Unless these people were able to save money for their retirement, somebody else must support them. In the United States many retired people live on social security checks which are so little that they must live in near poverty. Older people have more illnesses than young or middle-aged people; unless they have wealth or private or government insurance, they must often “go on welfare” if they have a serious illness.

When older people become senile (衰老的) or too weak and ill to care for themselves, they create grave problems for their families. In the past and in some traditional cultures, they would be cared for at home until they died. Today, with most members of a household working or in school, there is often no one at home who can care for a sick or weak person. To meet this need, a great many nursing homes and convalescent (疗养的) hospitals have been built. These are often profit making organizations, although some are sponsored by religious and other nonprofit groups. While a few of these institutions are good, most of them are simply “dumping (倒垃圾的) grounds” for the dying in which “care” is given by poorly paid, overworked, and under skilled personnel.

71. The author believes that the population explosion results from _______.

A. an increase in birthrates                          B. the industrial development

C. a decrease in death rates                          D. human beings’ cultural advances

72. It can be inferred from the passage that in hunting and gathering cultures _______.

A. it was a moral responsibility for the families to keep alive the aged people who could not work

B. the survival of infants was less important than that of their parents in times of starvation

C. old people were given the task of imparting the cultural wisdom of the tribe to new generations

D. death was celebrated as a time of rejoicing for an individual freed of the hardships of life

73. According to the passage, which of the following statements about the old people in the  United States is true?

A. Many of them live on social security money which is hardly enough.

B. Minority of them remain in a state of near poverty after their retirement.

C. When they reach a certain age, compulsory retirement is necessary and beneficial.

D. With the growing inflation, they must suffer more from unbearable burdens than ever.

74. The phrase “this need” in paragraph 3 refers to ________.

A. prolonging the dying old people’s lives

B. reducing the problems caused by the retired people

C. making profits through caring for the sick or weak people

D. taking care of the sick or weak people

75. Which of the following best describes the author’s attitude toward most of the nursing homes and convalescent hospitals?

A. Sympathetic.           B. Approving.          C. Optimistic.        D. Critical.

If you do not use your arms or your legs for some time, they become weak. When you start using them again, they slowly become strong again. Everybody knows this. Yet there are many people who do not seem to know that one’s memory works in the same way. When someone says that he has a good memory, he really means that he keeps his memory in practice by exercising it regularly. When someone else says that his memory is poor, he really means that he does not give it enough chance to become strong.
If a friend complains that his arms are weak, we know that it is his own fault. But if he tells us that he has a poor memory, many of us think that his parents are to blame, or that he is just unlucky, and few of us realize that it is really his own fault. Not all of us can become very strong or very clever, but all of us can improve our memory by the same means — practice.
Have you ever noticed that people who cannot read or write usually have a better memory than those who can? Why is this? Of course, because people who can’t read or write have to remember things: they cannot write them down in a little notebook. They have to remember dates, prices, names, songs and stories, so their memory is exercised all the time.
So if you want a good memory, learn from those who cannot read or write: practice remembering.
【小题1】According to the passage, few people know that _____.

If English is not your first language, it is a good idea to take English language classes to improve your written and spoken communication skills. There are many ways to learn English. You can learn from a book, a DVD, on the Internet or by attending classes. One of the most successful ways to improve your English is to join a course in a country where English is widely spoken. The more you practice, the more you will learn. But why learn the English language? English is an important language for anyone who is planning to travel or become involved in business.

Many people love travelling, but if their English is poor, it can be difficult to understand signs, read directions and make themselves understood. Before travelling, it is important to understand the culture and customs of the places you visit. Learning basic English before you travel will help you to understand these customs and avoid mistakes that could be embarrassing. When you are travelling, you will also enjoy meeting new people. If you can speak English, you will have a better chance of being able to communicate with the people you meet. Many of your new friends will speak English and others will have English as a second language. Without English, your friendships will be limited as you travel around the world.

If you are involved in business, it is important to be able to communicate in English. The Internet, world travel and modern communication systems have made the world seem like a much smaller place. These days business people interact with customers and other business people from all over the world. That makes your English language skills more important than ever. There are many English language courses that major in business communications. Improving your English skills is one of the best things you could ever do to increase your chances of business success.

1.What kind of people is English important to according to the passage?

A．Travelers.         B．Teachers.          C．Students.          D．Language experts.

2.Which of the following is the best way to learn English well?

A．Travelling around the world with English-speakers.

B．Taking a course in an English-speaking country.

C．Learning from all kinds of books or DVDs.

D．Learning on the Internet by yourselves.

3.According to the passage, which of the following is NOT the aim of learning basic English?

A．To research the causes of cultural differences.

B．To understand the customs of your destination.

C．To avoid embarrassing mistakes on your journey.

D．To have more opportunities to communicate with others.

4. What is the main idea of the third paragraph?

A．The more you practice, the more you will learn.

B．Doing business helps to improve your communication skills.

C．English is important for anyone who is involved in business.

D．The Internet has made the world become smaller and smaller.

5.We can infer from the passage that _____.

A．learning English well will make you achieve goals more easily

B．learning English only aims at achieving business success

C．without learning English, your friendships will be limited wherever you are

D．you needn’t learn English if you don’t want to travel

C
If you have to miss a meal a day, which meal will cause you fewest health problems if you don’t eat it? If you have to make a decision of this type, most people (especially very busy people) will choose to skip breakfast.
However, many experts in the field of health consider breakfast ( the meal which “break” you “fast” ) to be the most important  meal of the day. If we eat a good breakfast, they say, we will have the energy and nutrients (营养) we need to begin our working day with vigor(活力) and stay hopeful with good honor. However, many people skip breakfast or substitute a cup of coffee for a well balanced meal. What happens if we ignore the importance of breakfast?
One recent study conducted in the United States tested a large number of people. Participants(参加者) included both males and females who ranged in age from 12 to 83. The results showed that if a person eats an adequate(丰富的) breakfast, he or she will work more efficiently(效率高地) and more productively than if he or she skips breakfast or eats a very poor breakfast. This fact appears to be especially true if a person’s work involves mental(脑力的) activities. The study showed that if school-children eat fruit, eggs, bread and milk before going to school, they will learn more quickly and will be able to concentrate on their lessons for a longer period of time than if their breakfast is inadequate(不丰富).
The study also showed that contrary to what people believe, if you skip breakfast, you will not lose weight. This is because people become so hungry if they skip breakfast that they eat too much for lunch and end up gaining weight instead of losing. So remember, if you want to lose weight, skipping breakfast will not help you. You will likely lose more weight if you decrease your other meals.
【小题1】 According to experts, breakfast is the most important meal of the day because _____.