Kataria is the founder of the worldwide laughter movement. The celebration of World Laughter Day is a positive activity for world peace and is intended to build up a global sense of brotherhood and friendship through laughter. The first “World Laughter Day” gathering took place in Mumbai, India, on 11th January, 1998. 12,000 members from India and international Laughter Clubs attended it. Now there are over 5,000 Laughter Clubs worldwide on all 5 continents.

“HAPPY—DEMIC” was the first World Laughter Day gathering outside India. It took place on 9th January, two years after the Mumbai gathering. In Copenhagen, Denmark, more than 10,000 people gathered at Town Hall Square. The event went into Guinness Book of World Records. “World Laughter Day” is now organized on the first Sunday of May every year. Hundreds of people gather worldwide on that day to laugh together.

Today, many people fear widespread international terrorism. The world has never faced so much unrest before. People are at war within themselves. Laughter is a universal language, which has the ability to unite humanity without religion. Laughter can build a common connection between various religions and create a new world order. The idea may sound over -ambitious(野心太大的), and maybe it is. But maybe it is not. It is our deep belief that laughter and only laughter can unite the world, building up a global sense of brotherhood and friendship.

Studies also say that laughter helps your body do the following: lower blood pressure; lighten depression; reduce stress; work out the heart, especially for those who are unable to perform physical exercise. So in life, when you can laugh, you should laugh loudly and with your entire body-because it’s good for you.

1.The purpose of celebrating World Laughter Day is ________.

A．to build up a global sense of brotherhood and friendship through laughter

B．to build a common connection between various religions

C．to reduce stress and lighten depression

D．to lower blood pressure

2.The first World Laughter Day gathering outside India took place________.

A．on 11th January, 1998                    B．on the first Sunday of May

C．on 9th January, 1996                     D．on 9th January, 2000

3.The author’s attitude towards laughter movement is ________.

A．positive           B．negative          C．uninterested       D．objective

4.The passage is mainly about ________.

A．World Laughter Day and its significance

B．the worldwide laughter movement

C．a universal language

D．laughter.

     An allergy (过敏反应) is a strong reaction to a substance. Many things can cause allergies. The most common cause is pollen (花粉), which is usually produced by trees in the spring, grasses in the summer and weeds in the fall, as part of their reproductive process.

     Other causes include organisms, chemicals, plants and dead skin particles (微粒) from dogs and cats can also cause allergic reactions. So can insect stings and some food.

     The most common kind of allergic reactions is itchy (痒的), watery eyes and a blocked or watery nose. Allergies can also cause red, itchy skin. Some reactions can be life-threatening, for example, when breathing passages become blocked.

     It is not always easy to avoid allergies. Drugs may offer an effective treatment. Another treatment used in some cases is called immunotherapy (免疫疗法). A patient is injected with small amounts of the allergy-causing substance. The idea is that larger and larger amounts are given over time until the patient develops a resistance in his body.

     In the United States, experts estimate that up to 8% of young children have food allergies. Every year these allergies cause about 30,000 cases with severe reactions that require immediate treatment. It can result in breathing trouble and in some cases death. It is said that about 100 to 200 people will die. It says most of the reactions are caused by peanuts and tree nuts like walnuts.

      People can also be allergic to medicines. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology says about 10% of bad reactions to commonly used medicines are allergic. In other words, a person’s immune system overreacts and produces an allergic reaction. The most common reactions include skin rashes (皮疹), itching, breathing problems and swelling in areas such as the face.

Allergies seldom occur in winter because ______.

  A. plants don’t flower in cold weather      B. people usually wear thick clothes

  C. pollen is active below freezing point     D. the weather is not too cold for viruses

What will happen if one’s breathing passages get blocked?

  A. It is nothing serious.                 B. One’s life is at risk.

  C. One has to be sent to hospital.         D. One is sure to breathe easily.

According to immunotherapy, the patient is supposed to ______.

  A. take some medicines to produce antibodies

  B. have immediate operations

  C. be given the allergy-causing substance until he develops a resistance

  D. be exposed to enough allergy-causing substances

The best title would be “________”.

  A. The ABCs of Allergies                 B. The Cause of Allergies

  C. The Treatment of Allergies              D. The Prevention of Allergies

[1] Every year, whenever the Spring Festival arrives, a lot of Chinese people cannot wait to go home. They queue for long hours in front of the ticket offices in railway stations, or do whatever they can in order to get a ticket. They tolerate the long journey on the train only to want to ____________ with their near and dear ones.

[2] According to the Beijing Youth Daily, most Chinese celebrate the Spring Festival not only because they want to follow tradition, there are also some practical reasons to explain Chinese people's fever for the holiday. Compared with one's workplace, home provides a more humane environment for one to relax oneself.

[3] Society may do with or without you, but at home, you become unique and indispensable. You may be the father or mother, daughter or son, grandfather or grandmother in the family and the family will be incomplete if anyone is absent, because every member in the family is bound together, and everyone in the family is pleased with the feeling that he or she is unique and irreplaceable.

[4] In addition, family provides an ideal environment for one to fully relax oneself. At home, one can take one's time to do whatever he or she wants, and one can spend money whenever one likes. In society, however, one needs to do everything fast and with high efficiency, because society always requires efficiency and maximum profits. Such company principles make people merely a tool in modern society.

[5] Chinese people's strong desire for the Spring Festival shows that they feel oppressed and have a sense of predicament (困境) of existence in modern society. The Spring Festival provides a chance for them to escape from such anxiety and treasure the long-lost tradition of community spirit. With the Spring Festival, people can find back the warm, family atmosphere often seen in days gone by.

1.What's the passage mainly talking about? (Please answer within 10 words.)

_____________________________________________________________________

2.Fill in the blanks with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence.  (Please answer within 10 words. )

_____________________________________________________________________

3.Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one?

You may not be a necessary part in society, but in your family, you are very important and no one else can take the place of you.

_____________________________________________________________________

4.Do you think home is important for Chinese to celebrate the Spring Festival?  Why or why not? (Please answer within 30 words.)

_____________________________________________________________________

5.Translate the underlined sentence in the last paragraph into Chinese.

_____________________________________________________________________

When we think about giving help to developing countries, we often think about giving money so that these countries can build schools and hospitals, buy food and medicine, or find clean water supplies. These seem to be the most important basic needs of the people we are trying to help. However, it's far from enough. Ladies and gentlemen, we've got to come up with some better ideas to help them.

I was very surprised, then, when I read about a plan to make cheap laptop computers for children in developing countries. A man called Nicholas Negroponte invented a cheap laptop computer and he planed to produce a lot and sell them to the children in developing countries at a low price after he visited a school in Cambodia. The laptop will be covered in rubber so that it is very strong and won't be damaged easily. The idea is that these computers will help the children's education as they will be able to surf the Internet. By improving children's education they should help people to find their own solutions to their problems in the long term.

Another idea to help children in developing countries is to recycle old mobile phones so that they can be used again. In the UK, and probably in many other countries too, millions of mobile phones are thrown away every year. The waste created by throwing away these old phones is very bad for the environment, so it seems to be an excellent idea to recycle them. In this way we will be able to achieve two important goals at the same time. We will reduce the waste we produce and help others. In other words, we will be able to 'kill two birds with one  stone’, and that is always a good thing.

1.It's an excellent idea to recycle old mobile phones because         .

A．it reduces waste and can help others

B．it prevents waste and can earn lots of money

C．it can send the waste produced by developed countries to other countries

D．it is good for the environment and very educative for phone users

2.The author gives the example of Mr. Negroponte’s cheap computers

A．to show what high technology can bring us

B．to show the kindness of people in the developed countries

C．to show how to find business opportunities in developing countries

D．to give an example of how to help developing countries

3.Where does this passage probably come from?         .

A．A newspaper.                          B．A magazine.

C．A lecture.                             D．An advertisement.