Laughter is a kind of universal body language that is shared by people of all nationalities, skin colors, cultures and traditions. But did you know that the ability to tell real laughter apart from fake (假的) laughter also varies among cultures?
Greg Bryant, a professor of communication at the University of California, published a study in late July. In the study, 884 people from 21 countries were asked to listen to random recordings of laughter. Some of the recordings were made up of laughs from the bottom of the heart, while others were made by people who were asked to laugh on command.
The study showed that people around the world have the ability to pick out real laughter, although their abilities vary from country to country. Residents of the Samoan Islands, were particularly good at it, correctly identifying real laughter 56 percent of the time. According to Bryant, people from smaller, less industrialized nations “are more accurate in identifying a natural smile” because they rely heavily on emotional engagement in order to predict others’ behavior and create stronger social relationships.
But how do people from different cultures detect natural laughter so easily? And what characters does real laughter have? As Professor Jessica Wolf of the University of California told the Association for Psychological Science, in real laughter, we produce qualities, such as higher pitch (音调) and volume, as well as faster bursts of no clear sounds.
By contrast, fake laughter will “sound like speech”. According to Science Daily, fake laughter is controlled by the same brain system that controls the lips and tongue. Bryant further explained that this system has active ability, saying “with this speech system, you can make a lot of different noises, including crying, laughter or scream. That’s where fake laughter comes from”.
So that? s something to think about: next time one of your friends laughs at something you say, will you be able to tell if it’s real or fake?
1.What did the study find?
A.Real laughter is produced from people’s heart.
B.People can tell real laughter from fake laughter.
C.People have trouble recognizing real laughter.
D.Laughter is a kind of universal body language in the world.
2.Why are residents of Samoan accurate in identifying natural laughter?
A.They put much emotion to knowing others.
B.They often predict others’ behaviors.
C.They aren’t well educated.
D.They have a strong social relationship.
3.What characters does real laughter have?
A.Clearer words. B.Slower speed.
C.Higher sound. D.More like a speech.
4.What can we learn about the fake laughter system?
A.It controls ears and eyes.
B.It works like speech systems.
C.It encourages people to copy others.
D.It can make people produce various noises.
Many seniors feel pressured to go straight from high school to college, but Camden Olson, who graduated from the Latin School of Chicago in the US last year, didn’t give in. She decided to spend a gap year-taking a year off before college-raising a guide dog for Guiding Eyes for the Blind in Maine. The non - profit provides trained guide dogs to blind and visually - impaired (视力障碍的) people. “This is something I’ve always wanted to do.” Olson said.
It is becoming more and more popular among American teenagers to have a gap year. Some students use the year off to figure out what they want to do: travel the world or save money for college.
Olson is using her time to follow a passion she’s had since 7th grade. For years, she kept an eye on guide dog services until she came across the opportunity at Guiding Eyes. With support from her friends, family and teachers, Olson went for it. Olson’s volunteer work centers around Derby, a one-year-old black dog.
“My job is to raise him to be well-mannered and socialized,” she said. “Guide dogs can’t be distracted. They go everywhere with their visually-impaired owner. They give a blind person a lot of support, too.”
Of course, there’s an end in sight for Derby and Olson’s close bond. When Derby celebrates his own graduation, Olson will have to say goodbye to him.
“No doubt there will be tears, but, if he passes, I will be so happy for him to become a working dog,” she said.
While some do not agree that gap years are a good choice, Olson said she’s seen major success. In fact, she’ll be attending Princeton University soon and is thinking about majoring in biology.
“I think I’m already so much more mature than I was,” she said. “So many kids come back from gap years a lot more focused and prepared.”
1.Why did Camden Olson decide to spend her gap year working for Guiding Eyes?
A.Because her parents talked her into doing it.
B.Because many of her peers had already chosen to do so.
C.Because it had been her dream for a long time.
D.Because it would help her to make her experienced in work.
2.According to Olson, guide dogs should ________.
a. not be easily distracted
b. be well-mannered and easy-going
c. know how to play some tricks for their owners
d. give their visually impaired people support
e. protect their blind people from all possible dangers
A.a, b, c B.a, b, d
C.b, c, e D.b, d, e
3.How did Olson feel when she said goodbye to Derby?
A.Quite happy. B.Sad but glad.
C.Regretful and sad. D.Nervous and disappointed.
4.What does Olson think about the idea of a gap year?
A.It makes people better prepared for the future.
B.Whether it’s good or not depends on the person.
C.Its negative side outweighs its positive side.
D.It makes sure of a student’s success at college.
In our annual Readers’ Choice Awards survey, we asked our readers to rate their favorite cities in the world for arts and culture. These cities are centers of music and dance, museums,and theaters. Here are four of them where you can find inspiration in the arts,starting with the top spot.
Rome, Italy
At its peak, the Roman Empire extended over nearly two million square miles of land across Europe, Asia Minor and North Africa. Today, that history is on display everywhere. The city’s main attractions are famous not because of tourist advertisements,but because they are really so impressive. No wonder it’s known as the Eternal City:You could spend forever here and find new artistic and cultural treasures every day.
Paris, France
Hemingway famously called Paris “a moveable feast”, but wherever you go while in the city, there is always something to see, hear, taste or feel. With some 150 museums, Paris doubles as an art history class, offering the very best of the discipline across centuries and styles.
London, United Kingdom
London is inspiration and setting for the rise of Shakespeare, Dickens, Orwell and Eliot and the breeding ground for all those iconic (标志性的) bands: The Kinks, The Clash and The Stones. London is also Banksy’s favorite canvas, home to more than 1,000 galleries, and the kind of place where you can spend a whole day in a single museum and still be ready for more when it opens the next morning.
Vienna, Austria
As we all know, Western music would be unrecognizable without Austria’s capital, which nurtured many famous musicians. It’s also the site of the Vienna Secession, a revolutionary art movement founded in 1897 by Gustav Klimt. Visitors today can see the fruits of all that creativity in the city’s 100 – odd museums.
1.Why is Rome regarded as the Eternal City?
A.It had an important role in history.
B.Its history can be seen everywhere.
C.People can easily find new art and culture.
D.People can spend money well there.
2.What does the underlined word “nurtured” in the last paragraph mean?
A.Produced. B.Affected.
C.Attracted. D.Changed.
3.Which column can we probably find the text?
A.History. B.Art.
C.Education. D.Life.
最近，你看到某英文报社正在征集主题为“如何才能受人欢迎”的短文，对此你很感兴趣。请你根据以下提示谈谈自己的想法，给该报社投稿。
要点提示：
1、衣着干净、整齐，保持微笑
2、诚实，乐于助人
3、懂得与人合作
4、其他
注意：
①词数100左右；②文章的标题和开头已为你写好，可根据内容要点适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
How to be popular
Most people would like to be popular with others, but what is the secret to achieve popularity? In fact, it is very simple.
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
When I was in high school, most of my friend had bicycles. I hoped I could also have it. One day I saw a bicycle，that was only one hundred yuan. I asked my father the money. But he said he could only give me half of the money. He should find the other half myself. So I went to sell newspapers afterschool. My father was pleased if I showed him the money a month after. He gives me the other fifty. You can imagine how much happy I was when I rode to school by my own bicycle.
单词拼写：请根据句意及首字母或括号内的汉语提示用单词的正确形式填空，一空一词。
1.I studied some Japanese at college, but I’m afraid that I’ve e_________ forgotten it now.
2.I s_________ from a bad cold the other day. It took me days to get rid of it.
3.Mary got very unhappy, for other friends i_________ her at the party.
4.He got a job in a foreign company after g____________ from university.
5.I am d____________ to finish the work ahead of time.
6.The role of the railways declined in the ___________(运输) system.
7._________(事实上), English is not so hard to learn if you put your heart into it.
8.Can you think of ways to _________(说服) him to give up the plan？
9.Every year natural’s _________(灾难)can cause heavy loss to the world.
10.Without__________(电), modern life would be very different.
