Next time you're unhappy or complaining about your life, don't turn to a cheerful comedy. You might find a tear-jerking tragedy(催人泪下的悲剧) is just the thing you need to brighten your day.
A team of researchers at Ohio State University, US, has found sad movies can make people happier, Science Daily reported last month.
Many people find tragedies make them realize how good their own lives are, the study showed.
"People seem to use tragedies as a way to reflect on the important relationships in their own lives," said Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, leader of the study. "Tragic stories often focus on themes of eternal(永恒的) love, and this leads viewers to think about their loved ones and count their good and helpful things."
In the study, researchers gathered 361 college students and showed them the 2007 movie, Alonement. The movie is about two lovers who are separated(分离) and finally die during Worid War II. Before and after the movie, the students were asked questions measuring(衡量) how happy they were with their lives. Researchers also asked them before, afier and three times during the movie to measure various emotions, including sadness.
Researchers found that the sadder students felt while watching the movie, the more likely they were to think about real people they had close relationships with in life. This increas
ed their happiness afier watching the movie. Knobloch-Westerwick explained that negative(消极的) moods make people more thoughtful.
"Positive(积极的) emotions show that everything is fine, you don't have to worry, you don't have to think about problems in your life," she said. "But negative emotions, like sadness, make you think more critically about your situation. So seeing a tragic movie may make you sad, but that will make you to think more about your own close relationships and appreciate them more."
The link between watching a tragic story and feeling better has long been recognized. The ancient Greeks even had a word for the feeling of happiness afier seeing something sad that led to the modern English word "catharsis(宣泄)".
The study also showed that relationships are a very important source of happiness in our lives, so it is no surprise that thinking about your loved ones makes you happier, researchers said.
1.Which of the following about the study of Ohio State University is NOT true?
A. Students' emotions are measured by asking questions.
B. Only sadness is measured in the study.
C. The study shows relationships are a source of happiness.
D. Those who felt sadder when watching the movie were more lik
ely to be happier after that.
2.Why are ancient Greeks mentioned in the passage?
A. To introduce the meaning of the word "Catharsis".
B. To explain the importance of knowing how to become happier.
C. To prove that they were of high intelligence and guessed its meaning.
D. To tell readers the relationship between tragedies and happiness was found long ago.
3.From Knobloch-Westerwick's explaination, we can learn that.
A. seeing tragedies makes you more thoughtful
B. positive emotions make you think more about your relationships
C. negative emotions show you have no need to think about your situation
D. after seeing comedies, you will appreciate your close relationships more
4.Which is the title of the passage?
A. There is eternal love in the world
B. Watching sad films may start smiles
C. It's useless to complain about life
D. Comedies should make way for tragedies
Honey from the African forest is not only a kind of natural sugar, it is also delicious. Most people, and many animals, like eating it. However, the only way for them to get that honey is to find a wild bees' nest and take the honey from it. Often, these nests are high up in trees, and it is difficult to find them. In parts of Africa, though, people and animals looking for honey have a strange and unexpected helper -- a little bird called a honey guide.
The honey guide does not actually like honey, but it does like the wax(蜡) in the beehives (蜂房). The little bird cannot reach this wax, which is deep inside the bees' nest. So, when it finds a suitable nest, it looks for someone to help it. The honey guide gives a loud cry that attracts the attention of both passing animals and people. Once it has their attention, it flies through the forest, waiting from time to time for the curious animal or person as it leads them tot he nest. When they finally arrive at the nest, the follower reaches in to get the delicious honey as the bird patiently waits and watches. Some of the honey, and the wax, always fall to the ground, and this is when the honey guide takes its share.
Scientists do not know why the honey guide likes eating the wax, but it is very determined (下决心) in its efforts to get it. The birds seem to be able to smell wax from a long distance away. They will quickly arrive whenever a beekeeper(养蜂者) is taking honey from his beehives, and will even enter churches when beeswax candles are being lit.
1. Why is it difficult to find a wild bees' nest?
A. It's small in size. B. It's hidden in trees.
C. It's covered with wax. D. It's hard to recognize.
2.What do the words "the follower" in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A. A bee. B. A bird C. A honey seeker. D. A beekeeper.
3. The honey guide is special in the way________.
A. it gets its food B. it goes to church
C. it sings in the forest D. it reaches into bees' nests
4.What can be the best title for the text?
A. Wild Bees B. Wax and Honey
C. Beekeeping in Africa D. Honey-Lover's Helper
Perhaps the most famous name in the world of sileni movies is Charlie Chaplin. It was in 1889 that both moving pictures and Charlie Chaplin were born. Sadly, Charlie's father died when Charlie was five, and his mother was sent to mental hospital. This left young Charlie homeless and living on the streets.,
Things seemed bad for Charlie, but he had a bright, nice character. He was pleasant and easy to like. So he managed to get small parts in Derformances around London. Then he moved to the USA in 1906, and his life took a major change for the better. He got a part in a show performing there. Seven years after his arrival in the USA, he got his first major part in a film. Charlie was a great success in the movi
e theaters. His silent, highly visual(视觉的) form of comedy was perfect for the silent films of the time. By 1915, he was making over $1,250 a week, which was a huge amount of money at that time. Charlie knew what he was good at, and he stuck to it. Even when sound could be used for movies in 1923, he continued to make silent pictures, Charlie knew that the silence was an essential part of what made his movies so funny. Charlie continued to make silent films well into the 1940s, when almost everyone else had changed to sound. Charlie, however, still remained one of the world's greatest film stars.
1.When did Charlie get his first major part in a film?
A. In 1889. B. In 1906. C. In 1913. D. In 1923.
2.The underlined word "essential" in Paragraph 2 probably means _______.
A. very boring B. very correct C. very difficult D. very important
3.From the passage we know that Charlie_______.
A. was easy to get along with
B. stopped making movi
es in 1923
C. was born and brought up in America
D. didn't produce silent films in America
4.Which could be the best title of the passage?
A. The Major Change for an Actor. B. A Great Man of Silent Movies.
C. The Beginning of Silent Movies. D. The Hard Life for A Movie Maker.
John was a very strong man.
Once he got a job of cutting wood in a forest. His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he should work.
The first day, John cut down 18 trees. "Good," the boss said, "keep it up!" John was encouraged by the words of the boss and tried harder the next day, but he could only cut down 15 trees. The third day he tried even harder, but he could only cut down 10 trees. Day af
ter day he was cutting down fewer and fewer trees.
"I must be losing my strength," John thought. He went to the boss and said that he could not understand what was going on. "When was the last time you had sharpened your axe?" the boss
asked. "Sharpened? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut more treesl" said John.
The moral of this story: While John was working hard, he didn't think about how to do his job better. Our lives are like that. We sometimes get so busy that we don't take time to sharpen our skills. Many of us never learn new skills. We think that whatever we have learned is enough. However, in some ways, sharpening our skills from time to time is the key to success.
1.When did John cut the most trees?
A. The first day. B. The second day. C. The third day. D. The fourth day.
2.John was cutting down fewer and fewer trees. He thought_______.
A. he needed to sharpen his axe B. the boss should help him
C. it was wrong to cut down trees D. he must be losing his strength
3.What can we learn from the story?
A. It is wrong to cut down trees.
B. Hard work is the only key to success.
C. It's important to take time to sharpen our skills.
D. It's a waste of time to sharpen the axe.
It was a cold winter's night. It was getting late and l was tired so I went to bed.
At about two in the morning my phone began to ring. It was from Mum. I started to feel frightened, because she only if something was wrong.1 lived in the same flat as Mum, I rushed down to see what was wrong.
The door would not open. Everything was running through my mind including Mum could be dying and I could not get into her flat. I went around to her bedroom window and could see Mum on the floor. She had heard me and to unlock the door painfully.
Then I entered the flat and what I saw was terrible. I could see Mum's leg was badly broken and it was completely the wrong
way. I rang the ambulance(救护车) and while we were waiting I tried to make Mum comfortable.
The ambulance finally arrived and I it. It was a cold freezing night. The roads were empty and . It seemed that everything was going in a slow way.
We arrived at the hospital and rushed into A&E. The doctor told me that Mum would need an the next day. After Mum fell asleep, I went home to get some sleep.
When I rang the hospital the next morning, Mum had gone to the operating r
oom. Everything was racing through my head. Is she OK? Wi
ll she be safe? Would she it through the operation? Finally that day she was fine. My mum is a very lady and I am so proud of her.
From this I have learned that you should never take family for granted(想当然), everyday every moment you have with them because in my mind family 
is the most important thing you will ever be a part of, so never, ever forget what you have.
1.A. waited B. wondered C. rang D. cared
2.A. but B. so C. unless D. because
3.A. afforded B. offered C. allowed D. managed
4.A. meeting B. facing C. receiving D. allowing
5.A. followed B. missed C. ordered D. passed
6.A. safe B. clean C. quiet D. free
7.A. experienceB. excitement C. experiment D. operation
8.A. test B. make C. push D. cut
9.A. brave B. lonely C. weak D. serious
10.A. trust B. expect C. find D. enjoy
—Can you tell me ________?
-- With Lucy’s help.
A. when you did it so well B. when did you do it so well
C. how you did it so well D. how did you do it so well
