What is the greatest reward of being alive? Is it chocolate, ice cream, tropical vacations, hugs from children, a perfect night’s sleep, or the satisfaction of a job well done? 1. . But one supreme pleasure that includes all people is laughter.
Little can compare to the feeling of a deep, complete, heartfelt time of laughing. 2. , no matter your age, wealth, race, or living situation.
3. . Research finds that humor can help you cope better with pain, improve your immune(免疫) system, reduce stress, even help you live longer. Laughter, doctors and psychologists agree, is an basic part of a healthy, happy life.
As Mark Twain once said, “Studying humor is like dissecting (解剖) a frog. You may know a lot but you end up with a dead frog.” Nonetheless, we’re giving it a try. Here are some tips for getting — or growing — your sense of humor, based partly on the idea that you can’t be funny if you don’t understand what funny is.
First, regain your smile. 4. , but they do live in the same neighborhood.
Treat yourself to a comedy festival. Rent humorous movies. Reward yourself frequently with the gift of laughter, Hollywood style. 5. . Then find the humor in them. Now practice telling stories describing them in a humorous way.
Read the comics(连环画) every day and cut out the ones that remind you of your life.
Every night at dinner, make family members share one funny or even embarrassing moment of their day.
a) Life is also healthier
b) Recall several of the most embarrassing moments in your life
c) A thousand people, a thousand different answers
d) Life is good when laughter is frequent
e) Humor is everywhere
f) A smile and a laugh aren’t the same thing
g) Humor is a way to make yourself relaxed from stress
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.
1. According to the passage, few people know that _____.
A. arms or legs become weak if they are not used for some time
B. when they start using their arms or legs again, they slowly become strong again
C. a person’s memory becomes weak if he does not practice remembering things
D. it is their own fault if their arms or legs are weak
2.The author thinks that if a person has a poor memory, ____.
A. it is his own fault B. his parents are to blame
C. he is just unlucky D. his arms must be weak
3. According to the passage, we learn that all of us can ____.
A. become very strong B. become very clever
C. improve our memory by practicing D. know how to improve our memory
It’s great fun to explore new places—it feels like an adventure, even when you know you’re not the first to have been there. But make sure not to get lost or waste time going round in circles.
·Do the map reading if you’re being driven somewhere. It’ll be easier if you keep turning the map so it follows the direction you’re traveling in. Keep looking ahead so that you can give the driver lots of warning before having to make a turn, or you’ll have to move to the back seat.
·Get a group of friends together and go exploring. You’ll need a good map, a compass(指南针), a raincoat, a cellphone to call for help in case you get lost, and a bit of spare cash for emergencies. Tell someone where you’re going before you set out and let them know what time you expect to be back. The test is not in getting lost, not in seeing how fast you can go, so always stick together, waiting for slower friends to catch up.
See if your school or a club organizes orienteering(越野识途比赛) activities, in which you need a map and a compass to find your way. This can be done as a sport, with teams trying to find the way from A to B (and B to C, etc) in the fastest time, or simply as a spare-time activity. Either way, it’s not only good fun, but a great way to keep fit.
1. Sitting beside the driver, you should _______.
A. direct the driver when necessary
B. look ahead to see where there’s a turn
C. move to the back seat if feeling uncomfortable
D. Keep looking at the map to find a place to go to
2. Why do you need to tell someone your exploration plan before setting out?
A. To get information when in danger.
B. To be saved in case of an accident.
C. To share the fun with him/her in exploration.
D. To tell him/her what’s going on with the group members.
3. Orienteering activities can _______.
A. make people work fast B. help people stay healthy
C. help people organize other activities D. make people get prepared for sports.
4. The text mainly talks about _____.
A. the fun of exploration B. what to bring for exploration
C. the way to use a map in exploration D. how to prevent getting lost in exploration.
Benjamin Franklin only studied in school for two years. But he liked to read and write very much. Once he discussed a question with his friend in letters. His father found the letters and read them. He felt Ben did not express himself well. Nor did Ben make his meaning clear. He agreed that his father was right, From then on, he paid more attention to the style of his writing so that he could write better.
About that time he bought a copy of the British periodical(周刊) called The Spectator (《观察家》). He read it over and over. He thought the writing excellent, and wished, if possible, to write in the same style.
With this in mind, he studied some of the stories and made a note of the thought in each sentence. Then, a few days later, without looking at the magazine, he tried to write the stories. He tried to express each thought as fully as it had been expressed before. Then he compared his writing with the magazine. He found some of his faults in the compositions.
In this way he discovered he needed to know many more words. He felt that writing poetry would help him since that needed to use many different words which had the same meaning. So he turned some of the stories into poems; and after a time, he wrote them as stories again. He insisted on doing this for a long time.
He learned much from his efforts and went on to practise his writing. Then he became the first famous writer in American history.
1.Benjamin liked ______ very much when he was ______ .
A. languages; young B. writing; young C. writing; old enough D. languages; old enough
2.What did his father do to him?
A. He found his son’s letters written very well
B. He felt his son expressed himself very well
C. He told his son what he wrote wasn’t so good
D. He bought a copy of The Spectator for him
3.How did Benjamin practise writing?
(1) He studied the stories in the magazine and made notes.
(2) He rewrote some of the stories and tried to express their thought fully.
(3) He turned some stories into poems, and then turned them back again.
(4) He tried hard to publish his poems in the periodical The Spectator.
A. (1)(2)(3) B. (2)(3)(4) C. (1)(3)(4) D.(1)(2)(4)
The great 46 scientist, Charles Darwin, was born on February 12, 1809. His father was a well-known doctor, and 47 that his son also would become a doctor.
As a boy, Charles liked to go for walks in the fields and 48 , 49 nature and comparing what he saw with everything he had read in natural science books. He was fond 50 collecting animal and plant specimens 51 insects, birds, flowers and leaves.
At sixteen, Charles 52 Edinburgh University 53 . But he was interested in 54 . Then he was sent to Cambridge University, 55 he graduated in1831.
56 he heard that the ship Beagle(贝格尔号) was 57 to South America and wanted a naturalist. His biology professor advised him to go. He said the journey would be just the thing for Charles. So the Beagle left England in December 1831, Charles Darwin was 58 .
The expedition 59 almost five years. The Beagle 60 the waters near the east and west 61 of South America, and many other places. He 62 all kinds of plants and animals, which he sent home from the 63 he visited.
After returning from the expedition, Darwin continued his studies of changes in nature. Darwin understood that plants and animals do not 64 the same, that they always change.
By 1859 Darwin had finished his famous book “The Origin of Species”. It made a great noise in the word of science. Darwin was attacked by the 65 and even by some scientists. But later, more and more scientists agreed with him.
Darwin tirelessly continued his scientific studies until he died on April 19,1882.
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1. |
A. American |
B. British |
C. German |
D. Italian |
|
2. |
A. hoped |
B. wanted |
C. wished |
D. required |
|
3. |
A. woods |
B. forests |
C. mountains |
D. countryside |
|
4. |
A. noticing |
B. watching |
C. looking over |
D. seeing |
|
5. |
A. at |
B. of |
C. with |
D. in |
|
6. |
A. for example |
B. like as |
C. such as |
D. like |
|
7. |
A. had been sent to |
B. was sent to |
C. was sent for |
D. had been sent for |
|
8. |
A. to find machine |
B. to study medicine |
C. to make medicine |
D. to study machine |
|
9. |
A. nature scene |
B. social history |
C. natural history |
D. biological lives |
|
10. |
A. from where |
B. in which |
C. from which |
D. at which |
|
11. |
A. Late |
B. Later |
C. After that |
D. From then on |
|
12. |
A. going on a trip |
B. traveling about |
C. about to a journey |
D. making a journey |
|
13. |
A. at board |
B. in ship |
C. on board |
D. on trip |
|
14. |
A. was lasted |
B. had lasted |
C. lasted |
D. had kept |
|
15. |
A. watched |
B, studied |
C. explored |
D. researched |
|
16. |
A. parts |
B. land |
C. coasts |
D. beaches |
|
17. |
A. got |
B. collected |
C. caught |
D. fed |
|
18. |
A. ports |
B. cities |
C. places |
D. towns |
|
19. |
A. remain |
B. show |
C. mean |
D. make |
|
20. |
A. government |
B. relatives |
C. Church |
D. professors |
--How are the things in your village?
--Modern farming methods have been brought ______ and the villagers are _______ now than before.
A. up…well off B. in… badly off C. about…worse off D. in…better off
