Do you want to live a happier, less stressful (有压力的) life?
Try laughing for no reason at all. That’s how thousands of people start their day at Laughter Clubs around the world – and many doctors now think that having a good laugh might be one of the best ways to stay healthy.
The first Laughter Club was started in Mumbai, India, in 1995 by Dr Madan Kataria. “Young children laugh about 300 times a day. Adults laugh between 7 and 15 times a day,” says Dr Kataria. “Everyone’s naturally good at laughing – it’s the universal language. We want people to feel happy with their lives.” There are now more than 500 Laughter Clubs in India and over 1,300 worldwide.
Many doctors are also interested in the effects (效果) of laughter on our health. According to a 5 – year study in the body. Laughter improves our health against illness by about 40%.
So, what happens at a Laughter Club? I went along to my nearest club in South London to find out. I was quite nervous at the beginning of the class, to be honest – I wasn’t interested in laughing with a group of strangers, and I was worried about looking stupid. Our laughter teacher told us to clap our hands and say “ho ho ho, ha ha ha,” while looking at each other. However, our bodies can’t tell the difference between fake laughter and real laughter, so they still produce the same healthy effects.
Surprisingly, it works! After ten minutes everybody in the room was laughing for real – and some people just couldn’t stop! At the end of the class I was surprised by how relaxed and comfortable I felt. So if you’re under stress, then start laughing. You might be very pleased with the results!

1. 1.

   In which country was the first Laughter Club started?

   1. A.
      Britain.
   2. B.
      America.
   3. C.
      Australia.
   4. D.
      India.
2. 2.

   How did the writer feel at the beginning of the class?

   1. A.
      Surprised.
   2. B.
      Pleased.
   3. C.
      Nervous.
   4. D.
      Stressful.
3. 3.

   When did the people in the club begin to laugh for real?

   1. A.
      After a few minutes.
   2. B.
      After a few hours.
   3. C.
      After a few seconds.
   4. D.
      After a few days.
4. 4.

   Which of the following is true according to the passage?

   1. A.
      Fake laughter and real laughter are both good for health.
   2. B.
      40% of the people in Laughter Clubs are good friends.
   3. C.
      Adults laugh more often than children in a day.
   4. D.
      Laughing is the best way to prevent illness.

Do you know of anyone who uses the truth to deceive (欺骗)? When someone tells you something that is true, but leaves out important in formation that should be included, he can give you a false picture.

   For example, some might say, “I just won a hundred dollars on the lottery (彩票). It was great. I took that dollar ticket back to the store and turned it in for on e hundred dollars!”

   This guy’s a winner, right? Maybe,  maybe not. We then discover that he bought $200 worth of tickets, and only on e was a winner. He’s really a big loser!

   He didn’t say anything that was false, but he left out important information on purpose. That’s called a half-truth. Half-truths are not technically lies, but they are just as dishonest.

   Some politicians often use this trick. Let’s say that during Governor Smith’s last term, her state lost one million jobs and gained three million jobs. Then she seeks another term. One of her opponents(对手) says, “During Governor Smith’s term, the state lost one million jobs!” that’s true. However, and honest statement would have been, “During Governor Smith’s term, the state had a net gain of two million jobs.”

   Advertisers(广告商) will sometimes use half-truths. It’s against the law to make false statements so they try to mislead you with the truth. An advertisement might say, “Nine out of ten doctors advised their patients to take Yucky Pills to cure toothache.” It fails to mention that they only asked ten doctors and nine of them work for the Yucky Company.

   This kind of deception happens too of often. It’s a sad fact of life: Lies are lies, and sometimes the truth can lie as well.

How much did the lottery winner lose?

 A. One hundred dollars.      B. Two hundred dollars.

 C. Three hundred dollars.     D. Four hundred dollars.

We may infer that the author believes people should _______.

 A. buy lottery tickets

B. make use of half-truths

C. not take anything at face value

D. not trust the Yucky Company

What do the underline words “net gain” in Paragraph 5 mean?

 A. final increase           B. big advantage

 C. large share             D. total saving

What can we know from the example of the Yucky Pill advertisement?

A.    False statements are easy to see through.

B.    Half-truths are often used to mislead people.

C.    Doctors like to act in advertisements.

D.    Advertisements are based on facts.

“Did he repair his bike all by himself that day?”  “No, he ___.”

A. hadn't   B.had had it repairing   C. had it being repairing   D.had Jimmy do it

“Did he repair his bike all by himself that day?”  “No, he ___.”

A. hadn't   B.had had it repairing   C. had it being repairing   D.had Jimmy do it

Did you ever think someone was scary (恐怖的)because they looked different or ate strange food? Well, they might think the same about you! One of the things we all need to do is to celebrate variety．We shouldn’t think badly of people from other cultures because they behave differently from us.

    Sometimes we treat people from other countries unfairly, because one person from that culture did something bad．Well, has your class ever been punished just because a few kids were causing trouble? Has your whole family ever been blamed for something your little sister did? It doesn’t seem fair, does it? It’s just equally unfair to blame a whole culture for what two or three people have done.

So here are some things that you can do to help yourself understand other cultures:

①Find common ground!

Just remember that even though some people look different on the outside, that doesn’t change how they are on the inside．They still have the exact same feelings!

②________________

Because someone from another culture has been mean to you, you decide to avoid everyone from that culture．Well think about it．Why are you blaming them for something they didn’t have anything to do with? Put yourself in their shoes．How would you feel? Putting yourself inside someone else’s head can be a very powerful way to understand WHY they are acting the way they are.

③Try to make friends with people from other cultures!

    You could ask them about their culture, or what it is like in their country, if they can remember, or if they have ever lived there．Try foods from their culture, or ask them about words in their language．You might be surprised at how interesting other cultures can be! You can join great discussion groups, participate in projects, and have lots of fun doing new things.

④Be aware that you’ve judged other people

If you know what you have done, it helps to make things better．Pay attention to what you think about other people．It helps.

What is mainly discussed in this passage?  

      A．Why there are differences between people   

       B．What to do to understand other cultures

      C．How people feel when they meet people from other cultures

      D．The differences between people from different cultures

Which of the following can be put into the blank behind ②?

      A．Avoid everyone from that culture!        

       B．Put all responsibilities on others!

      C．Consider oneself first!                  

       D．Don’t blame all because of one!

The underlined word “celebrate” most probably means “_______”.

       A．feel proud of            B．express ideas of    

       C．praise and enjoy          D．pay attention to

The following can be the better way to treat foreigners except_______.

      A．join their discussion groups      B．try foods from their culture

      C．avoid meeting them            D．find common ground