10. What is the small-world theory mainly about?

　 　A. How far Ben is away from Dr. King.　 　　　　　　 B. How many people one can get to know.

　 　C. How people are connected in the world.　　　　　　 D. How the degrees of separation are set up.

9. What is the meaning of “degrees of separation” in Paragraph 2?

　 A. The chain to connect people.　　　　 B. The relations between people.

　 C. The steps of knowing strangers.　　 　　 D. The separation between strangers.

8. Ben is two degrees away from __________.

　 A. Jimmy Carter　　 B. John Carter　　 C. Amy　　 D. Mark

7. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

　 A. Fake laughter and real laughter are both good for health.

　 B. 40% of the people in Laughter Clubs are good friends.

　 C. Adults laugh more often than children in a day.　　　 D. Laughing is the best way to prevent illness.

C

　 Each year Ben is glad when school is closed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Ben knows that this day honors an important man, but Ben does not feel connected to him. However, the small-world theory (理论) connects Ben to Dr. King. Ben’s mom (0) has a close friend, Amy (1). Amy’s uncle, Mark (2), once met and spoke to John Carter (3), the son of President Jimmy Carter (4). Jimmy Carter knew Dr. King (5). In a way, Ben is only “five people away” from Martin Luther King Jr.

　 　The small-world theory says that everyone in the world is connected through a short chain (链条) of people they know. Another name of this chain is degrees of separation. Each degree is a step that separates a person from someone he or she does not know. There are zero degrees of separation between a person and the people he or she knows directly. This means that there are zero degrees between Ben and his mom. There is one degree of separation when just one person separates someone from a person he or she does not know. Ben knows his mom, but he hasn’t met her close friend Amy. Therefore, Ben is one degree away from Amy. As the chain continues, Amy’s uncle, Mark, is two degrees. John Carter is three degrees, and his father is four degrees. Dr. King is five degrees away from Ben. The theory says that there are no more than six degrees of separation between any two people in the world.

　 The small-world theory has a lot to do with math. The theory assumes (假定) that each person knows 100 people. Each one of those 100 people knows 50 different people. Each of those 50 people knows another 50 people, and so on. When someone continues the calculation to six degrees, it is like this: 100 × 50 × 50 × 50 × 50 × 50 = 31.25 × 10⁹. This number is greater than 31 billion (a billion = a thousand million). There are over 6 billion people in the world. These numbers show it is possible that six degrees of separation could include everyone in the world.

　 Does the small-world theory work? No one has ever proved it. Maybe the theory just invites people to think a little more about their places in the world.

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

　 A. After a few minutes.　 　B. After a few hours.　 　C. After a few seconds.　 　D. After a few days.

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

　 A. Surprised.　　 B. Pleased.　　 C. Nervous.　　 D. Stressful.

4. In which country was the first Laughter Club started?

　 A. Britain.　　 B. America.　　 C. Australia.　　 D. India.

3. Where can you see Sign 9?

　 A. On the playground.　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. At the school library.

　 C. Near the swimming pool.　　　　 D. In the computer room.

B

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 at the UCLA School of Medicine in California, with laughing there is less stress 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!

2. Which sign tells you not to smoke?

　 A. Sign 2.　　 B. Sign 4.　 　C. Sign 6.　　 D. Sign 8.

1. What time does the university park open in March?

　 A. At 6:00 am.　　 B. At 6:30 am.　　 C. At 8:00 am.　　 D. At 8:30 am.