Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle viewed laughter as "a bodily exercise precious to health. " But【B1】______some claims to the contrary, laughing probably has little influence on physical fitness Laughter does【B2】______short-term changes in the function of the heart and its blood vessels,【B3】______heart rate and oxygen consumption But because hard laughter is difficult to【B4】______, a good laugh is unlikely to have【B5】______benefits the way, say, walking or jogging does.
【B6】______, instead of straining muscles to build them, as exercise does, laughter apparently accomplishes the【B7】______. Studies dating back to the 1930's indicate that laughter【B8】______muscles, decreasing muscle tone for up to 45 minutes after the laugh dies down.
Such bodily reaction might conceivably help【B9】______the effects of psychological stress. Anyway, the act of laughing probably does produce other types of【B10】______feedback that improve an individual's emotional state.【B11】______one classical theory of emotion, our feelings are partially rooted【B12】______physical reactions. It was argued at the end of the 19th century that humans do not cry【B13】______they are sad but that they become sad when the tears begin to flow.
Although sadness also【B14】______tears, evidence suggests that emotions can flow【B15】______muscular responses. In an experiment published in 1988, social psychologist Fritz Strack of the University of Würzburg in Germany asked volunteers to【B16】______a pen either with their teeththereby creating an artificial smileor with their lips, which would produce a(n)【B17】______expression. Those forced to exercise their smiling muscles【B18】______more enthusiastically to funny cartoons than did those whose mouths were contracted in a frown,【B19】______that expressions may influence emotions rather than just the other way a-round.【B20】______, the physical act of laughter could improve mood.
【B1】
A. among
B. except
C. despite
D. like
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The latest project is to take a city of around half a million inhabitants and discover exactly what raw materials go into it and what go out. The aim is to find out how much of these raw materials could be provided if a plant for recycling waste were built just outside the city. This plant would recycle not only metal such as steel, lead and copper, but also paper and rubber as well.
Another new project is being set up to discover the best ways of sorting and separating the rubbish. When this project is complete, the rubbish will be processed like this: first, it will pass through sharp metal bars which will tear open the plastic bags in which rubbish is usually packed; then it will pass through a powerful fan to separate the lightest elements from the heavy solids; after that grounders and rollers break up everything that can be broken. Finally, the rubbish will pass under magnets (磁铁), which will remove the bits of iron and steel; the rubber and plastic will then be sorted out in the final stage.
The first full-scale giant recycling plants are, perhaps, fifteen years away. Indeed, with the growing cost of transporting rubbish to more distant dumps, some big cities will be forced to build their own recycling plants before long.
The phrase "be well on with" (Line 1, Para. 1 ) most probably means ______.
A. have completed what was started
B. got ready to start
C. have achieved a great deal in
D. put an end to
Part A
Directions: Read the following three texts. Answer the questions on each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.
Like fine food, good writing is something we approach with pleasure and enjoy from the first taste to the last. And good writers, like good cooks, do not suddenly appear full-blown. Quite the contrary, just as the cook has to undergo an intensive training, mastering the skills of his trade, the writer must sit at his desk and devote long hours to achieving a style. in his writing, whatever its purpose-schoolwork, matters of business, or purely social communication. You may be sure that the more painstaking the effort, the more effective the writing, and the more rewarding.
There are still some remote places in the world where you might find a public scribe to do your business or social writing for you, for a fee. There are a few managers who are lucky enough to have the service of that rare kind of secretary who can take care of all sorts of letter writing with no more than a quick note to work from. But for most of us, if there is any writing to be done, we have to do it ourselves.
We have to write school papers, business papers or home papers. We are constantly called on to put words to paper. It would be difficult to count the number of such words, messages, letters, and re- ports put into the mails or delivered by hand, but the daily figure must be enormous. What is more, everyone who writes expects, or at least hopes, that his writing will be read. We want to arouse (引起) and hold the interest of the readers. We want whatever we write to be read, from first word to last, not just thrown into some "letters-to-be-read" file (档案) or into a wastepaper basket. This is the reason we bend our efforts toward learning and practicing the skills of interesting, effective writing.
In this passage, good writing is-compared to fine food because ______.
A. both writers and cooks have to work long hours every day
B. both are essential to life
C. both writers and cooks can earn a good living
D. both are enjoyable
In only two decades Asian Americans have become the fastest-growing U. S. minority (少数民族 ). As their children began moving up through the nation's schools, it became clear that a new class of academic achievers was emerging. Their achievements are reflected in the nation's best universities, where mathematics, science and engineering departments have taken on a decidedly Asian character. This special liking for mathematics and science is partly explained by the fact that Asian--American students who began their educations abroad arrived in the U. S. , with a solid grounding in mathematics but little or no knowledge of English. They are also influenced by the promise of a good job after college. Asians feel there will be less unfair treatment in areas like mathematics and science because they will be judged more objectively. And the return on the investment in education is more immediate in something like engineering than with an arts degree.
Most Asian-American students owe their success to the influence of parents who are determined that their children take full advantage of what the American educational system has to offer. Ah effective measure of parental attention is homework. Asian parents spend more time with their children than American parents do, and it helps. Many researchers also believe there is something in Asian culture that breeds success, such as ideals that stress family values and emphasize education.
Both explanations for academic success worry Asian Americans because of fears that they feed a typical racial (种族的) image. Many can remember when Chinese, Japanese and Filipino immigrants (移民) were the victims of social isolation. Indeed, it was not until 1952 that laws were laid down giving all Asian immigrants the right to citizenship.
While making tremendous achievements at college, Asian-American students ______.
A. feel they are mistreated because of limited knowledge of English
B. are afraid that their academic successes bear a strong Asian character
C. still worry about unfair treatment in society
D. generally feel it a shame to have to depend on their parents
In the United States, most elderly couples would like to live ______.
A. with their son's family
B. with their daughter's family
C. independently
D. with their grandchildren