2012年03月06日10:25 来源：新东方在线 【发表评论】
With all the wars， fighting and sadness in the world today， it's not only necessary， but also essential to have a good sense of humor just to help us get through each and every day of our lives.Putting a smile on someone's face when you know they are feeling down in the dumps （ 处于沮丧中）， as the saying goes， makes me feel good and warms my heart.
How would you feel if you could not joke around with your wife， husband， child， co-worker neighbor， close friend， or even just someone that you are standing in line with at your comer store？ I am always saying things that make others smile or laugh， even if I don't know the person I'm joking around with.My Grandma always found humor in everything she did， even if it was the hardest job anyone could imagine.This not only relieves stress in any situation， but also is common courtesy （礼貌） to speak to others that are around you.
I know of a few people that don't have a funny bone in their bodies， as they say.Everyone around them could be rolling on the floor after hearing a great joke and they would sit there without the slightest smile on their face.They don't get the joke that makes others laugh.I am busting a gut while they just sit there， looking at me as if I were from outer space.How can people not get a really funny joke？
Laughing is essential to keep your stress levels under control.Without humor we would find ourselves with a lot of psychological problems， or on a lot of medications to keep us from going crazy.There is too much sadness in this present world.It drives people crazy.We all need to find a way to bypass the sadness and bring a little light into our lives.So， I believe our best medicine is to get together and tell some jokes and have some fun laughing together.
1.According to the author， humor is useful in the aspect that ____________.
A.it makes people more confident
B.it can pick up people' s spirits
C.it can help get rid of the cruelty in the world
D.it can help people get on well with others
2.The author answers the question in the second paragraph with ___________.
A.facts and descriptions B.evidence and argument
C.examples and conclusion D.stories and persuasion
3.The phrase "busting a gut" in the third paragraph can be replaced by __________.
A.explaining carefully B.speaking loud
C.keeping silent D.laughing hard
4.In writing the passage， the author mainly intends to __________.
A.talk about his own understanding of humor
B.encourage people to be humorous in daily life
C.introduce a practical way to get through daily life
D.convince people of the power of being optimistic about life
5.What is the author' s attitude towards the present world？
A.Positive. B.Critical.
C.Satisfied. D.Indifferent.
答案：
1. B.
解析：从文章第一段和最后一段可以总结出答案。面对生活中的不如意，保持一种幽默精神可以让人觉得心情更好。
2. C.
解析：从第二段后半部分可以看出作者举了她的 Grandma的例子，然后最后一句话又得出了结论。
3. D.
解析：理解这个词组需要结合上下文。本段讲的主要是不具有幽默感的一些人在听到很幽默的笑话后也不笑，和那些很幽默很爱笑的人做了一个对比。理解到这点就可以选出正确的答案了。
4. B.
解析：本题主要考察的是作者写作的意图。读完文章，不难发现作者是想让大家在生活中多笑笑，笑对生活中的困难和烦恼。
5. B.
解析：从文中最后一段不难看出，作者觉得现在的世界有太多的悲伤，有时候甚至可以把人逼疯，所以作者对现在的世界是持一种批判的态度。Have you winterized your horse yet？ Even though global warming may have made our climate more mild， many animals are still hibernating（冬眠） .It's too bad that humans can't hibernate. In fact， as a species， we almost did.
Apparently， at times in the past， peasants in France liked a semi-state of human hibernation. So writes Graham Robb， a British scholar who has studied the sleeping habits of the French peasants. As soon as the weather turned cold people all over France shut themselves away and practiced the forgotten art of doing nothing at all for months on end.
In line with this， Jeff Warren， a producer at CBC Radio's The Current， tells us that the way we sleep has changed fundamentally since the invention of artificial（人造的） lighting and the electric bulb.
When historians began studying texts of the Middle Ages， they noticed something referred to as "first sleep"， which was not clarified， though. Now scientists are telling us our ancestors most likely slept in separate periods. The business of eight hours' uninterrupted sleep is a modern invention.
In the past ， without the artificial light of the city to bathe in， humans went to sleep when it became dark and then woke themselves around midnight. The late night period was known as "The Watch". It was when people actually kept watch against wild animals， although many of them simply moved around or visited family and neighbors.
According to some sleep researchers， a short period of insomnia（失眠） at midnight is not a disorder .It is normal. Humans can experience another state of consciousness around their sleeping， which occurs in the brief period before we fall asleep or wake ourselves in the morning .This period can be an extraordinarily creative time for some people .The impressive inventor， Thomas Edison ， used this state to hit upon many of his new ideas.
Playing with your sleep rhythms can be adventurous， as anxiety may set in. Medical science doesn't help much in this case. It offers us medicines for a full night's continuous sleep， which sounds natural ； however， according to Warren's theory，it is really the opposite of what we need.
1. The example of the French peasants shows the fact that________.
A. people might become lazy as a result of too much sleep
B. there were signs of hibernation in human sleeping habits
C. people tended to sleep more peacefully in cold weather
D. winter was a season for people to sleep for months on end
2. The late night was called "The Watch"because it was a time for people______.
A. to set traps to catch animals
B. to wake up their family and neighbors
C. to remind others of the time
D. to guard against possible dangers
3. What does the author advise people to do ？
A. Sleep in the way animals do.
B. Consult a doctor if they can't sleep.
C. Follow their natural sleep rhythm.
D. Keep to the eight-hour sleep pattern.
4. What is the author's purpose in writing the passage？
A. To give a prescription for insomnia.
B. To urge people to sleep less.
C. To analyze the sleep pattern of modern people.
D. To throw new light on human sleep.
答案：
1. B.
解析：文章第二段的例子本身不是重点，重点是例子要说明的问题。第二段法国农民的例子，是为了给第一段最后一句话做支撑，以说明人类的睡眠习惯中也有冬眠的迹象。
2. D.
解析：快速定位到第五段。在人们发明电灯之前，人们在天色变黑的时候就睡觉了，然后在午夜起来，因为深夜是守望的时间，要时刻关注着野兽的靠近。
由此，可知"The Watch"是防备危险的时刻。
3. C.
解析：本题的答案出现在文章的最后一段。作者指出自然的睡眠习惯可以让我们睡得很好。所以得出结论作者建议我们按自己的自然睡眠习惯来休息。
4. D.
解析：本题主要考察的是作者写作的意图。读完全文，结合首段、尾段以及每段首、尾句，不难发现作者是在对人类的睡眠进行一种新的阐述。
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