雅思阅读提高方法

Patients and doctors alike have long believed in the healing (治疗) power of humor. It is claimed that humor not only affects patients’ moods, but can actually help them recover faster.

Several studies seem to support this. Patients in better spirits are known to have higher immune cell counts. Some have even claimed to have healed themselves of serious illnesses by reading comics and watching comedies.

Despite all this, many researchers are not convinced. They point out the fact that many sufferings have been known to disappear naturally, with or without a daily dose of laughter. They also say that while optimism in general does seem to be related to better health, it is hard to tell which comes first.

Humor in times of stress, however, clearly makes us feel better. On one level, it takes our minds off our troubles and relaxes us. On another, it releases powerful endorphins, a chemical produced by your body that reduces pain.

There are cases where the appreciation of a good joke is indeed directly related to a person’s health. It can show, for example, whether a person has suffered damage to one particular area of the brain: the right frontal lobe (额叶).

Scientists confirmed this by having people read jokes and asking them to choose the funniest endings from a list. Subjects with normal brains usually chose endings that were based on a relatively complex synthesis (综合) of ideas. Subjects with specifically located brain damage, however, responded only to slapstick (闹剧) endings, which did not depend on a particular context. When pressed, the brain-damaged subjects saw the logic in the correct endings. They simply did not find them funny.

Of course, humor is largely an individual matter. Next time your friend does not get one of your jokes, there is no need to accuse him of being a lamebrain. However, you might suggest that he lighten up—for the health of it.

58. We can infer from the passage that ________.

A. all researchers have agreed on the healing power of humor

B. people seldom accuse their friends of not understanding jokes

C. the author holds a positive attitude to the healing power of humor

D. reading comics will surely become a popular way of treating diseases

59. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. Many researchers are not convinced of the healing power of humor.

B. Patients in bad moods are known to have higher immune cell counts.

C. Optimism in general does seem to be related to better health.

D. People should try their best to cheer up for their good health.

60. Scientists had some people read jokes and asked them to choose the funniest endings from a list to confirm that ________.

A. the brain-damaged people are different from those with normal brains

B. a person with a normal brain usually responds to slapstick endings

C. a person suffering certain brain damage doesn’t appreciate a good joke

D. humor takes our minds off our troubles by releasing powerful endorphins

61. Which would be the best title for the passage?

A. Which comes first, humor or health? B. Humor can cure different illnesses

C. People need humor in times of stress D. Humor contributes to good health

CBC D

雅思阅读模拟练习及答案

Birthdays often involve surprises. But this year’s surprise on the birthday of the great British playwright William Shakespeare is surely one of the most dramatic.

On April 22, one day before his 441st birthday anniversary, experts discovered that one of the most recognizable portraits of William Shakespeare is a fake. This means that we no longer have a good idea of what Shakespeare looked like. "It’s very possible that many pictures of Shakespeare might be unreliable because many of them are copies of this one," said an expert from Britain’s National Portrait Gallery.

The discovery comes after four months of testing using X-rays, ultraviolet light, microphotography and paint samples. The experts from the gallery say the image—commonly known as the “Flower portrait” —was actually painted in the 1800s, about two centuries after Shakespeare’s death. The art experts who work at the gallery say they also used modern chemistry technology to check the paint on the picture. These checks found traces of paint dating from about 1814. Shakespeare died in 1616, and the date that appears on the portrait is 1609.

“We now think the portrait dates back to around 1818 to 1840. This was when there was a renewed interest in Shakespeare’s plays,” Tarnya Cooper, the gallery’s curator(馆长), told the Associated President.

The fake picture has often been used as a cover for collections of his plays. It is called the Flower portrait because one of its owners, Desmond Flower, gave it to the Royal Shakespeare Company.

“There have always been questions about the painting,” said David Howells, curator for the Royal Shakespeare Company. “Now we know the truth, we can put the image in its proper place in the history of Shakespearean portraiture.”

Two other images of Shakespeare, are also being studied as part of the investigation(调查) and the results will come out later this month.

______________________________________________________________.

1. Why this year’s surprise on the birthday of Shakespeare is dramatic?

_______________________________________________________________________________

2. Now we know what Shakespeare looked like. (T/F)

3. “Flower portrait” was actually painted using X-rays, ultraviolet light, microphotography and paint samples. (T/F)

4. In history, many people doubted the painting. (T/F)

5.Which is the best sentence to fill in the blank in the last paragraph?

A.Soon we’ll know which portrait is reliable.

B.Maybe we cannot find a real portrait of Shakespeare.

C.If the two portraits are found to be false, they will test more.

D.For now what Shakespeare really looked like will remain a mystery.