1 . Laughing together is an important way for people to connect and bond. And though the causes of laughter can vary widely across individuals and groups, the sound of a laugh is usually recognizable between people belonging to different cultures.

But what about animals? Do they “laugh”? And are the causes of animal and human laughter alike? In humans, people may laugh when they hear a joke, or when they see something that they think is funny, though it’s unknown if animals’ intelligence includes what humans would call a sense of humor.

However, many animals produce sounds during play that are unique to that pleasant social interaction. Researchers consider such vocalizations to be similar to human laughter. Recently, scientists investigated play vocalization to see how common it was among animals. The team identified 65 species that “laughed” while playing — most were mammals (哺乳动物), but a few bird species demonstrated playful laughter too. Reports of playful laughter were notably absent in studies describing fish, perhaps because there is some question as to whether or not play exists at all in that animal group. This new study could help scientists to analyze the origins of human laughter.

But how can we identify play? Unlike fighting, play is usually repetitive and happens independently of other social behaviors, said lead study author Sasha Winkler, a doctor of biological anthropology at the University of California. When it comes to identifying it, “you know it when you see it,” Winkler told Live Science. One sign is that primates — our closest relatives — have a “play face” that is similar to the expressions of humans who are playing.

When Winkler previously worked with rhesus macaques, she had noticed that the monkeys panted (喘气) quietly while playing. Many other primates are also known to vocalize during play, she said, so a hypothesis (laughter in humans is thought to have originated during play) supported by the play-related panting laughter of many primate species was put forward.

People now still laugh during play, but we also integrate laughter into language and non-play behaviors, using laughter in diverse ways to express a range of emotions that may be positive or negative. Human laughter notably differs from other animals’ laughter in another important way: its volume. People broadcast their laughter loudly, often as a way of establishing inclusion. By comparison, when most animals laugh, the sound is very quiet — just loud enough to be heard by the laugher’s partner.

“It’s really fascinating that so many animals have a similar function of vocalization during play,” Winkler told Live Science. “But we do have these unique parts of human laughter that are also an important area for future study."

1. What is the main purpose of the passage?

A．To explain causes of animal and human laughter.

B．To assess complexities regarding animal laughter.

C．To present findings on the existence of animal laughter.

D．To analyze differences between animal and human laughter.

2. What can we learn from this passage?

A．Animal laughter is even noticeable in fish.

B．Animal laughter is hard to recognize during play.

C．People have learned to combine play with laughter.

D．People laugh loudly because they want to involve others.

3. What is probably the focus of future study on laughter?

A．Distinctive features of human laughter.

B．Different functions of animal laughter.

C．The origin and development of human laughter.

D．The relationship between animal laughter and intelligence.

2 . Technology seems to discourage slow, immersive reading. Reading on a screen, particularly a phone screen, tires your eyes and makes it harder for you to keep your place. So online writing tends to be more skimmable and list-like than print. The cognitive neuroscientist Mary Walt argued recently that this “new norm” of skim reading is producing “an invisible, game-changing transformation” in how readers process words. The neuronal circuit that sustains the brain’s capacity to read now favors the rapid absorption of information, rather than skills developed by deeper reading, like critical analysis.

We shouldn’t overplay this danger. All readers skim. Skimming is the skill we acquire as children as we learn to read more skillfully. From about the age of nine, our eyes start to bounce around the page, reading only about a quarter of the words properly, and filling in the gaps by inference. Nor is there anything new in these fears about declining attention spans. So far, the anxieties have proved to be false alarms. “Quite a few critics have been worried about attention span lately and see very short stories as signs of cultural decline,” the American author Selvin Brown wrote. “No one ever said that poems were evidence of short attention spans.”

And yet the Internet has certainly changed the way we read. For a start, it means that there is more to read, because more people than ever are writing. If you time travelled just a few decades into the past, you would wonder at how little writing was happening outside a classroom. And digital writing is meant for rapid release and response. An online article starts forming a comment string underneath as soon as it is published. This mode of writing and reading can be interactive and fun. But often it treats other people’s words as something to be quickly harvested as fodder to say something else. Everyone talks over the top of everyone else, desperate to be heard.

Perhaps we should slow down. Reading is constantly promoted as a social good and source of personal achievement. But this advocacy often emphasizes “enthusiastic”, “passionate” or “eager” reading, none of which adjectives suggest slow, quiet absorption.

To a slow reader, a piece of writing can only be fully understood by immersing oneself in the words and their slow comprehension of a line of thought. The slow reader is like a swimmer who stops counting the number of pool laps he has done and just enjoys how his body feels and moves in water.

The human need for this kind of deep reading is too tenacious for any new technology to destroy. We often assume that technological change can’t be stopped and happens in one direction, so that older media like “dead-tree” books are kicked out by newer, more virtual forms. In practice, older technologies can coexist with new ones. The Kindle has not killed off the printed book any more than the car killed off the bicycle. We still want to enjoy slowly-formed ideas and carefully-chosen words. Even in a fast-moving age, there is time for slow reading.

1. What is the author’s attitude towards Selvin Brown’s opinion?

A．Favorable.

B．Critical.

C．Doubtful.

D．Objective.

2. The author would probably agree that          .

A．advocacy of passionate reading helps promote slow reading

B．digital writing leads to too much speaking and not enough reflection

C．the public should be aware of the impact skimming has on neuronal circuits

D．the number of Internet readers is declining due to the advances of technology

3. What does the underlined word “tenacious” in Paragraph 6 probably mean?

A．Comprehensive.

B．Complicated.

C．Determined.

D．Apparent.

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

A．Slow Reading Is Here to Stay

B．Digital Technology Prevents Slow Reading

C．Screen vs. Print: Which Requires Deep Reading?

D．Reading Is Not a Race: The Wonder of Deep Reading

3 . You’re faced with a lot of decisions in everyday work. There are multiple tasks calling for your focus, and you are burning daylight or even burn out trying to decide what comes first.     1    

If you’re going to think smarter about how you prioritize (排序) tasks, you have to invest a little time away from your to-do list. Here’s the thing: what you work on confirms your values. You may think it’s no big thing to work overtime for a little while, but something will be sacrificed with this decision. If you’re a parent, you might spend less time with your kids. Similarly, if you choose not to work much or effectively, you’re deciding that your values lie outside your career.     2    

Write all the tasks down and create four boxes containing all of things you care about. This could be: helps the community, helps one-to-one relationships, makes money, and things you find personally fulfilling. Then place them in the boxes and see how many of the boxes each one takes up. Anything that fills just one box has to be reconsidered. Anything that fills nothing should not be considered at all.     3    From here, the rest of the prioritization gets a little easier. You now have a better idea where the efforts are really paying off. You also know when you are wasting your own time.

In order to figure out a plan for yourself, the first thing you should be doing is gathering all of your tasks, large and small.     4     Other people are counting on you or your future self will depend on them somehow. These are actually easier to prioritize. Then break down large tasks into smaller pieces. That helps put things in order. Part of the reason we do the small things first is that being productive feels good. Acknowledging accomplishments makes you more likely to keep going and pushes you through the more complicated tasks.

    5     Notice when your energy levels are high and when they are weak. Be aware when you’re more productive for social activities and when you’re better off. The more you study yourself, the easier planning becomes.

Now that you have your priorities in order, go ahead and you will boost your productivity.

A．You can also prioritize based on energy levels.

B．The good news is that some tasks can keep you motivated.

C．So how can you figure out what’s most important to work on first?

D．This activity allows you to see where you really want to invest your energy.

E．If you want to make a new list, you need to turn to your colleagues for help.

F．There are some tasks that are pretty straightforward and you need to do the thing.

G．Where you invest your time is not just about what you value but also what you don’t value.