1 . Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize in no more than 60 words the main idea of the passage and how it is illustrated. Use your own words as far as possible.
It’s no laughing matter
Much research has been conducted about why humans laugh and what they laugh at—not only by psychologists, but also by philosophers, for the study of laughter crosses many disciplines. So, why do we laugh?
The general belief is that humans laugh as a social bonding mechanism. Studies have shown that humans are over 30 times more likely to laugh with others than alone. Even “laughing gas” works more effectively on a group of people than on a single person. We all know that laughter can be very infectious.
Some researchers believe that laughter in humans was born out of the relief our ancestors felt after danger had passed. If smiling in humans is considered an extension of the “fear” face in primates (灵长类动物), then laughter is a signal that the fear has gone. When we laugh, our “fight or flight” reaction to danger is temporarily switched off, further indicating that we now feel relaxed. So laughter is a way of discharging stress and anxiety.
Although laughter is universal, people don’t always laugh at the same things, and what people find funny often changes as they get older. Children find a lot to laugh about, as they are encountering so many things for the first time, which offers constant surprises. Teenagers often like jokes that adults find annoying, while adults often laugh at jokes about funny things in their own everyday lives. Furthermore, because a lot of our humor comes from a shared cultural background, countless jokes don’t cross language and cultural barriers, with the result that what’s funny in Australia may well not be in Austria.
Regardless of what different people find funny, people ought to laugh as much as they can. While we’re laughing, we increase the killer cells that destroy viruses. So, the next time someone tells you they nearly died laughing, tell them it’s far from the truth!
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Say Thanks
If writing thank-you letters is a task you readily dismiss, you aren’t alone. However, saying thanks could be the best gift you can give, to yourself and others.
The benefits of gratitude have long been championed in philosophical thinking. In recent years, the science has been catching up: it shows that people who feel most grateful generally get a psychological boost (促进) as a result. They also have greater life satisfaction, fewer visits to the doctor and better sleep. This has led to gratitude being a part of our culture, inspiring an explosion of gratitude journals, in which you record things you are thankful for. It has also led to renewed interest in the neuroscience and psychology of gratitude.
However, the benefits of actually expressing this gratitude have received less attention. Now evidence is piling up that shows turning our inner gratitude into action can make our lives even better.
For instance, a simple thank you can build relationships, even with strangers. Take people who have received a note of thanks for something they have done from a peer they don’t know. They are more likely to share their contact details with that person in an attempt to continue the relationship than people who receive a note that doesn’t contain thanks. A simple thank you seems to signal interpersonal warmth.
But the benefits go further than just strengthening social relationships, they can have an impact on health, too. A study of more than 200 nurses working in two Italian hospitals found that gratitude expressed by patients could protect nurses from burnout. That was especially so in the emergency room, where personal interactions with patients are typically shorter and less rewarding. This positive feedback from patients reduced feelings of exhaustion among nurses, says Mara Martini at the University of Turin, who carried out the work.
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Working Out Worries by Writing
After his father was driven to the hospital for emergent treatment, 43-year-old Yanatha Desouvre began to panic. So, he did one thing that he knew would calm himself: He wrote. Over the next few weeks, Desouvre filled several notebooks, writing about his worry as well as his happy memories with his dad. “Writing allowed me to face my fear and process my pain,” he says. Psychologists refer to that kind of writing as “expressive writing”. People do it by recording their deepest thoughts and feelings. However, different from writing in a journal, expressive writing is to reflect honestly and thoughtfully on a particular frustration or challenge.
A well-known psychology professor says that hundreds of studies have looked at the potential benefits of expressive writing and found it can help reduce pain and improve mood, sleep and memory. It may even help reduce symptoms of various illnesses, and prevent colds and flu.
Expressive writing takes effect because translating a painful experience into language allows people to make meaning out of it, some experts say. The process forces them to organize their thoughts and offers a sense of control, thus completing the pursuit of value from such an experience. Another research suggested that during expressive writing, the act of labeling a feeling can lessen the activity relating to nerves in the threat area of the brain. With these nerves relaxed, people can lower the symptoms of their diseases, enhance their appreciation for life, and increase the acceptance of various experiences in their lives.
What can’t be ignored is that it shouldn’t be used as a replacement for other medical treatments. And people coping with a severe depression may not find it useful to do on their own, without therapy. Yet, it can be a powerful coping tool for many, in large part because it helps battle against their reluctance to face negative emotions.
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Friendship
To help us understand what friendship really means, we need to review some classical views of friendship. According to Aristotle, we may find three kinds of friendship:
Friendship based on utility. Utility is an impermanent thing: it changes according to circumstances. When the ground for friendship disappears, the friendship also breaks up. Friendships of this kind seem to occur most frequently between the elderly, because at their age what they want is not pleasure but utility Friendships based on utility are also frequently found among those in middle or early life who are pursuing their own advantage. Such persons do not spend much time together, because sometimes they do not even like one another, and therefore feel no need of such an association unless they are mutually useful. They take pleasure in each other’s company only in so far as they have hopes of advantage from it.
Friendship based on pleasure. Friendship between the young is thought to be grounded on pleasure, because the lives of the young are regulated by their feelings, and their chief interests are in their own pleasure and the opportunity of the moment. As they grow up, however, their tastes change too, so that they are quick to make and to break friendships. That is why they fall in and out of friendship quickly, changing their attitude often, even within the same day.
Friendship based on goodness. Perfect friendship is based on goodness. Only the friendship of those who are good, and similar in their goodness, is perfect. The conduct of good men is the same or similar. It is between good men that both love and friendship are chiefly found and in the highest form. Such friendships are rare and they need time and intimacy; for as the saying goes, true friends must go through trials and tribulations (患难) together. And no two persons can accept each other and become friends until each has proved to the other that he is worthy of love. and so won his trust. The wish for friendship may develop rapidly, but true friendship does not.
Normally and naturally, a daughter is more attached to her mother in comparison to her father or other siblings. The attachment is also due to the fact that the daughter finds it easier to confide in(向…吐露个人隐私) the mother on personal and biological matters at different stages while growing up.
The bonding between mother and daughter will increase with their being together and going out on an excursion. An excursion is a journey to some far-off place undertaken by people. It is not necessary that such a trip be taken on a lavish (奢侈)scale involving lots of money. It can be as short as an overnight trip to some place to improve bonding. A mother can plan a trip to some local spa without the knowledge of her daughter. She can be ready with baggage packed and wait for the moment the daughter comes back from school. Once in the hotel they can enjoy the night together getting refreshing treatments like massage. After relaxing spa they can laze in bed, enjoying favourite food or drink and if possible enjoying nature through the window. After a long period of relaxation, going out for a walk together will improve bonding.
Going out overnight to enjoy comforting walk at the beach, strolling and relaxing at intervals without the interference of any other person can be a great idea of bonding. Being of the same sex, and often having the same set of likes and dislikes, they can spend time on makeup or applying nail polish etc. The daughter should never forget to thank the mother for the wonderful time they spent together, and the mother should never hesitate to say a few words of praise to the daughter.
Going out for shopping together is a good bonding idea too. It is not essential that lots of money should be spent on shopping. The mother can take the daughter to some shops where she can buy her uniform or some other things. They can jointly enjoy window shopping, expressing love for and gratitude to the other.
Are your children getting on your last nerve? Did a coworker's comment rub you the wrong way? There's no need to plug the steam coming out of your ears. In fact, science now gives you full permission to release those emotions; you might actually be happier for it. If that seems counter—intuitive(违反直觉的), hear us out. A new study suggests that people tend to be happier if they can feel and express emotions as they want. That goes for unpleasant emotions like anger and hatred, too.
An international team of researchers recruited 2,300 university students from the United States, Brazil, China, Germany, Ghana, Israel, Poland, and Singapore. They then asked the participants to tell them which emotions they desired and which ones they actually felt, and then compared those responses to how the participants rated their overall happiness or life satisfaction.
The results showed an interesting trend. While participants wanted to experience more pleasant emotions, they reported higher life satisfaction if the emotions they experienced matched those they desired. More surprising still, 11 percent of people wanted to feel less of positive emotions, such as love and empathy, and 10 percent of people wanted to feel more negative emotions, such as hatred and anger.
At first glance, these result might seem confusing. But there's a simple explanation, according to the study's authors. Happiness is "more than simply feeling pleasure and avoiding pain," they write. It is also learning to release negative emotions when you feel them, instead of ignoring them or bottling them up.
"If you feel emotions you want to feel, even if they're unpleasant, then you're better off," lead researcher Dr Maya Tamir from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem told the BBC News website. 71
