2019年7月20日雅思考试预测机经汇总试卷部分内容
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What are you laughing at？
A We like to think that laughing is the height of human sophistication. Our big brains let us seethe humour in a strategically positioned pun, an unexpected plot twist or a clever piece of word play. But while joking and wit are uniquely human inventions, laughter certainly is not. Othercreatures, including chimpanzees, gorillas and even rats, chuckle. Obviously, they don’t crack upat Homer Simpson or titter at the boss's dreadful jokes, but the fact that they laugh in the firstplace suggests that sniggers and chortles have been around for a lot longer than we have. Itpoints the way to the origins of laughter, suggesting a much more practical purpose than youmight think.
B There is no doubt that laughing typical involves groups of people. "Laughter evolved as a signalto others - it almost disappears when we are alone," says Robert Provine, a neuroscientist at theUniversity of Maryland. Provine found that most laughter comes as a polite reaction to everyoneremarks such as *866 you later1, rather than anything particularly funny. And the way we laughdepends on the company we're keeping. Men tend to laugh longer and harder when they are with other men, perhaps as a way of bonding. Women tend to laugh more and at a higher pitchwhen men are present, possibly indicating flirtation or even submission.
C To find the origins of laughter, Provine believes we need to look at play. He points out that themasters of laughing are children, and nowhere is their talent more obvious than in the boisterousantics, and the original context is play,' he say. Well-known primate watchers, including DianFossey and Jane Goodall, have long argued that chimps laugh while at play. The sound theyproduce is known as a pant laugh. It seems obvious when you watch their behavior - they evenhave the same ticklish spots as we do. But remove the context, and the parallel between humanlaughter and a chimp's characteristics pant laugh is not so clear. When Provine played a tape ofthe pant laughs to 119 of his students, for example, only two guessed correctly what it was.
D These findings underline how chimp and human laughter vary. When we laugh the sound isusually produced by chopping up a single exhalation into a series of shorter with one soundproduced on each inward and outward breath. The question is: does this pant laughter have thesame source as our own laughter? New research lends weight to the idea that it does. Thefindings come from Elke Zimmerman, head of the Institute for Zoology in Germany, whocompared the sounds made by babies and chimpanzees in response to tickling during the firstyear of their life. Using sound spectrographs to reveal the pitch and intensity of vocalizations, shediscovered that chimp and human baby laughter follow broadly the same pattern. Zimmermanbelieves the closeness of baby laughter to chimp laughter supports the idea that laughter wasaround long before humans arrived on the scene. What started simply as a modification ofbreathing associated with enjoyable and playful interactions has acquired a symbolic meaning asan indicator of pleasure.
E Pinpointing when laughter developed is another matter. Humans and chimps share a commonancestor that lived perhaps 8 million years ago, but animals might have been laughing long before that. More distantly related primates, including gorillas, laugh, and anecdotal evidencesuggests that other social mammals nay do too. Scientists are currently testing such stories with acomparative analysis of just how common laughter is among animals. So far, though, the most compelling evidence for laughter beyond primates comes from research done by Jaak Panksepp from Bowling Green State University, Ohio, into the ultrasonic chirps produced by rats during playand in response to tickling.
F All this still doesn't answer the question of why we laugh at all. One idea is that laughter andtickling originated a$ a way of sealing the relationship between mother and child. Another is thatthe reflex response to tickling is protective, alerting us to the presence of crawling creatures thatmight harm us or compelling us to defend the parts of our bodies that are most vulnerable inhand-to-hand combat But the idea that has gained most popularity in recent years is that laughter in response to tickling is a way for two individuals to signal and test their trust in one another. This hypotheses starts from the observation that although a little tickle can be enjoyable, if it goes on too long it can be torture. By engaging in a bout of ticking, we put ourselves at the mercy of another individual, and laughing is a signal that we laughter is what makes it a reliable signal of trust according to Tom Flamson, a laughter researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles. 'Even in rats, laughter, tickle, play and trust are linked. Rat$ chirp a lot when they play/ says Flamson. These chirps can be aroused by tickling. And they get bonded to us at a result, which certainly seems like a show of trust.*
G We'll never know which animal laughed the first laugh, or why. But we can be sure it wasn't in response to a prehistoric joke. The funny thing is that while the origins of laughter are probably quite serious, we owe human laughter and our language-based humor to the same unique skill. While other animals pant, we alone can control our breath well enough to produce the sound of laughter. Without that control there would also be no speech - and no jokes to endure.
Questions 1-6
Look at the following research findings (questions 1-6) and the list of people below.
Match each rinding with the correct person. A, B. C or D.
Write the correct letter, A, B, C or D, in boxes 1-6 any our answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
A.Tom Flamson
B.Elke Zimmerman
C.Robert Provine
D.Jaak Panksepp
Babies and chimps produce similar sounds of laughter.
Primates are not the only animals who produce laughter Pan
Laughter also suggests that we feel safe and easy with others.
Laughter is a response to polite situation instead of humour.
Animal laughter evolved before human laughter
Laughter is a social activity.
Questions 7-10
Complete the summary using the list of words, A-K, below. Write the correct letter, A-K. in
boxes 7-10 on your answer sheet.
Some researchers believe that laughter first evolved out of 7
. Investigation has
revealed that human and chimp laughter may have the same 8 . Besides, scientists
have been aware that 9 laugh, however, it now seems that laughter might be more widespread
than once we thought. Although the reasons why humans started to laugh are still unknown, it
seem$ that laughter may result from the 10 we feel with another person.
evolution B. chirps C. origins D. voice
confidence F. rats
primates H. response
I.play J. children K. tickling
Questions 11-13
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet write TRUEif the statement is true
FALSE if the statement is false
NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage
II.Both men and women laugh more when they are with members of the same sex.
Primates lack sufficient breath control to be able to produce laughs the way humans do.
Chimpanzees produce laughter in a wider range of situations than rats do.
What is point of view of Jan Elsnera towards work stress?
A.Medical test can only reveal part of the data needed to cope with stress
B.Index some body samples will be abnormal in a stressful experience
C.Emotional and cognrtive affection is superior to physical one
D.One well designed solution can release all stress
Questions 22-27 Summary
Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage, using no more than
two words from the Reading Passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 22-27 on your answer sheet
Statistics from National worker's compensation indicate stress plays the most important role in
22 which case the time losses. Staffs take about 23 for absence from work caused by stress. Not
just time is our main concern but great expenses generated consequently. An official insure wrote
sometime that about 24 of all claims were mental issues whereas nearly 27% costs in all claims.
Sports such as 25 , as well as 26 could be a treatment to release stress; However, specialists
recommended another practical way out, analyse 27 once again.
参考答案
1 B2 D3 A 4C5 B6 C 7I 8 C9 G
10 E 11 NOT GIVEN 12 TRUE 13 NOT GIVEN
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