英语听力精选进阶版 6468

Let me tell you a joke: which aspect of the English language are boxers¹ best at? Don't you know? It's punch-uation (as in punctuation²!)

Funny? Well, maybe you'd better not laugh too hard. According to a paper published by the British Medical Journal, laughter isn't always the best medicine. Sometimes it can even be harmful.

Professor Robin³ Ferner from the University of Birmingham, one of the authors of the study, found that bad things could happen to people who laughed too much. He says: "We found people with heart rhythm disturbance⁴ which had stopped their heart, we found people who had fainted, we found people whose gullets had burst, and we found people who'd dislocated their jaws⁶ or burst their lungs."

It seems that laughing can be no laughing matter. But it's not all doom⁷ and gloom. Professor Ferner says there are benefits to laughing… when you want to lose weight, for example. Yes, that's right: laugh and be slimmer!

Professor Ferner explains that: "You use energy when you laugh, you move your diaphragm, you expand your lungs, and both those things can be helpful."

According to the research, laughing for a quarter of an hour can burn up to 40 calories, and if you laughed all day you'd use up about 2,000 calories, which is what most people consume in a day. But don't do that or you might end up with a painful jaw⁵. Ouch! Or you might find people looking at you in a funny way.

There's also one kind of laughter, described by the authors as "pathological", which can be caused by medical disorders⁸ such as cerebral⁹ tumours¹⁰ and multiple sclerosis.

But I don't want to finish this article leaving you feeling desperate. Laughter comes naturally for most of us. Babies begin to laugh at around 3-6 months.

So give in to your sense of humour and… keep smiling. Life is short anyway.

Quiz 测验

1. According to the study, what happened to some people's lungs when they laughed?

They burst.

2. How many calories can you use if you laugh for half a day?

About 1,000. The research says if you laughed all day you'd use up about 2,000.

3. What do you call laughter caused by illness?

Pathological laughter.

4. When do babies start to laugh?

Between 3-6 months old.

5. Which word is used to mean 'a good effect arising from something'?

Benefit.

Glossary 词汇表

medicine 药品

harmful 有害的

to faint 晕倒

gullet 食道、食管

to dislocate 使（骨头、关节）脱位

jaw 下颚

(to be) no laughing matter 不是闹着玩的事情

it's not all doom and gloom 绝非那么悲观

to lose weight 减肥

diaphragm 横隔膜

painful 疼痛的

ouch （感叹语）哎哟

funny (here: strange) 稀奇的

pathological 由疾病引起的

cerebral tumour 脑肿瘤

multiple sclerosis 多发性硬化症

desperate 绝望的

sense of humour 幽默感

1 boxers   

n.拳击短裤；（尤指职业）拳击手( boxer的名词复数 )；拳师狗

参考例句：

• The boxers were goaded on by the shrieking crowd. 拳击运动员听见观众的喊叫就来劲儿了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The boxers slugged it out to the finish. 两名拳击手最后决出了胜负。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 punctuation   

n.标点符号，标点法

参考例句：

• My son's punctuation is terrible.我儿子的标点符号很糟糕。
• A piece of writing without any punctuation is difficult to understand.一篇没有任何标点符号的文章是很难懂的。

3 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

4 disturbance   

n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调

参考例句：

• He is suffering an emotional disturbance.他的情绪受到了困扰。
• You can work in here without any disturbance.在这儿你可不受任何干扰地工作。

5 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

6 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

7 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

8 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 cerebral   

adj.脑的，大脑的；有智力的，理智型的

参考例句：

• Your left cerebral hemisphere controls the right-hand side of your body.你的左半脑控制身体的右半身。
• He is a precise,methodical,cerebral man who carefully chooses his words.他是一个一丝不苟、有条理和理智的人，措辞谨慎。

10 tumours   

肿瘤( tumour的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Blood vessels develop abnormally in cancer tumours. 在癌肿瘤中血管出现不正常。
• This apparatus scans patients' brains for tumours. 这台仪器扫描检查病人的脑瘤。