When scientists set out to explore the roots of human laughter, some apes（类人猿） were just tickled（胳肢）to help. That’s how researchers made a variety of apes and some human babies laugh. After analyzing the sounds, they concluded that people and great apes inherited laughter from a shared ancestor that lived more than 10 million years ago. Experts praised the work, it gives strong evidence that ape laughter and human laughter are related through evolution（进化）.

Scientists have noted that apes make characteristic sounds during play or while being tickled, especially to signal that they’re interested in playing. It’s been suggested before that human laughter grew out of primate（灵长类动物） roots. But ape laughter doesn’t sound like human laughter. It may be slower noisy breathing. So what does that have to do with the human ha-ha? To investigate that, Marina Davila Ross and her colleagues carried out a detailed analysis of the sounds made by tickling three human babies and 21 other primates, apes included.

After measuring 11 features in the sound from each species, they tried to find out how these sounds appeared to be related to each other. The result looked like a family tree. Significantly, that tree matched the way the species themselves are related, the scientists reported online in the journal Current Biology. They also concluded that while human laughter sounds much different from ape laughter, their typical features could have come from the same ancestor.

Panksepp, who studies laughter-like responses in animals but didn’t participate in the new work, called the paper exciting. Panksepp’s own work concludes that even rats produce laughter in response to playing and tickling, with sounds that can hardly be heard by people. Robert Provine, a scientist, who wrote the book, Laughter: A Scientific Investigation, said the new paper showed some important clues, like ape sounds that hadn’t been realized before.

69. Why did the scientists analyze the laughter made by tickling human babies and apes?

A. To try to discover if they can make characteristic sounds.

B. To see if they interested in playing.

C. To find out if the laughter of apes and humans is related.

D. To find out the differences between humans and apes.

70. Based on Paragraph 3 we can know that researchers measured the features in the sound to ________.

A. find out ape sounds that hadn’t been realized before

B. find out relations among primates’ laughter

C. see what a family tree from each species looks like

D. make a report online in the journal Current Biology

71. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A. Panksepp spoke highly of the new research.

B. Rat laughter is likely to be related to ape laughter.

C. Robert Provine provided some new clues for the researchers.

D. Humans don’t enjoy listening to ape laughter.

72. What would be the best title for the passage?

A. Ape study explores evolution of laughter.

B. Apes like to laugh when being tickled.

C. Human laughter and ape laughter are different.

D. Laughter: A Scientific Investigation.

  When scientists set out to explore the roots of human laughter, some apes（类人猿） were just tickled（胳肢）to help. That’s how researchers made a variety of apes and some human babies laugh. After analyzing the sounds, they concluded that people and great apes inherited laughter from a shared ancestor that lived more than 10 million years ago. Experts praised the work, it gives strong evidence that ape laughter and human laughter are related through evolution（进化）.
Scientists have noted that apes make characteristic sounds during play or while being tickled, especially to signal that they’re interested in playing. It’s been suggested before that human laughter grew out of primate（灵长类动物） roots. But ape laughter doesn’t sound like human laughter. It may be slower noisy breathing. So what does that have to do with the human ha-ha? To investigate that, Marina Davila Ross and her colleagues carried out a detailed analysis of the sounds made by tickling three human babies and 21 other primates, apes included.
After measuring 11 features in the sound from each species, they tried to find out how these sounds appeared to be related to each other. The result looked like a family tree. Significantly, that tree matched the way the species themselves are related, the scientists reported online in the journal Current Biology. They also concluded that while human laughter sounds much different from ape laughter, their typical features could have come from the same ancestor.
Panksepp, who studies laughter-like responses in animals but didn’t participate in the new work, called the paper exciting. Panksepp’s own work concludes that even rats produce laughter in response to playing and tickling, with sounds that can hardly be heard by people. Robert Provine, a scientist, who wrote the book, Laughter: A Scientific Investigation, said the new paper showed some important clues, like ape sounds that hadn’t been realized before.
69. Why did the scientists analyze the laughter made by tickling human babies and apes?
A. To try to discover if they can make characteristic sounds.
B. To see if they interested in playing.
C. To find out if the laughter of apes and humans is related.
D. To find out the differences between humans and apes.
70. Based on Paragraph 3 we can know that researchers measured the features in the sound to ________.
A. find out ape sounds that hadn’t been realized before
B. find out relations among primates’ laughter
C. see what a family tree from each species looks like
D. make a report online in the journal Current Biology
71. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
A. Panksepp spoke highly of the new research.
B. Rat laughter is likely to be related to ape laughter.
C. Robert Provine provided some new clues for the researchers.
D. Humans don’t enjoy listening to ape laughter.
72. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Ape study explores evolution of laughter.
B. Apes like to laugh when being tickled.
C. Human laughter and ape laughter are different.
D. Laughter: A Scientific Investigation.

  When scientists set out to explore the roots of human laughter, some apes（类人猿） were just tickled（胳肢）to help. That’s how researchers made a variety of apes and some human babies laugh. After analyzing the sounds, they concluded that people and great apes inherited laughter from a shared ancestor that lived more than 10 million years ago. Experts praised the work, it gives strong evidence that ape laughter and human laughter are related through evolution（进化）.

  Scientists have noted that apes make characteristic sounds during play or while being tickled, especially to signal that they’re interested in playing. It’s been suggested before that human laughter grew out of primate（灵长类动物） roots. But ape laughter doesn’t sound like human laughter. It may be slower noisy breathing. So what does that have to do with the human ha-ha? To investigate that, Marina Davila Ross and her colleagues carried out a detailed analysis of the sounds made by tickling three human babies and 21 other primates, apes included.

  After measuring 11 features in the sound from each species, they tried to find out how these sounds appeared to be related to each other. The result looked like a family tree. Significantly, that tree matched the way the species themselves are related, the scientists reported online in the journal Current Biology. They also concluded that while human laughter sounds much different from ape laughter, their typical features could have come from the same ancestor.

  Panksepp, who studies laughter-like responses in animals but didn’t participate in the new work, called the paper exciting. Panksepp’s own work concludes that even rats produce laughter in response to playing and tickling, with sounds that can hardly be heard by people. Robert Provine, a scientist, who wrote the book, Laughter: A Scientific Investigation, said the new paper showed some important clues, like ape sounds that hadn’t been realized before.

69. Why did the scientists analyze the laughter made by tickling human babies and apes?

   A. To try to discover if they can make characteristic sounds.

   B. To see if they interested in playing.

   C. To find out if the laughter of apes and humans is related.

   D. To find out the differences between humans and apes.

70. Based on Paragraph 3 we can know that researchers measured the features in the sound to ________.

   A. find out ape sounds that hadn’t been realized before

   B. find out relations among primates’ laughter

   C. see what a family tree from each species looks like

   D. make a report online in the journal Current Biology

71. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

   A. Panksepp spoke highly of the new research.

   B. Rat laughter is likely to be related to ape laughter.

   C. Robert Provine provided some new clues for the researchers.

   D. Humans don’t enjoy listening to ape laughter.

72. What would be the best title for the passage?

   A. Ape study explores evolution of laughter.

   B. Apes like to laugh when being tickled.

   C. Human laughter and ape laughter are different.

   D. Laughter: A Scientific Investigation.

CHANGSHA，Feb．14（Xinhua）――Areas of China affected by the recent severe weather have shifted from emergency work to reconstruction，with transport and power supplies returning to normal．

The government of central Hunan Province．one of the areas hardest hit by the worst weather in half a century，said that it would offer a subsidy of 5，000 yuan（694 U. S. dollars）to each household whose residence was destroyed．Around 67，000 houses in Hunan collapsed in the snowy weather，which persisted from mid-January through late in the month．

The provincial civil affairs authorities have started checking those in need of government help，pledging they could move to new houses by May．

According to the latest official statistics，snow-related catastrophes killed 107 people and caused 111.1 billion yuan in direct losses．In a11，21 provinces，autonomous regions and municipalities have been affected．A total of 354,000 houses collapsed and 1.5 million people were evacuated．

Seven provinces―Hunan，Guizhou，Jiangxi，Anhui，Hubei，Zhejiang and Sichuan-and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region were the worst-hit areas，the Ministry of Civil Affairs said．

In Guangxi，l,332 schools were damaged and more than l,200 classrooms became dangerous．

Yu Yizhong，director of the region’s education department，urged local education administration bureaus and schools to try to raise funds and launch repair and reconstruction work as soon as possible to ensure the spring term opens as scheduled．

The extreme weather aim affected nearly 24.4 million hectares of farmland and 18.6 million ha of forests．Agricultural technicians have been organized to go to rural areas to help farmers with crop planting．

On Thursday，nearly 30 agricultural experts in eastern Anhui Province set out for a week-long service journey to snow-stricken rural areas．They will check damage and help farmers replant vegetable fields? Similar technical teams have been organized in other provinces such as Jiangxi to help farmers restore agricultural production．

Also in Jiangxi，rural credit cooperatives have provided farmers with loans totaling 3.5 bil1ion yuan．

56．According to the report，the severe weather lasted about        ．

A．one week                B．two weeks                     C．one month              D．two months

57．         was／were hit hardest by the winter storm．

A．Hunan Province      B．7 areas                 C．21 areas                 D．8 areas

58．The underlined word in Paragraph 4 means        ．

A．weather                 B．great disaster        C．great destruction      D．great hit

59．What’s the best title of the passage?

A．China’s snow disaster areas shifting focus to reconstruction work．

B．Heavy snow in East and South China．

C．Severe disaster in China．

D．Great losses in snow-hit areas in China．