Choose the right definition of the words in bold type

1. The physiological effects of a good laugh work against stress. Exercise has psychological benefits as well as physiological ones.

a) pertaining to emotions b) pertaining to bodily processes

c) pertaining to nutrition d) pertaining to the lifespan of an organism

2. After a slight rise in heart rate and blood pressure during the laugh itself, there’s an immediate recoil. After he fired the powerful shotgun, the recoil knocked him backwards.

a) clicking sound b) winding something in loops

c) increase d) drop or movement backwards

3. Muscles relax and blood pressure sinks below prelaugh levels, and the brain may release endorphins, the same stress reducers that are triggered by exercise. Exercising, eating chocolate, and being in love release endorphins in the body.

a) hormones in the brain that cause hunger b) chemicals in the brain that cause drowsiness and confusion

c) hormones in the body that causes feelings of sadness and depression d) chemicals in the brain that reduce pain and produce a sense of well-being

4. Muscles relax and blood pressure sinks below prelaugh levels, and the brain may release endorphins, the same stress reducers that are triggered by exercise. The rioting in the city was triggered by the judge’s unfair ruling.

a) activated b) pulled a trigger

c) prevented d) increased or grew larger

5. While our cave-dwelling ancestors were stressed by actual life-threatening situations like bumping into a woolly mammoth, times have changed. Scientists do not know for sure why the mammoth disappeared.

a) a type of large moth b) animal that looks similar to a human being

c) extinct type of elephant once found throughout the northern hemisphere d) rare bird

6. The same kind of disinterested observation makes the tale of your disastrous vacation seem funny – after you get safely home. Referees and umpires must be disinterested in who wins the games they officiate at.

a) deeply interested b) uninterested

c) knowledgeable d) impartial or free from bias

7. The continental drift moves faster. During World War II, continental warfare enveloped nearly all of Europe.

a) of or like a continent, a principal land mass of the earth b) pertaining to water or the ocean

c) related to travel d) pertaining to the nations of the world

8. This maneuver helps take the edge off the situation, redirects your tension, and helps you see things as not so impossible after all. I tried to talk the police officer out of giving me a speeding ticket by being friendly and polite, but the maneuver failed.

a) joke b) strategy

c) excuse d) mistaken idea

9. Making fun of your own foibles can save face in an embarrassing situation – you’ll have people laughing with you, rather than at you. He was a practical joker and a nonstop talker, but he was so talented that we overlooked these foibles.

a) fatal flaws in one’s character b) careless mistakes

c) minor weaknesses of character d) humiliating experiences

10. Inanimate sources of frustration, like computers and copying machines, are also safe objects of humor. The actor’s performance was so stiff that he seemed almost inanimate.