Laughter is the Best Medicine The therapeutic use of laughter to relieve stress. combat disease and strengthen the immune system no longer raises medical eyebrows. The idea that humour is healthy and that a hearty laugh can make a person feel much better has gained much medical respectability in the last two decades.
Humour therapy has been accepted on the basic of considerable research conducted in the West. The case of Hunter Patch' Adams ( immortalised by actor Robin Williams in the film Patch Adams), who developed laughter therapy over 35 years at the Gesundheit Institute in Virginia. USA. is well-known. The other is the story of Norman Cousins, the late editor of the American paper The Saturday Review, who was taken ill with a severe connective tissue disease where the body just wastes away. When doctors gave up on him. he cured himself with large doses of vitamin C and comedies starring the Marx Brothers. Cousins found that ten minutes of genuine belly laughter had an anaesthetic effect and gave him at least two hours of pain-free sleep. He recorded his experiences of self healing through laughter in a best selling book. Anatomy of an Illness.
This has been an inspiration for many practitioners of laughter therapy, including Dr Madan Kataria. a Mumbai-based general practitioner who has pioneered the concept of laughter clubs in India. As founder of Laughter Club International. Dr Kataria is credited with initiating over 300 laughter clubs throughout India. Each of these conducts regular group laughter sessions on the premise that laughter is healthy for the body and mind.
We still know very little about what happens in the brain when we laugh, but there's a fair amount of evidence to suggest that laughter has wide-ranging effects on us psychologically and physiologically. The most obvious effect is on our mood but laughter is also known to keep away negative emotions like anxiety and depression, which tend to weaken the immune system. It relieves stress, a common cause of heart and blood problems.
Questions 28-32
Complete the sentences below using NO MORE THAN 3 WORDS FROM THE PASSAGE.
Laughter raises [28]in the blood to improve lung function for conditions like asthma.
Laughter helps the body to release £29]-called endorphins.
When we laugh. [30]expand, which assist circulation and help tissue to heal.
Hospital patients who were [31]-the comedies they watched had the best response to laughter therapy.
Researchers have shown that humour and the ability to play contribute to [32]
Questions 33-35
Which THREE of the following (A-J) in the passage have NOT been attributed to laughter?
[33] -
[34] -
[351
List of descriptions
A reduced pain F weakened immune system
B improved sleep G stimulated appetite
C slower heart rate H higher blood pressure
D increased anxiety I less stress
E better digestion
Questions 36-40
Match the following names with a phrase (A-I) from the list below that describes the work of each
36. Dr. Hunter Adams
37. Norman Cousins
38. Dr. Madan Kataria
39. Dr. Henri Rubinstein
40. Dr. Pierre Vachet
List of Phrases
A studied the relaxation response produced by laughter
B starred in a movie about laughter therapy
C wrote about self-healing through laughter
D developed the concept of comedy dubs in India
E proved that happiness is the best medicine
F treated patients using funny films
G showed that laughter faalitates the delivery of oxygen to cells
H initiated group laughter sessions
I pioneered laughter therapy in medical settings
ANSWERS:
28. Oxygen levels
29. Natural pain ladlers
30. Blood vessels
31. allowed to choose
32. creativity/solutions to problems
33-35. D/F/H (in any order)
36. I
37. C
38. H
39. A
40. G 
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