It seems hard to watch someone yawn and not to yawn ourselves. Even reading about yawning

It seems hard to watch someone yawn and not to yawn ourselves. Even reading about yawning can make you do it. Now, a new study has found why yawning has such a powerful force.
Yawning when others yawn, the study suggests, is a sign of pity and a form of social connection. Kids don’t develop this deeply rooted behavior until around age four, the study found. Kids with autism (自闭症) are less likely to catch yawns. In the most serious cases, they never do. Yawning might help doctors to see whether the children are developing rightly. The work could also lead to a better understanding of the ways that people communicate and connect.
Emotional infection seems to be a born thing that connects us together, said Molly Helt, a graduate student in psychology at the University of Connecticut. Yawning may be part of that. Inspiration for her study came when she tried to get her own autistic son to clear his ears on an airplane. She repeatedly yawned at him, hoping he would yawn back. He never did.
The fact that autistic kids don’t do it might mean they’re really missing out on that emotional connection with people around them, she said. The biggest thing people try to figure out after birth is how we become humans and understand that humans have minds that are different from others’, she added. Autistic people never seem to understand that.
Like infectious laughter and crying, scientists have found that yawning is a shared experience that promotes social connection. Helt said it could fight stress after a period of being nervous and spread a feeling of calm through a group.
【小题1】What does the new study suggest, according to the first two paragraphs? A．It is easy to stop yawning when you see others yawn. B．Yawning has some mysterious force which is related to God. C．Children follow others in yawning just after they are born. D．Yawning is a form of communication.【小题2】According to Molly Helt, . A．emotions are infectious, but yawning is notB．yawning helps clear ears on planesC．humans differ from animals because they communicate with others D．yawning is a kind of emotional connection among humans【小题3】Which of the following is NOT true about yawning?A．It is natural to yawn back if people around you yawn.B．Some kids are too young to yawn after others.C．Yawning can be used to test children’s development.D．Kids with autism yawn easily when others yawn.【小题4】The author implies in the last paragraph that .A．it is bad manners to yawn on some social occasionsB．yawning can make people feel relaxed C．yawning is different from infectious laughter and crying in theoryD．the more you yawn, the happier you will beD

(答案→)D 解析：这篇文章主要讲了打哈欠是怜悯心和社会关系的一种表现形式，会在人与人之间相互传染，打哈欠是人们之间的一种情感交流方式，是人们之间沟通的纽带，打哈欠能使人放松。【小题1】细节理解题。根据文章第一、二段的描述可知打哈欠是怜悯心和社会关系的一种表现形式，会在人与人之间相互传染，故本题选D。【小题2】细节理解题。结合文章三、四段可知Helt通过患有自闭症的儿子对打哈欠“启而不发”的情况意识到打哈欠是人们之间的一种情感交流方式，是人们之间沟通的纽带，故选D。【小题3】细节理解题。根据文章描述可知看到别人打哈欠就会回应是人的一种自然反应；孩子们从四岁开始就会对别人的打哈欠有反应；心理学家也能通过打哈欠的测试了解孩子的心理发展进度，故A、B、C项说法均正确；根据第三段可知自闭症患者对打哈欠的反应不如常人，故D项说法错误。【小题4】根据Helt said it could fight stress after a period of being nervous and spread a feeling of calm through a group.因此选B。

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