READ THE PASSAGE AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOW.
Much before medical science discovered
it ‘Readers Digest’ came out with the
prescription-Laughter is the Best Medicine.
Newspapers and magazines which regularly
run humour columns are, therefore, doing
their bit to keep the readers in good health.
Reading light articles, whether they be
satirical, comic or just humorous, relieves
the tedium of work-a-day world. Some
pieces may even tickle one’s grey matter.
It is said that if you laugh for ten minutes
you will be in a better position to put up
with pain for two hours. According to US
researchers, laughter is a good antidote
to stress that tones up the system. Facial
laugh muscles instruct the brain to ‘feel
good’ regardless of how you feel.
According to a French doctor, laughter
deepens breathing, improves blood
circulation, speeds up the process of
tissue healing and stabilises many body
functions. In short, it acts as a power drug
with no side effects. Researchers state
that laughter stimulates production of a
beta-endorphins, natural pain killers in the
body and improves digestion. Those who
laugh are less prone to digestive disorders
and ulcers.
Some people in France have made it a
career. You can hire a ‘jovialist’ who
cracks jokes and laughs and promises
to make you dissolve your worries in
helpless laughter.
A word of caution. Although laughing is
a good exercise for toning up the facial
muscles, laughing at others’ expense,
particularly at their disabilities, is in bad
taste and is to be avoided. Secondly, laughing
with food in the mouth is dangerous as
the food stuff can get into the wind pipe
and may choke the digestive system.
Eating, any way, is a serious business to
be trifled with by any jocular diversion.
Laughter comes best when it is free of
encumbrances, whether it is constricting
food or the need to humour the boss.
Which word used in para 3 means ‘to make
something develop’?
A Deepen
B Stabilise
C Stimulate
D Improve
what does improve mean