Experts often refer to exercise, a balanced diet and plenty of rest as the three

essential factors for good health in the stressful society in which we live.
According to leading doctors, laughter is also extremely important to our general
well-being. When we laugh, energy is pumped around the body and it perks up
the whole system. Our stress levels are reduced, which means laughter has a
calming effect on us.
More importantly, perhaps, is the fact that laughter releases chemicals into the
body. These chemicals are natural pain suppressants and they affect the
immune system, helping to speed up healing processes and activating
hormones which kill disease cells. In fact, in 1991, the first free Laughter Clinic
was set up in Britain so that patients could have fun, which helps them to get
better more quickly.
According to one doctor, laughter is a total body experience in which all the
major system of the body, such as muscles, nerves, heart, brain and digestion,
participate fully, so laughter is almost equivalent to a form of exercise. However,
it is important to bear in mind that we are talking about laughter as opposed to
just a smile, in other words, a belly laugh says Howard Kent of the Yoga for
Health Association.
So how are we to fill our lives with merriment? Every happy home should
have a laughter library of joke books, classic cartoon books, collections of
humorous quotations and audio cassettes of our favourite comedians, comedy
videos, fun board games, comic plays, novels and amusing biographies.
1 - LINK THE WORDS IN COLUMN A WITH THEIR DEFINITION IN COLUMN B:

Stressful

private collection

Bear in mind

entertaining

Merriment

remember

Library

amusement

Amusing

tense

2 - CIRCLE THE OPTION THAT BEST DEFINES THE WORD IN BOLD:

Exercise =

concern

movement

drill

entire

principle

intact

Speed up = accelerate

race

emphasize

increase

Major

mayor

main

special

Whole

operation

= sanitary
= commander

3 - ANSWER THE QUESTIONS

1.-

What are the three most important factors for good health?

____________________________________________________________________________
2.-

What happens when laughter pumps energy around the body?

____________________________________________________________________________
3.-

Why do laughter clinic patients get better faster?

____________________________________________________________________________
4.-

What is laughter similar to?

____________________________________________________________________________
5.-

Is laughter similar to a smile?

____________________________________________________________________________

4 - TRUE OR FALSE?

1.- When we laugh we dont get rid of stress.

_______

2.- Some chemicals released when we laugh are a kind of pain killers. _______
3.- The main purpose of laughter clinics is to cure ill people.

_______

4.- To get the most of laughter it must be quiet and relaxed.

_______

5.- You should have a habit of reading humorous materials.

_______

EXERCISE 1
Stressful tense
Bear in mind remember
Merriment amusement
Library private collection
Amusing entertaining
EXERCISE 2
Exercise - Movement
Whole - Entire
Speed up Accelerate
Major Main
EXERCISE 3
1.- The three most important factors for good health are exercise, a balanced diet and plenty of rest
2.- When laughter pumps energy around the body it perks up the whole system

3.-Laughter clinic patients get better faster because laughter speeds up healing processes and
activates hormones which kill disease cells
4.- Laughter is similar to a form of exercise
5.- No, it isnt according to Howard Kent
EXERCISE 4
1. False
2. True
3. False
4. False
5. true