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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 has found. Kids with autism
(自闭症)are half as 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 in a group.
1. What does the new study suggest, according to the first two paragraphs?
A. It is impossible 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.
2. According to Molly Helt, ________.
A. emotions are infectious, but yawning is not
B. yawning helps clear ears on planes
C. humans differ from animals because they communicate with others
D. yawning is a kind of emotional connection among humans
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.
4. According to the author, infectious yawning________.
A. has a positive effect on social relationships
B. is helpful in curing people of autism
C. helps people develop their brain
D. is most useful in group work
5. The author implies in the last paragraph that________.
A. it is bad manners to yawn on some social occasions
B. yawning can make people feel relaxed
C. yawning is different from infectious laughter and crying in theory
D. the more you yawn, the more you will become nervous and stressful