Question

What is funny? The short answer is: Who knows? The joke that causes a burst of laughter from one listener might be met with a puzzled look from another.

In general, you should avoid jokes at any business or social gathering where there are more than two people in your conversational group. If there are only two people — and they consist of you and your best friend — go ahead and tell it.

Admittedly, a few people possess a perfect sense of timing, appropriateness, and joke delivery. You are probably not one of them. You might be quite funny and have many great jokes. But there’s a place for jokes — over dinner with family, hiking with friends, but business or social affairs with colleagues and acquaintances (熟人) are not it. It takes a whole other level of joke-telling ability to put a joke into the more formal conversations.

The best jokes come into the conversation so that by the time listeners realize a joke is in progress, the punchline that produces humour is being delivered — to their surprise and delight.

Jokes don’t translate well when you’re in a group with mixed backgrounds: those whose first language is not English, those who might not understand a special term or an “in” expression, young people who wouldn’t catch a reference to some bit of culture familiar to older people — and vice versa (反之亦然).

Never joke about another person in the group — about their name, habits, hometown, profession, appearance, or past. It’s not a question of whether the joke is cheery or appropriate. No one enjoys being singled out this way. When you are the subject of the joke, the laughter doesn’t feel good no matter how hard you try to tell yourself they’re not laughing at you. Because that’s what it feels like.

What do you say if you realize your joke upset someone? Apologize as briefly and as sincerely as you can, and hope that someone changes the subject. Try saying: “I’m sorry. I should have known better” or “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

What do you do if people don’t get your joke or don’t appear to find it as funny as you do? First, do not retell it, only louder this time, hoping the point of the joke will be seen. Second, don’t try to push people to get it. People do not like people whose jokes they don’t understand. They feel stupid and need to blame someone. If you want to leave with the goodwill of your listeners, say something to make them feel less foolish. You could say: “I don’t know why I tell jokes when I’m so poor at it.”

The world needs laughter, and good humour is a success wherever it goes, so this caveat (告诫) about joke-telling is not meant to dampen high spirits or to advocate dull conversation. If you’re a gifted story-teller and you know people love your jokes, go for it. We need your kind. The rest of us will save our jokes for family and close friends.

1.According to the passage, it might be appropriate for you to tell a joke at a business or social gathering if ______.

A. the joke is well chosen

B. you have complete confidence in your listeners’ sense of humor

C. only you and your best friend are involved in the conversation

D. the audience consists of your colleagues and acquaintances

2.Why do some jokes fail to work?

A. Because the punchline is too long to catch.

B. Because the joke-teller uses wrong words and expressions.

C. Because the joke-teller and listeners don’t share the same background knowledge.

D. Because the jokes are not properly translated into the listeners’ native language.

3.How will people feel when they are joked about?

A. They will feel happy if the joke is a pleasant one.

B. They will be upset no matter what kind of joke it is.

C. They will enjoy the joke when realizing that people are not laughing at them.

D. They will panic because it makes them the center of attention.

4.When people do not understand a joke they hear, they tend to ______.

A. believe it’s the joke-teller’s fault B. get someone to retell the joke

C. ask for explanation D. say something foolish

5.Which of the following best describes the writer’s opinion on joke-telling?

A. Nobody knows what makes a joke funny.

B. We should not tell jokes unless we are asked to do so.

C. Joke-telling is a very complex thing.

D. Jokes should be told only to friends and family members.

Answer

1.C

2.C

3.B

4.A

5.C

【解析】

试题分析：本文谈了一下笑话这个话题，先说了商业聚会上不能轻易讲笑话，又解释了不同背景的人无法理解笑话，告诫人们不用开别人的玩笑，不会说笑话就不要说，这一切都说明讲笑话是个很复杂的事情。

1.C 细节理解题。根据If there are only two people — and they consist of you and your best friend — go ahead and tell it. 可知，如果商业聚会上只有你和你的好朋友，那就讲笑话吧。故选C

2.C 细节理解题。根据Jokes don’t translate well when you’re in a group with mixed backgrounds可知有着不一样的背景的一群人无法理解笑话。故选C

3.B 细节理解题。根据 No one enjoys being singled out this way. When you are the subject of the joke, the laughter doesn’t feel good no matter how hard you try to tell yourself they’re not laughing at you. 可知不管开一个人的什么玩笑，他都会感到不开心。故选B

4.A 词义推测题。根据People do not like people whose jokes they don’t understand. They feel stupid and need to blame someone.可知当人们无法理解笑话时，他们只会觉得说笑话的人很傻，要责备。,故选A

5.

【名师点睛】

英语议论文通常为三段式，即“论点、论据、结论”三部份组成。首先借助某一现象引出论点，然后通过一定论据从各个层面上加以推理论证，最后得出结论。议论文体主要考查学生对论点及论据的把握。因此，遇到议论文体时，应采取抓主题句的方法来把握文章主旨，弄清作者的观点。一般来说，作者的论点通常在文章首段被引出，接着是对这一论点的逻辑推理和论证，最后为结论。还应注意的是：在对论点论证的过程中，每一段的首句都是该段的主题句。把握全文论点、弄清论证各段的主题句、理解文章层次、找出中心论点的位置是理解议论文的关键。

答题技巧

1.要快速浏览全文，掌握主旨和大意，特别注意文章的主题句，理出作者的写作思路。这篇文章大致浏览一下，就知道了与讲笑话有关。

2.要尽快浏览课文后的思考题，尽量带着问题读;。比如第41题，看到题干的关键字眼就去文章里找。根据If there are only two people — and they consist of you and your best friend — go ahead and tell it. 可知，如果商业聚会上只有你和你的好朋友，那就讲笑话吧。故选C

3.完成事实细节题时，要找到定位句。比如第43题。根据 No one enjoys being singled out this way. When you are the subject of the joke, the laughter doesn’t feel good no matter how hard you try to tell yourself they’re not laughing at you. 可知不管开一个人的什么玩笑，他都会感到不开心。故选B

4.要把有关WHO，WHAT，WHERE，HOW和WHY等方面内容用笔圈画出来。

5.遇到推理判断题时，要注意作者的态度和命题人的意图，不可从个人的经验出发。比如第45题。本文谈了一下笑话这个话题，先说了商业聚会上不能轻易讲笑话，又解释了不同背景的人无法理解笑话，告诫人们不用开别人的玩笑，不会说笑话就不要说，这一切都说明讲笑话是个很复杂的事情。故选C

考点：考查议论类短文阅读