Imagine a stranger walking past you on a cold, rainy day. “Lovely weather, isn’t it?” the stranger says. Do you laugh, or even smile? If not, you may not have a dry sense of humor.
British people, and particularly the English, are well-known for our dry sense of humor. We often say the opposite of what we mean in order to be funny, and tell jokes in a tone of voice that makes it sound like we are being completely serious. As US writer Julian Tan put it on the HuffPost Students blog: “It is as if it is ‘Opposite Day’ every day in Britain.”
If the people of Britain are known for having a “stiff upper lip” and not showing emotion, then our dry sense of humor shows this through jokes. Often it will take a long time or several beers, to get a British person to tell you what they actually think about something and get behind the wall of humorous sarcasm (讽刺) that they have in front of them.
English comedian Ricky Gervais put it like this: “We play jokes on our friends. We use sarcasm as a shield (护盾) and a weapon. We avoid being serious until it’s absolutely necessary.”
It can be annoying and confusing if you haven’t been raised with these types of jokes: “Why did he just say such a ridiculous thing? Is he making fun of me?” But it is also true that understanding this type of humor is a good way to make friends with people in the UK, even if you don’t find it funny.
It’s important to remember that the person telling the joke may actually be making fun of himself or herself, not you. One of the characteristics of British humor is “its strong theme of self-deprecation” (making fun of oneself), according to Tan. So don’t worry – often, English people, and British people in general, just want to make fun of themselves!
1.According to the passage, we can know that someone with a dry sense of humor can ___________.
A. not use sarcasm as a shield and a weapon.
B. not make friends with people in the UK
C. pretend to play jokes on their friends
D. say funny things in a serious way
2.Which of the following words best describes British humor according to Julian Tan?
A. Opposite. B. Annoying.
C. Ridiculous. D. Funny.
3.The underlined phrase “stiff upper lip” in Paragraph 3 refers to a quality of ___________.
A. remaining calm
B. communicating feelings
C. taking a positive attitude
D. focusing attention
4.It can be inferred from the passage that _______________.
A. British people are famous for being emotional
B. British people’s humor is often misunderstood
C. it’s a tradition for British people to make fun of each other
D. it doesn’t take a long time to make friends with British people
5.The passage is mainly about ____________________.
A. why British people like laughing at themselves
B. some tips on how to make British people laugh
C. the importance of humor in British culture
D. what British humor is like
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
At home, ordering food from a menu is a normal, everyday routine. I don’t even give it a second thought. In China, it’s a whole other story! Here, ordering is a fun game of trial and error, and the adventure begins before the food is even served!
Many restaurants in central Beijing advertise “English language menus”, but the translations can just add to the confusion. Although accompanying pictures can be a helpful relief, the translations often make the whole experience even more amusing. During my first few weeks in China I tried some delicious dishes with off-the-wall names. As an experiment, my friends and I would order things like “students addicted to chicken gristle (软骨)” and “red burned lion head”. It was always fun to see what landed on our table. Eventually we learned that “lion head” was actually pork, and “students” are “addicted” to diced (切碎的) chicken with green pepper.
Recently, I came across a busy restaurant down a narrow side street in a Beijing hutong. It was lunchtime and the small room was packed with people sitting on small stools (凳子) eating noodles. I was hungry and cold, and the steaming bowls looked irresistible! I sat myself down and called out for a “caidan!” In response, the waitress pointed to a wall at the back of the restaurant. The wall was full of Chinese characters describing numerous dishes. There was only one sentence in English: “crossing over the bridge noodles”.
I had never heard of the dish and had no idea what it would taste like. I took a gamble and ordered one bowl of “crossing over the bridge noodles”. A few minutes later the waitress carried over a heavy bowl full of broth (肉汤) and I quickly dug in. It was the best bowl of noodles I had ever tasted! I have been back again and again and each time I point at the one English sentence – “crossing over the bridge noodles”. I always enter a restaurant in China feeling excited and a little nervous. Who knows what the next ordering adventure will show?
1.How does the writer find the English-language menus in many of Beijing’s restaurants?
A. Confusing but amusing. B. Easy to understand.
C. Boring and annoying. D. Accurate and helpful.
2.The underlined word “gamble” in the last paragraph probably means ______.
A. taste B. look C. step D. risk
3.The passage deals with ______.
A. the author’s favorite Chinese dishes
B. the fun the author had ordering food in China’s restaurant
C. a comparison between Western food and Chinese food
D. the correct way to translate the names of Chinese dishes into English
4.The passage is developed mainly in the form of _____________.
A. examples and statements
B. comparison and conclusion
C. causes and effects
D. time and description
阅读下面的短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
What are consequences of laziness? Many young persons seem to think it of not much consequence they do not improve their time well in youth, vainly they can make it up by careful work or effort when they are . They also think it is shameful for men and women to be lazy, that there can be no harm in persons who are young spending their time in any they please.
George Jones thought . At the age of 16, he went to an academy to prepare to enter college. His father obtained books for him, clothed him, and paid for schooling at his great . But George thought of nothing but present . When called to recite, he went red and what he recited were not the right words, the whole class would burst into laughter. Such are the applauses (掌声) a lazy person gets. , though he passed a very poor examination, he was with the test. It was those who him that thought it was possible that the reason why he didn’t .questions better was that he was frightened.
However, in college there is not much shown to bad scholars. George had his studies so long that he fell behind. Poor fellow! He paid for his laziness. All the good scholars him; they were ashamed to be seen in his . He was growing discouraged. Eventually, he had to quit college. Such are the of laziness.
Therefore, we should, from this history, take , and “stamp improvement on the wings of time”.
1.A. as B. until C. if D. since
2.A. expecting B. regretting C. indicating D. requiring
3.A. older B. better C. taller D. stronger
4.A. and B. but C. for D. or
5.A. order B. sense C. manner D. pattern
6.A. so B. again C. aloud D. ahead
7.A. sale B. speed C. length D. expense
8.A. purpose B. pleasure C. memory D. situation
9.A. so that B. in case C. as though D. now that
10.A. At first B. On the contrary C. At last D. In other words
11.A. faced B. satisfied C. combined D. admitted
12.A. saved B. examined C. submitted D. appreciated
13.A. come up with B. respond to C. end up with D. add to
14.A. motivation B. dignity C. interest D. mercy
15.A. ignored B. explored C. interrupted D. strengthened
16.A. generously B. greedily C. constantly D. dearly
17.A. saved B. attracted C. avoided D. recommended
18.A. college B. company C. class D. community
19.A. characteristics B. causes C. states D. wages
20.A. action B. charge C. warning D. advice
—— We could make it from here to Florida if we drove all night.
—— ___________! It’s a three-day drive.
A. Be serious B. Dear me
C. It’s up to you. D. It’s no big deal
—— I dropped in on you at about four, p.m., but you didn’t answer the door.
—— Oh, that was probably _________ I was playing badminton in the stadium nearby.
A. that B. what C. when D. why
Apple Inc, __________ the way we communicate with its smartphones, released the Apple Watch on March 9, 2015 in San Francisco, US.
A. changing B. to change
C. changed D. having changed
