Making sense of how the US shows humor

Living in a new country gives me many surprises. The first surprise was the way that the US people speak.

One day I saw someone was having a public speech in a square. I thought it would be a serious speech. But I soon found it became a kind of entertainment show.

   The speaker told the audience to protect the environment with humorous words. Later he said some people’s behavior didn’t go with their words. He took the example of Taylor Swift’s song We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.

   He said that since Swift doesn’t want to be with the boy any more, she doesn’t need to speak it aloud, she doesn’t need to sing unless she still keeps in touch with that guy. It sounds like she is a hypocrite.

   Then he sang the song in a funny way. The audience laughed out loudly. I felt a little angry because Swift is my favourite star. I couldn’t understand why they laughed at Swift.

As time goes on, I find many US people make fun of others. But they don’t mean to hurt them. They do that to show closeness and humour. And people who are laughed at seldom get angry. Now I understand the speaker at the square. Now I’ve got used to the way the US people speak.

   It’s easy to find culture shock when you’re in a new place. But everyone should learn to understand different cultures and customs. 

1.The man in the square was _______________.

A. teaching people how to give a speech

B. calling on people to protect the environment

C. giving a singing show in public

D. criticizing the US government           

2. What does the underlined word “hypocrite” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A. 会唱歌的人      B. 真诚的人       C. 虚伪的人       D. 爱护环境的人

3.From Paragraph 6, we learn that_________________.

A. many US people like to laugh at others  

B. many US people are friendly and humorous

C. the US people get angry at others easily  

D. the writer doesn’t like the way the US people speak          

4.Which is Not suitable for the passage?

A. The writer went to America and protect the environment.

B. Americans show humour in a different way from China.

C. It’s easy to find culture shock when you are in a new place.

D. Tailor Swift is an American famous singer.               

5.What does the article mainly talk about?

A. Differences between the Chinese and the US people.      

B. In what way the US people speak in public.

C. How to get used to life in the US.  

D. A Chinese girl’s culture shock experience in the US.

 

Saturday morning was bright and fresh. There was a song in every heart, cheer on every face, and a  spring in every step.
Tom appeared with a bucket of white paint in one hand and a brush in the other. His Aunt Polly told him to paint the fence around the garden. It was thirty yards long and nine feet high. He felt very depressed.
Then he had a wonderful idea. He picked up his brush and started to work.
Soon Ben came along the road. He was happily eating an apple. He stopped to look at Tom. Tom went on painting and pretended（假装）not to see Ben.
“I’m going swimming,” said Ben. “Do you want to go swimming, Tom? But I guess you can’t. You have to stay and work, don’t you?”
“Work?” Tom said. “This isn’t work. I’m enjoying myself. Does a boy get a chance to paint a fence like this every day?”
Ben  thought  about  this.  Tom  continued  painting  carefully. Sometimes he stopped, stood back to look at the fence like an artist, and then added a bit more paint in just the right place. Ben was watching Tom paint with great interest. He was getting more and more eager to have a try himself.
After a while, Ben asked Tom if he would let him paint a little. Tom thought about it, and said,
“No, Ben, I can’t. You see. Aunt Polly wants it to be done well. Aunt Polly said that I must paint it with great care.”
“Oh, please, Tom,” begged Ben. “I can do it. I’ll be really careful. Just let me try. I’ll give you half of my apple. Well, I’ll give you all of it!”
“Well, all right, Ben,” said Tom. “You must be very careful.”
He gave Ben his brush with worry on his face but joy in his heart. He sat down under the tree, and started to eat Ben’s apple. All day, boys came to make fun of Tom, but they ended up staying to paint. When Ben got tired, Billy was waiting. He gave Tom a kite for a chance to paint. Then Johnny offered him twelve marbles, and so on.
By late afternoon Tom had gained all sorts of toys, and the fence had gained three  coats of paint. Later Aunt Polly came to look at the painted fence. She was so pleased with Tom’s work that she gave Tom a large cake!
【小题1】Why did Tom pretend not to see Ben when he came and watched him painting?

A．He saw Ben eating an apple happily.

B．He tried to make Ben interested in it.

C．He didn’t want to go swimming with Ben at all.

D．He didn’t want Ben to share the chance to paint the fence.

【小题2】What do the underlined words “spring” and “coat” probably mean in the passage according to the given dictionary entries （词条）?
spring
1 [U,C]the season between winter and summer when plants begin to grow 春天；春季
2 [U]the  ability  of  a  spring  to  return  to  its original position 弹性；弹力
3 [C]a place where water comes naturally to the surface from under the ground 泉
4 [U]a cheerful, lively quality 活力；朝气
coat
1 [C]a piece of clothing with long sleeves that you wear over other clothes when you go outside 外套
2 [C]the fur or hair on an animal’s skin
（动物的）皮毛
3 [C]a layer of something such as paint that you put onto a surface覆盖层；涂层

A．4;3

B．4;2

C．3;3

D．1;3

【小题3】Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Tom gained some toys by helping his friends.

B．Tom’s friends often helped him paint the fence.

C．Tom successfully tricked his friends into painting the fence.

D．Billy was the fourth boy to have the chance to paint the fence.

【小题4】What do you think of Tom?

A．He was honest.

B．He was smart.

C．He was shy.

D．He was stubborn.

There is no way that you cannot have any embarrassing moments. You can’t control everything that happens, so you’re going to be in an embarrassing situation one day. So how can you solve this problem? The answer is to control your actions and try not to get upset.

    ◆Remember that you'll probably laugh about it in a few days, so try to see the funny side of it right away.

    ◆If it is something so embarrassing that you feel you will never laugh about it, please remember that the ______________(1) will be over after some time.

    ◆Ask your friends to give you a break and not to make fun of you. If you’ve done the same for them, they’re more likely to agree to give you a break.

    Always remember that you are not alone. Everyone has embarrassing moments. While you are sure that everyone is going to remember this moment forever, that fact is that they’ll probably forget it very soon. Most of us remember the moments in which we feel embarrassed, but very few of us remember other people’s embarrassing moments.

    Most people have short memories. So while you may never forget the moment when your skirt was torn(撕裂) in gym class, most of the other people probably forget it at once. Although a short memory may not be a(n) ____________ (2) thing when you are trying to remember facts in a history test, it is useful when you are trying to forget life’s most embarrassing moments.

任务一：请根据短文内容，分别写出（1）和（2）两处所缺单词。（每空限填一词）

1.(1) ________________          (2) _________________

任务二：根据短文内容，选择正确答案

2. It can be inferred(推断) from the passage that __________ when you fall down after making a speech.

    A. everyone will remember the moment forever

    B. you may never forget the moment

    C. other people will feel embarrassed

    D. you will not remember the moment

任务三：请把上文中画线的句子译成汉语

3. _____________________________________________.

任务四：请根据短文内容，回答下列问题

4. According to the passage, why does the writer say “you are not alone”?

    ______________________________________________.

5.What’s the main idea of the passage?

    It’s mainly about how to _______________________ when you are embarrassed.

 

Vanilla is my best friend. She is a lovely girl with two big, beautiful eyes. But she always hides them behind a pair of black glasses.

One day, though, I nearly ended our friendship. I remember that day clearly. We were sitting in class. The teacher was giving us our results for a Chinese test. I had done badly. I felt so sad that I wouldn’t talk to anyone. At lunchtime, I even stayed in the classroom alone. Suddenly, I heard a voice. It was Vanilla. “You look very unhappy,” she said. “What’s wrong?” I looked up at her, but said nothing. I knew Vallina had got a good mark in the test. I thought she was making fun of me. I stayed silent(沉默), but Vallina didn’t go away. She kept asking me questions: “Is it because of the exam? Do you want me to show you the right answers?” I looked away from her. When I looked up again, Vanilla had gone. And so had my exam paper! I didn’t know what to do. I looked everywhere for me paper, but couldn’t find it.

In the afternoon, Vanilla came up to my desk and gave me my exam paper back. I looked at it and got a big surprise. Vanilla had written the right answer next to every one of my mistakes. My face went red. Vanilla had been trying to help me all along. How mean I had been to her when she was being so nice. I wanted to hug （拥抱）her, but all I did was to hold her hands and say, “Thank you.” That afternoon, Vanilla and I walked home together. I felt so happy that I had to thank her again. We were still best friends.

1.The sentences “ But she always hides them behind a pair of black glasses.” Really means _________.

A．she doesn’t want others to see her eyes

B．there is something wrong with her eyes

C．she likes to wear dark glasses

D．she is often shy

2.The writer felt sad because ________ in the Chinese test.

A．she got a good mark

B．Vanilla had done better than her

C．she didn’t have a good mark

D．the teacher was angry with her

3.Vanilla really came to the writer to _______.

A．make fun of her

B．find out what had happened to her

C．help her

D．show her the right answers

4.Vanilla left the writer because she __________.

A．wanted to write the right answers for the writer

B．didn’t know what to do to help her friend

C．was angry with the writer

D．wanted to go home for lunch

5.Which of the following phrases has the same meaning as “make fun of”?

A．Saying “hello” to.

B．Seeing me off.

C．Laughing at.

D．Looking after.

 

Mr. Li was in bed and was trying to go to sleep when he heard the bell ring . He turned on the light and looked at his clock. It was half past twelve. “Who can it be at this time of night?” he wondered. He decided to go and find out .So he got out of bed, put on his dressing gown and went to the door. When he opened the door, there was nobody there. “That’s very strange.” He thought. Then he went back to his bedroom, took off his dressing gown, got back into bed, turned off the light and tried to go to sleep.
A few minutes later he heard the bell ring again. Mr. Li jumped out of bed very quickly and rushed to the door. He opened it, but again he found no one there. He shut the door and found a piece of paper with some words on it: “It is now after midnight, so it is April 1st. April fool to you!”
“Oh, it was the English boy next door!” Mr. Li exclaimed, and almost smiled, He went back to bed and fell asleep immediately. The bell did not ring again.
【小题1】Mr. Li was trying to go to sleep when he heard ________.

A． the telephone ring

B． the bell ring

C． someone knock at the door

D． someone shout

【小题2】He turned on the light and _______.

A． got out of bed

B． looked out of the window

C． looked at his watch

D． looked at his clock

【小题3】When he opened the door for the first time, there was ________ there.

A．a boy

B．a piece of paper

C．someone

D．nobody

【小题4】There were some words on the piece of paper: “It is now_____ April 1st . April fool to you!”

A． before midnight, so it is

B． after midnight, so it is

C． before noon, so it will be

D． after noon, so it was

【小题5】The English boy rang the bell because he ________.

A． had something important to tell Mr. Li

B． Wanted to give Mr. Li a piece of paper

C． Wanted to make fun of Mr. Li

D． Wanted to borrow Mr. Li’s bell