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.

 

B.根据短文内容及首字母提示,填写所缺单词,使短文意思完整。每空限一词。

One day, an old couple around the age of 70 walked into a lawyer’s office. They were there to get a divorce(离婚). The lawyer(律师) was very puzzled. A  1   having a chat with them, he got their story.

    This couple had been quarrelling in their 40 years of marriage and nothing ever seemed to go right. They stayed together because of their children. Now all their children have grown up and have their o  2   families. There’s nothing else the old couple have to w  3   about. All they want is to live their own life, so both have agreed on a divorce.

    The lawyer was having a hard time trying to get papers done. He couldn’t understand why the old couple w  4    a divorce. While they were signing the papers, the wife told the husband, “ I really love you, but I really can’t carry on any more.”

     “It’s Ok, I understand,” said the husband. Looking at this, the lawyer suggested a

d   5    together, just the three of them. The wife thought, why not, since they were still going to be f  6   .

    The first dish was roasted chicken. At once, the old man took the chicken leg and gave it to the old lady. “Take this, it’s your f  7   .

    Looking at this, the lawyer thought maybe here was a chance, but the wife looked

u  8    when she answered, “This is the problem. You always think so highly of yourself and never think about how I feel. Don’t you know that I h  9   chicken legs?”

    Little did she know that, over the years, the husband had been trying many d  10   ways to please her; little did she know that chicken legs were her husband’s favourite.

 

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网