Having come into the post office to buy a couple of stamps, I ________ wait patiently while some fool takes ten minutes to complete a form that a child could do in one．

1. A.
   am obliged to
2. B.
   am forced
3. C.
   have no choice but
4. D.
   cannot but to

Most people agree that it’s important to have a sense of humour. Having the ability to laugh can help one overcome anxiety, and make better decisions in difficult situations. People with a well-developed sense of humour appear to be happier, and some are healthier as well. This suggests that having a sense of humour is good for you. Humourless people may find themselves being treated as a fool, and become anxious and upset.

A sense of humour also plays an important role in human relationships. However, not everyone has a sense of humour. People with developmental disabilities (发展性能力丧失) can sometimes have no sense of humour, or have a very strange one.

A number of factors affect a person’s sense of humour, with the age probably being the main one. Young children are often highly amused by simple jokes or shows, while teenagers prefer to enjoy the ironic (讽刺的) events. Educational level, culture, and religious faith also affect one’s sense of humour. While Christians, for example, may have a deep appreciation of jokes about the Bible, others may find them disrespectful.

Many people believe that a sense of humour is something that develops on its own, and that you cannot teach someone to understand why jokes, certain comments, situations or events are funny. However, things can be done to enhance one’s sense of humour. Children, for example, benefit from being told jokes and encouraged to laugh, although some children’s jokes might seem rather strange to adults. If you have children, try to encourage them to tell jokes and think about what makes things funny. And it will help them develop a sense of humour.

1.The purpose of the passage is to _______.

2.What does the underlined word in Paragraph 4 "enhance" probably mean?

3.According to the passage, which of the following doesn’t influence one’s sense of humour?

       April Fool’s Day（愚人节）, was a day of laughing and jokes. This day is kept in many countries, not only in Britain and the USA. This is a day to play jokes and make people laugh. Nobody knows when was the beginning of this custom. Some people connect it with the end of winter and the return of spring which make people merry and ready to play jokes.
In Scotland young people were sent for hen’s teeth or bird’s milk and everybody laughed when they could find such things. In the USA and Britain some people could place a sign on a person’s back with the words “push me!” Children often tell a grown-up that his sock is torn or he has something black on his face, and then shout “April Fool!” There is also the old purse（钱包） trick. A purse is left lying in the street, but when someone wants to take it, it is quickly pulled back by a string which the hidden joker holds in his hand. Or the purse may be filled with stones. Sometimes invitations are sent to people, asking them to come and visit somebody, but when they come they see that nobody expects them. Some people like to telephone to the zoo on the day and ask for Mr. Fish, Miss Fox or Mrs. Cat. All these jokes are very old but still they make people laugh.
【小题1】 ____________knows when the custom of April Fool’s Day started．

根据中文或首字母提示填写单词完成句子。（共15空，每空1分, 满分15分）

1.The first ____________ (场景) of the opening ceremony is excellent.

2.The boy shows great ______________ ( 好奇心) about animals.

3.She was deeply i________________ by the beauty of Guilin..

4.He always _________ (提醒) me of my homework when we were at school.

5.He _________ (咨询) his teacher about his English study yesterday. 

6.The government has promised to take ________ ( 措施) to help the unemployed.

7.I went to the embassy to ________ (寻求) help but I was refused.

8.She ___________ (生存) on tea and bread. That’s why she is so slim.

9.We should combine _________ (理论) with practice.

10.However big the fool, there is always a bigger fool to _________（羡慕）him.

11.It’s certain that people in that town will b          from the new hospital.

12.Our village, which is s______________ by trees, flowers and green grass, is very beautiful.

13.Without the teacher's __________(允许), you cannot play with the computer in our class.

14.My grand father is as e_________ as a young man and hates sitting around doing nothing .

15.In some countries, people eat too much fat and sugar. They should eat a b____________ diet to keep healthy.

What makes one person more intelligent than another? What makes one person a genius, like the brilliant Albert Einstein, and another person a fool? Are people born intelligent or stupid, or is intelligence the result of where and how you live? These are very old questions and the answers to them are still not clear.

We know, however, that just being born with a good mind is not enough. In some ways, the mind is like a leg or an arm muscle. It needs exercise. Mental (done with the mind) exercise is particularly important for young children. Many child psychologists (心理学家) think that parents should play with their children more often and give them problems to think about. The children are then more likely to grow up bright and intelligent. If, on the other hand, children are left alone a great deal with nothing to do, they are more likely to become dull and unintelligent.

Parents should also be careful with what they say to young children. According to some psychologists, if parents are always telling a child that he or she is a fool or an idiot, then the child is more likely to keep doing silly and foolish things. So it is probably better for parents to say very positive (helpful) things to their children, such as “That was a very clever thing you did.” or “You are such a smart child.”

1.The words “intelligent” and “brilliant” in the first paragraph probably mean _______ while “dull” in the second paragraph means ________.

2.According to the context we can guess that a genius is ________ while an idiot is ________.

3.A person ________ is more likely to become a genius.