[C]
Are you planning to start your next international business presentation (讲座) with a little joke to break the ice? Well, you might want to reconsider.The story is told of a businessman who gave a speech in a foreign country through an interpreter (口译员). Without warning the interpreter, he told a joke during the presentation. The interpreter knew the joke would not translate, so she said, “This man just told a joke that he thinks is funny, but it does not translate well, and you will not find it funny at all. So, when I stop talking, everyone please just laugh.”
The audience did indeed laugh aloud, but not for the reason the speaker supposed. The businessman was so pleased with the first result that he went on to tell another joke.
Each culture has different understandings of humour. What may be funny in one culture can be far from funny in another.
For example, while living in Chile, I often tried to share great jokes from the United States, only to be met with questions like, “Oh, is that a joke? Is that funny in your country?” Similarly, Chileans shared their own popular jokes that were not always funny to me.
In September 2001, Professor Richard Wiseman and the British Association for the Advancement of Science created a project called LaughLab in order to find the world’s funniest joke. And in one year, LaughLab received more than 40,000 jokes.
The following joke is considered the world’s funniest joke by LaughLab:
“Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls down. He doesn’t seem to be breathing. The other man calls the emergency services. He says, ‘My friend is dead! What can I do?’ The operator says, ‘Calm down. I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.’ There is a silence, then a shot (枪声) is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says, ‘OK, now what?’”
If you decide you must share a joke or two in another country, ask the opinion of your interpreter first. Otherwise, the joke may be on you.
28. Why did the audience laugh?
A. The joke was funny.
B. They were told to do so.
C. The interpreter made a mistake.
D. The businessman was humorous.
29. How did the businessman feel after finishing the joke?
A. Stupid.
B. Strange.
C. Moved.
D. Encouraged.
30. Why does the author mention his own experience?
A. To show Chileans are impolite.
B. To show humour is related to culture.
C. To show Chileans have no sense of humour.
D. To show it’s hard to understand American humour.
31. Why does the hunter shoot his friend?
A. His friend is in great pain.
B. The operator asks him to do so.
C. He is too worried to know what to do.
D. He misunderstands the meaning of “make sure”.
C篇
本文是说明文。幽默与文化紧密联系，不同文化的幽默方式不同，对幽默的理解也不同。
28. B。细节理解题。由第二段中的when I stop talking, everyone please just laugh可知，口译员告诉听众这个笑话没办法翻译，所以等自己停止说话后，观众大笑即可。
29. D。细节理解题。由第三段中的The businessman was so pleased with the first result that he went on to tell another joke可知，讲完笑话，看到观众都大笑了，这个商人深受鼓舞又讲了一个笑话。
30. B。推理判断题。第四段中提到了Each culture has different understandings of humour，紧接着，作者在第五段分享了自己在智利的经历，由此可知，他举自己的例子是为了说明幽默与文化息息相关。
31. D。推理判断题。由倒数第二段中的The operator says, ‘Calm down. I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.’可知，那个猎人之所以射杀了自己的朋友，是因为误解了接线员口中make sure的含义。
