Question

    Recently, a group of scientists decided to find out what the funniest joke in the world was. This was obviously a difficult task, as no two people really agree about what is funny and what is not—especially when they are from different countries.

Here is the joke which the experts decided was the funniest joke in the world：

Two hunters were out in the woods. One of them fell to the ground. He didn’t seem to be breathing; his eyes were closed. The other hunter took out his mobile phone and called the emergency services.

“My friend is dead!” he cried to the operator. “What can I do？”The operator said，“Don’t worry. First, make sure he’s dead.” There was a silence, and then a shot was heard. Bang! The hunter’s voice came back on the line. He said, “OK, now what?”

This is perhaps amusing. Culturally, it depends on us knowing that often hunters are not considered to be very intelligent people, and that often they are quite violent. But perhaps this is not so all over the world. It’s also quite a “black” joke—a joke about something which isn’t really a funny subject. The experts also found the second funniest joke in the world. Here it is：

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a camping trip. After dinner, they went to sleep. Some hours later, Holmes woke up. “Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see.” “I see millions of stars, Holmes,” replied Watson.

“And what do you infer from that? ”

“Well, there are billions of stars ... we are a small part of the universe ...”

“Watson, you idiot!” he said. “Someone has stolen our tent!” I personally think this is better.

Can scientists in the end decide what is funny? Some things are much too complicated, even for scientists.

1.What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A.Few jokes can make scientists laugh.

B.Only scientists can find out the funniest joke.

C.There are different jokes in different countries.

D.People hold different opinions about what is funny.

2.What does the author think of the first joke?

A.It is not so funny as the experts thought.

B.It is really the funniest joke he has ever heard.

C.It can greatly affect readers’ attitudes toward hunters.

D.It shows that not all hunters are brave and intelligent.

3.We can learn that a person’s understanding of a joke can be affected by ________.

A.the reader’s feeling B.the length of the joke

C.the reader’s cultural background D.the language that the teller uses

4.Which of the following is the best title for this passage?

A.Uninteresting jokes B.Different kinds of jokes

C.The funniest jokes in the world D.Tips on how to make others laugh

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.C

4.C

【解析】

本文是一篇夹叙夹议文。一些科学家试图找到世界上最好笑的笑话，但实际上由于人们判断笑话好笑的标准不一样，找出最好笑的笑话是很难做到的。

1.推理判断题。根据第一段第二句This was obviously a difficult task, as no two people really agree about what is funny and what is not—especially when they are from different countries.“这显然是一项艰巨的任务，因为没有两个人能够就什么好笑什么不好笑达成一致——尤其是当他们来自不同的国家时。”可知，人们对笑话是否好笑持有不同的观点。故选D。

2.推理判断题。根据第四段中的This is perhaps amusing. Culturally, it depends on us knowing that often hunters are not considered to be very intelligent people, and that often they are quite violent. But perhaps this is not so all over the world. It’s also quite a “black” joke—a joke about something which isn’t really a funny subject.“这也许很有趣。从文化上来说，这取决于我们知道猎人通常被认为不是很聪明的人，而且他们通常很暴力。但也许并非全世界都是如此。这也是一个相当“黑色”的笑话——关于一些并不有趣的话题的笑话。”可知，作者认为第一个笑话不如专家认为的那样好笑，它充其量只是个“黑色幽默”。故选A。

3.推理判断题。根据第四段中的Culturally, it depends on us knowing that often hunters are not considered to be very intelligent people, and that often they are quite violent.“从文化上来说，这取决于我们知道猎人通常被认为不是很聪明的人，而且他们通常很暴力。”可知，一个人对某个笑话的理解受其文化背景的影响。故选C。

4.主旨大意题。本文主要讲的是科学家试图找出世界上最好笑的笑话，但是不同的人持有不同的观点。所以C项The funniest jokes in the world“世界上最有趣的笑话”为最佳标题。故选C。