I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: What is funny? The short answer is: Who knows? The joke that causes a burst of laughter from one listener might be met with a puzzled look from another. In general, you should avoid jokes at any business or social gathering where there are more than two people in your conversational group. If there are only two people -- and they consist of you and your best friend -- go ahead and tell it. Admittedly, a few people possess a perfect sense of timing, appropriateness, and joke delivery. You are probably not one of them. You might be quite funny and have many great jokes. But there's a place for jokes -- over dinner with family, hiking with friends, but business or social affairs with colleagues and acquaintances are not it. It takes a whole other level of joke-telling ability to put a joke into the more formal conversations. The best jokes come into the conversation so that by the time listeners realize a joke is in progress, the punchline that produces humour is being delivered -- to their surprise and delight. Jokes don't translate well when you're in a group with mixed backgrounds: those whose first language is not English, those who might not understand a special term or an "in" expression, young people who wouldn't catch a reference to some bit of culture familiar to older people -- and vice versa . Never joke about another person in the group -- about their name, habits, hometown, profession, appearance, or past. It's not a question of whether the joke is cheery or appropriate. No one enjoys being singled out this way. When you are the subject of the joke, the laughter doesn't feel good no matter how hard you try to tell yourself they're not laughing at you. Because that's what it feels like. What do you say if you realize your joke upset someone? Apologize as briefly and as sincerely as you can, and hope that someone changes the subject. Try saying: "I'm sorry. I should have known better" or "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking." What do you do if people don't get your joke or don't appear to find it as funny... Question: Which of the following best describes the writer's opinion on joke-telling? Options: A: Nobody knows what makes a joke funny. B: We should not tell jokes unless we are asked to do so. C: Joke-telling is a very complex thing. D: Jokes should be told only to friends and family members.
C
(Question)
I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: Work is a part of living --my grandparents understood that. They lived and worked on a farm that has been in my family for 150 years. They raised chickens for eggs , pigs and cattle for meat . Cows were kept for milk and the cream, from which Grandma made butter and cheese. What little yard they had became a garden. The Depression, therefore, didn't make much change in their lives. But it did bring an unending flow of men out of work, drifting from job to job, to the farm. The first to show up at the door of the kitchen was a man in rags. He took off his hat and quietly explained that he hadn't eaten for a while. Grandpa stood watching him a bit , then said , "There's a stack of firewood against the fence behind the barn . I've been needing to get it moved to the other side of the fence . You have just about enough time to finish the job before lunch ." Grandma said a surprising thing happened. The man got a shine in his eyes and he hurried to the barn at once. She set another place at the table and made an apple pie. During lunch, the stranger didn't say much, but when he left, his shoulders had straightened. "Nothing ruins a man like losing his self-respect," Grandpa later told me. Soon after, another man showed up asking for a meal. This one was dressed in a suit and carried a small old suitcase. Grandpa came out when he heard voices. He looked at the man and then offered a handshake." There is a stack of firewood along the fence down behind the barn I've been meaning to get it moved. It'd sure be a help to me . And we'd be pleased to have you stay for lunch." The fellow set his suitcase aside and neatly laid his coat on top. Then he set off to work. Grandma says she doesn't remember how many strangers they shared a meal with during those Depression days-or how many times that stack of wood got moved. Question: The writer's grandfather asked those jobless men to move the stack of firewood because _ . Options: A: he didn't want them to have a meal free of charge B: he had been needing to get it moved C: he wanted to help them in his own way D: he wanted to show them his kindness and respect
(Answer)
C
I'm taking a test and have to guess the right answer to the question after the article. Article: Europeans should try to stay indoors if ash from Iceland's volcano starts settling, the World Health Organization warned Friday as small amounts fell in Iceland, Scotland and Norway. WHO spokesman Daniel Epstein said the tiny ash is potentially dangerous for people when it starts to reach the Earth because particles taken in by people can enter the lungs and cause breathing problems. And he also said Europeans who go outside might want to consider wearing a mask. Other experts, however, weren't convinced the volcanic ash would have a major effect on peoples' health and said WHO's warnings were " _ ." They said volcanic ash was much less dangerous than cigarette smoke or pollution. Volcanic ash is made of fine particles of fragmented volcanic rock. It is light gray to black and can be as fine as talcum powder . During a volcanic eruption, the ash can be breathed deep into the lungs and cause irritation (,) even in healthy people. But once it falls from a greater distance -- like from the cloud currently hovering above Europe -- its health effects are often minimal, experts say. "Not all particles are created equal," said Ken Donaldson, a professor at the University of Edinburgh, "In the great scheme of things, volcanic ash is not all that harmful." And he said most Europeans' exposure to volcanic ash would be ignored and that only those in the near districts of the Icelandic volcano would likely be at risk. Dr. Stephen Spiro, a professor of the British Lung Foundation, said the further the particles travel, the less dangerous they will be. "The cloud has already passed over northern Scotland and we haven't heard of any ill effects there," he said. Spiro said to wear masks or stay indoors to avoid volcanic ash was "over the top" and "a bit hysterical." Question: The text is mainly about _ . Options: A: the effect of volcanic ash B: the health risk of volcanic ash C: the disadvantages of volcanic ash D: the opinions on health risk of volcanic ash
D