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... How will people feel when they are joked about? A) They will feel happy if the joke is a pleasant one. B) They will be upset no matter what kind of joke it is. C) They will enjoy the joke when realizing that people are not laughing at them. D) They will panic because it makes them the center of attention.
B
(Question)
Kelly Reeves was getting ready for a trip when her phone slipped into a sink full of water. Panic moment! She quickly picked up the wet phone and tried to turn it on, but nothing worked. Her first reaction? She got dressed, drove to the nearest store, and bought a new mobile at full price. A new study finds that fear of losing your phone is a common illness. About 66 percent of those surveyed suffer from _ or "no mobile phone phobia". Interestingly, more women worry about losing their phone than men. Fortunately, there's a solution. The first step is to figure out if you have nomophobia. Checking your phone too often is one thing, but the true sign of a problem is that you can't conduct business or go about your routine when the fear becomes so severe. Do you go to unusual lengths to make sure you have your phone? That's another sign of a problem. If you find you check your phone plenty of times per hour, or a total of an hour per day, there may be a problem. Some of the treatments are similar to those for treating anxiety attacks: leaving the phone behind and not checking e-mail or text messages, and then learning to tolerate the after anxiety. Even if this leads to a high level of worry and stress, the solution is to push through the fear and learn to deal with not having your phone. Of course, there are also technological alternatives. Luis Levy, a co-founder at Novy PR, says he uses an application called Cerberus that can automatically track the location of his phone. To find it, he can just go to a website and see the phone's location. He also insures his phone through a service called Asurion. The company's description of its product reads like a prescription for anxiety:"60 million phones are lost, stolen or damaged each year. You'll have complete peace of mind knowing that your phone is protected and you can quickly reconnect with family, friends and work, as soon as the very next day!" Why can the service called Asurion help to treat nomophobia? A) It lets you know other people also lose their phones. B) It will give you a new phone through insurance. C) It enables you to reconnect with your acquaintances. D) It gives you a prescription to treat nomophobia
(Answer)
C
Ques: Bicycle tour and race A bike tour and race will be held on August 26 and 27(Sat. & Sun. ). At 5:30am, the riders will leave Tian'anmen Square and ride the first 35 kilometres as a training leg. Then the next 55 kilometre leg, from Yanjiao to Jixian, will be the first competitive part of the tour. The riders and their bikes will then be taken from Jixian to Changli. The second racing leg of the tour will be from Changli to the seaside of Nandaibe, covering a distance of 20 kilometres. Saturday night includes the stay at Nandaihe and supper. Sunday morning is free for play at the seaside. At noon all the people and their bikes will be taken back to Beijing. Cost: 200 yuan Telephone: 4675027 Brazilian footballers The Brazilian Football Club will play Beijing Guo'an Team at the Workers Stadium on August 26. The club has four national team players. Also coming is 1994 US World Cup star Romario ho has promised to play for at least 45 minutes. Ticket prices: 60,100,150 yuan Time/Date: 4:30 pm, August 26(Sat. ) Telephone: 5012372 Rock climbing The Third National Rock Climbing Competition will be held on August 26-27 at the Huairou Mountain-climbing Training Base. More than 10 teams from Beijing, Wuhan, Dalian, Jilin and other places will take part in it. A Japanese team will give an exhibition climbing. Free for spectators . Take a long-distance bus from Dongzhimen to Huairou. Time/Dates: 9-12 am, August 26 and 27 Telephone: 7143177, 7144850, Wang Zhenghua If you want to find something to do for Saturday afternoon, which telephone number will you call? A) 467502 B) 7143177 C) 5012372 D) 7144850
Ans:
C