Unit 4 Humour 外刊阅读训练-2023-2024学年高中英语北师大版选择性必修第二册

Text 1 Satire is core of British humor A man walks into a doctor’s office. He has a cucumber up his nose, a carrot in his left ear and a banana in his right ear. "What’s the matter with me?" he asks the doctor. The doctor replies, "You're not eating properly." This is a popular joke among British schoolchildren. It reflects Britain’s famous dry and 1)__________ way of seeing the funny side of life. This unique sense of humor is often cited as one of Britain's 2)__________ national characteristics. "The famous British sense of humor has long been our most 3)__________ national characteristic," says the British journalist Leo Mckinstry. "We have valued it above historic military victories and great works of literature, above our rich scenic landscape and our talent for invention." The British sense of humor differs from other countries because it is generally more 4)__________. When it comes to making the British laugh, there is nothing more effective than a socially inappropriate joke. Popular British comedy shows such as Fawlty Towers, Blackadder and The Office are full of 5)__________, 6)__________ and self-deprecation (自嘲). It reflects the culture where 7)__________, moaning (诉苦) and 8)_________ is part of everyday life. While most Britons don't take these jokes too seriously, foreigners are often bemused (迷惑) by them. A recent survey found that most foreigners who visited Britain found that the British are "9)__________, unfriendly and have almost no sense of humor." Do foreigners not understand British humor or are the British just not as funny as they think they are? McKinstry certainly thinks the British are funny. "10)__________ the British of having no sense of humor is like telling Rolls-Royce that its cars are down-market," he says. Text 2 Read the article and put the paragraphs in appropriate places. There is an extra one. A. However, none of the offenses is really serious, hence the humor. They lie to get a free ride, cheat on an IQ test to fool