2、When parents use sarcasm（諷刺）to make jokes with their young children, do the kids see the humor? Not likely, according to a Canadian researcher who has completed a study showing that children need to be 10 or older before fully getting the idea that sarcasm can be funny or even rude. “The results offer good advice for everything from the content of children’s television programming to understanding rude behaviors,” University of Calgary psychologist Penny Pexman said. “Our study suggests that the 5-year-olds are beginning to understand the simplest form of sarcasm and are getting better at it, but still by the age of eight they really don’t find it funny. So there is disconnection there,” said Pexman, who has been studying sarcasm for the past six years. “They can see that the person means the opposite of what they are saying, but they don’t find it humorous.” In addition, children under the age of 10 almost always took a sarcastic remark as a serious one, even when it was intended to be humorous. It is still not completely clear what determines how children understand sarcasm, but Pexman said factors（因素）could include the amount used at home, their social environment and the types of television shows they watch. In fact, adults write kids’ television programs but much of the humor may be lost on the intended audience, she said.

1．One of the aims for Pexman to study sarcasm is       .

       A．to play jokes with young children         

       B．to help children learn more humor

       C．to guide kids’ television programming   

       D． to make children learn the funny world

2．What can we conclude from the passage?

       A．The 5-year-olds were too stupid to understand sarcasm.

       B．The 8-year-olds knew sarcasm was funny and rude.

       C．The 11-year-olds always took a sarcastic remark seriously.

       D．The 12-year-olds could find sarcasm funny or even rude

3．Which of the following is Pexman’s conclusion?

       A．It’s not a good idea for parents to tell children what humor is

       B．Humours written by adults sometimes fail to work among children.

       C．Kids’ sense of humor is decided by the type of TV sets at their home.

       D．Adults shouldn’t write kids’ TV programs since they don’t have a sense of humor

1、Either out of confusion or discomfort we sometimes express our feelings in an unclear way. One key to making your feelings clear is to realize that you most often can shorten them in a few words: hurt, glad, confused, excited, angry, and so on. In the same way, with a little thought you can probably describe very briefly any reasons you have for feeling a certain way.

       In addition to avoiding too long expressions, a second way to prevent confusion is to avoid downplaying your feelings by saying“I’m a little unhappy”or“I’m pretty excited”.Of course, not all feelings are strong ones. We do feel degrees of sadness and joy, for example, but some communicators have a tendency to downplay almost every feeling. Do you?

       A third danger to avoid is expressing feelings in an indirect or coded manner. This happened most often when the sender is uncomfortable about showing his or her feeling in question. Some codes are verbal ones, as when the sender hints more or less subtly at the message. For example, an indirect way to say“I’m feeling lonely”might be“I guess there isn’t much happening this weekend, so if you’re not busy, why don’t you drop by?”such a message is so indirect that the chances that you real feeling will be recognized are small. For this reason, people who send coded messages stand less of a chance of having their feeling understood and their need met.

       Finally, you can express yourself clearly by making sure that both you and your partner understand that your feeling is centered in a specific（特定）set of environments rather than being indicative of the whole relationship. Instead of saying“I hate you”,say“I hate you when you don’t keep your promises”. Rather than“I’m bored with you”, say“I’m bored when you talk about your money.”

1．According to the first sentence, we sometimes express our feelings in an unclear way because

              .

       A．we are not clear what it is                    

       B．we have just get rid of a discomfort

       C．we are in a very bad feeling                 

       D．we do not want to tell anyone about it

2．We downplay our feeling if       .

       A．we don’t like it and try to hold it from anyone

       B．we control our anger without letting it out

       C．we use weak words to express a strong feeling

       D．we are confused an feel uncomfortable about it

3．The writer points out that if we express our feelings in a coded manner       .

       A．we will make them harder to be understood                          

       B．we will feel all the more confused

       C．we will feel uncomfortable                   

       D．we will make the listener uncomfortable

4．If you use very general words to express your feelings       .

       A．you tend to be downplaying them         

       B．you tend to be strengthening them

       C．you will make yourself well understood 

       D．your listener will not understand you well

5．According to the writer,“I’m bored with you”is an expression       .

       A．that strengthens our feelings                 B．that downplays our feelings

       C．that will make our listener confused       D．that is made in a coded manner

33、They gave each competitor a number, but they _____ NO.13 as no one wanted to have it.

A. picked out    B. turned out         C. left out       D. worked out

32、----- Would you like to buy a new MP4?

----- Sure, but I _____ . I don’t have enough money at the moment.

A. don’t afford    B. can’t afford to     C. afford to          D. will afford

31、Dogs, if _____ properly, can assist the police in many ways.

A. training       B. trained            C. being trained    D. to be trained

30、---- Can’t you _____ a bit? I wouldn’t like to miss a single minute of the concert?

---- Don’t worry. We’ll get there in time.

A. sweep up       B. take up            C. speed up       D. make up

29、_____ money, the young man couldn’t afford to buy a new car.

A. Lacks          B. To lack            C. Lacked         D. lacking

28、At the entrance all passengers _____ to show their tickets.

A. required       B. are required       C. require        D. are requiring