A good joke can be hardest thing to understand when studying a foreign language. As a recent report in The Guardian newspaper (卫报) noted, “There’s more to understanding a joke in a foreign language than     1     vocabulary and grammar.”

Being able to understand jokes is hard for a language learner to     2     friends with native (说母语的) speakers. “I always felt that humor was a ceiling (天花板) that I could never break through.” Lina Brown, a public relations manager in London, told The Guardian, “I used to study in Japan. I could never speak to Japanese people on the same level as I would speak to a native English speaker. I was almost a boring person     3     all I could talk about was facts.”

In fact, most of the time, jokes are only funny for people who share a cultural background (文化背景) or understand humor in the     4     way. Chinese-American actor Joe Wong found this out firsthand. He had achieved huge success in the US, but when he returned to China for his first live show in Beijing, he discovered that people     5     think his Chinese jokes were as funny as his English ones.

In Australia, many foreigners find understanding jokes about     6     to be the biggest headache. Let’s take rugby (橄榄球) as an example. “The hardest jokes are related to rugby because I know nothing about rugby and few people play it in China” said Zhang Xiao, a doctor in a hospital in Beijing. He was     7     a student in Australia. He added, “When I heard jokes I didn’t get, I just laughed along.”

In the other two major English-speaking countries, the sense of humor is also different. British jokes seem to be more subtle (微妙的) and dark, while American jokes are more obvious (明显的) with their meanings, a bit like Americans     8    .

Today is January 26th. Our class have a discussion about w     1     to stay at home or go out     2     a trip as the winter holiday is drawing near. Some of us are in favor of staying at home. They think it's     3     convenient and comfortable. What’s more, they can     4       money for other purposes.     5     they will lose the chance of getting to know the outside world. However, o     6     prefer to go out for traveling since it can increase their     7     (知识) and broaden their horizons. But they will spend more money and meet many difficulties while traveling. P     8     I think it would be better to stay at home, for I can do what I like, such     9     reading books, watching TV and h     10     my parents with some housework.

It is hard to think of a world    1    metals. Different metals have different uses, for example, steel is used in cars, and iron is used in electrical    2    . When we use metals, it is important to know how they react with different substances, for example, water and oxygen. The    3    of metals with these substances can be    4    in order. Here is a table with the metals that react most at the top, and the metals that react    5    at the bottom.

Landscaped Gardens — Suzhou Gardens in east China’s Suzhou City, attracting a c    1     flow of visitors from both home and abroad, have been suffering much damage for some reasons in the long history. Fortunately, thanks to the c    2     effort of the locals and the Chinese government, they manage to survive and are officially r    3     as the World Heritage.

Such heritage sites are not only the w    4     to the historical development of the city but also an important basis for historical research. Therefore, we can not lay too much stress on the s    5    of protecting and p    6    them. Our government should strive to launch c    7    to raise people’s awareness of the preservation. Besides, every Chinese citizen is supposed to behave a    8     and respectfully at tourist destinations. C    9     to the conservation of heritage sites, we are sure to make great achievements. Otherwise, we will suffer the c    10    .

I'm happy to receive your letter. I know you have some problems. I have some     1     that may help you. First, you should regard the problems     2     challenges. You think it is very difficult to learn English well. I think you should learn English by     3     notes because it's very important. Then you can talk with friends in English as much as you can. It can improve your speaking skills. I'm sorry to hear that you often make mistakes in     4    . I think you need to do more grammar exercises. You say you can't understand spoken English. Why not     5     the teachers for help? I think you will make great progress with the help of the teachers. As for watching TV, I think your mother is right, you should spend more time on study     6     of watching TV. If you get good grades, I'm sure your mother will     7     you to watch TV. You say you are getting heavier and heavier, what about eating more fruit and vegetables? Don't eat junk food. You should do more exercise     8     you have time.

I believe things will be better. Send you my best wishes.

Yours,

Lin Lin