Gallows humor(黑色幽默) may seem like a mistake, or at least in poor taste. But psychologists say that gallows humor can be an important way to relieve stress.“Humor makes you feel in control and it can give you that feeling that everything is okay even when it’s not,”says James M.Jones, a psychology professor at the University of Delaware.
Psychologists say that just because you’re laughing doesn’t mean you’re wasting time. Occasional tease among colleagues, particularly if it is associated with the job, can inspire creativity, departmental cohesiveness(凝聚力) and performance.
“There are a lot of stresses out there,”says Ed Dunkelblau, a psychologist in Chicago.“Gallows humor is a way of making difficult things a little less difficult.”
This is as long as the humor is used for the right purpose. The main point of it should be inspiring people—not laughing at them. “Anything that would lift morale(士气) in terms of the company would be good humor,”says Thierry Guedj, a professor.
You want to give your employees and co-workers a sense of belonging, so don’t make observations that are aggressive. Most obviously, Dr. Guedj says, don’t make comments about people’s physical appearance or faith. If you have any doubt about its appropriateness, don’t go through with it.
Or you can take aim at the person that you know won’t be offended(冒犯): yourself. “If there’s going to be a joke or story, it should be you,”Mr Dunkelblau says.
“People with the ability to laugh at themselves can give other people permission to laugh at themselves, too,”Mr Jones says.“And if you can laugh at yourself, you feel better about yourself.”
小题1:According to the passage, gallows humor has the following functions EXCEPT .
A．leading to a big mistake
B．reducing pressure
C．making people more creative
D．improving performance小题2:What is Ed Dunkelblau’s attitude towards gallows humor?
A．Negative.
B．Positive.
C．Neutral.(中立的)
D．Uncertain.小题3:When people use gallows humor, they should .
A．observe who is aggressive
B．show a sense of belonging
C．doubt about the result of humor
D．try to avoid involving private things小题4:What can we infer from the passage?
A．People tend to laugh at others rather than themselves.
B．Laughing at yourself can make others free from stress.
C．People can’t avoid offending others with gallows humor.
D．People who laugh at themselves are easy to gain others’ permission.
小题1:A
小题2:B
小题3:D
小题4:B
题目分析：
小题1:文章第一段说明B项正确，第二段表面CD是正确的。选A
小题2:推理题：从文章第三段的句子：“Gallows humor is a way of making difficult things a little less difficult.”可知B正确。
小题3:细节题：从第五段的句子：don’t make comments about people’s physical appearance or faith说明D正确。
小题4:从最后一段的句子：“People with the ability to laugh at themselves can give other people permission to laugh at themselves, too,可知嘲笑自己可以让别人放松。选B
考点:考查文化类短文阅读
点评：文章介绍了黑色幽默的好处，注意事项，和对象，考查学生的文化意识，对西方文化要有一定的了解，要求考生准确定位，仔细辨析。