Making sense of how the US shows humor
Living in a new country gives me many surprises. The first surprise was the way that the US people speak.
One day I saw someone was having a public speech in a square. I thought it would be a serious speech. But I soon found it became a kind of entertainment show.
The speaker told the audience to protect the environment with humorous words. Later he said some people’s behavior didn’t go with their words. He took the example of Taylor Swift’s song We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.
He said that since Swift doesn’t want to be with the boy any more, she doesn’t need to speak it aloud, she doesn’t need to sing unless she still keeps in touch with that guy. It sounds like she is a hypocrite.
Then he sang the song in a funny way. The audience laughed out loudly. I felt a little angry because Swift is my favourite star. I couldn’t understand why they laughed at Swift.
As time goes on, I find many US people make fun of others. But they don’t mean to hurt them. They do that to show closeness and humour. And people who are laughed at seldom get angry. Now I understand the speaker at the square. Now I’ve got used to the way the US people speak.
It’s easy to find culture shock when you’re in a new place. But everyone should learn to understand different cultures and customs.
小题1:The man in the square was _______________.
A．teaching people how to give a speech
B．calling on people to protect the environment
C．giving a singing show in public
D．criticizing the US government小题2: What does the underlined word “hypocrite” in Paragraph 4 mean?
A．会唱歌的人
B．真诚的人
C．虚伪的人
D．爱护环境的人小题3:From Paragraph 6, we learn that_________________.
A．many US people like to laugh at others
B．many US people are friendly and humorous
C．the US people get angry at others easily
D．the writer doesn’t like the way the US people speak小题4:Which is Not suitable for the passage?
A．The writer went to America and protect the environment.
B．Americans show humour in a different way from China.
C．It’s easy to find culture shock when you are in a new place.
D．Tailor Swift is an American famous singer.小题5:What does the article mainly talk about?
A．Differences between the Chinese and the US people.
B．In what way the US people speak in public.
C．How to get used to life in the US.
D．A Chinese girl’s culture shock experience in the US.
