I. Please read the text after the speaker.

             English humor vs. American humor: Is there a difference?

1.  Humor is a phenomenon shaped by culture. It can be difficult to determine what aspects of culture define a certain sense of humor. A nation’s wit is linked to the historical development of the country. ①How funny somebody finds a certain incident depends on many factors including age, personal experience, level of education, and geographical location. Therefore humor is something that is not always acceptable to another country or culture.

2.  What somebody from one area finds funny may not be amusing at all to somebody from another location. ②Whether or not somebody gets the joke is determined by their interpretation, which is, in turn, influenced by their culture.

3.  What about when both countries speak the same mother tongue? Does that mean that they will then share the same sense of humor, or will differences still occur? Let’s take the example of Britain and America. ③Not only do the Americans and the British spell the word “humor” differently, most claim that American humor and British humor are quite different in nature. Time and time again, people say that the British and the Americans don’t “get” each other’s sense of humor. ④To what extent is this true, if at all? 

4.  There’s a received wisdom in Britain that the Americans don’t get irony. It is often believed to be one of the most common differences between the British and American sense of humor. This is of course not true. One of the major differences seems to be how often both nations use irony. The British use irony on a daily basis. They use it as freely as prepositions in everyday speech. They make fun of their friends. They use sarcasm as a shield and a weapon. They avoid sincerity until it’s absolutely necessary. They mercilessly make fun of everyone, including themselves. This is very important, for it shows not only their pride but self-deprecation as well. ⑤Their brashness and swagger are laden with equal portions of self-deprecation. This is their license to hand it out.

II. Text analysis

①How funny somebody finds a certain incident depends on  many factors including age, personal experience, level of education, and geographical location.（Para. 1）

翻译：人们对于一件事情滑稽性的体会程度是不同的，这取决于很多因素，包括年龄、个人经历、受教育程度和地域。

②Whether or not somebody gets the joke is determined by their interpretation, which is, in turn, influenced by their culture.（Para. 2）

翻译：人们的理解决定着他们是否觉得笑话好笑，而人们的理解又反过来会受到文化的影响。

③Not only do the Americans and the British spell the word “humor” differently, most claim that American humor and British humor are quite different in nature.（Para. 3）

翻译：英美两国不仅在“幽默”一词的拼写上存在差异，多数人认为，美式幽默和英式幽默存在本质上有很大差别。

④To what extent is this true, if at all? （Para. 3）

翻译：这种说法就算成立，又是在多大程度上呢？

⑤Their brashness and swagger are laden with equal portions of self-deprecation.(Para. 4）

翻译：他们的傲慢自大与自谦旗鼓相当，不相上下。英国人有这样做的自由。

III.Test     

1.  Humor is a phenomenon shaped by culture. It can be difficult to determine what aspects of culture define a certain sense of humor. A nation’s wit is linked to the historical development of the country. ①How funny somebody finds a certain incident depends on many factors including age, personal experience, level of education, and geographical location. Therefore humor is something that is not always acceptable to another country or culture.

2.  What somebody from one area finds funny may not be amusing at all to somebody from another location. ②Whether or not somebody gets the joke is determined by their interpretation, which is, in turn, influenced by their culture.

3.  What about when both countries speak the same mother tongue? Does that mean that they will then share the same sense of humor, or will differences still occur? Let’s take the example of Britain and America. ③Not only do the Americans and the British spell the word “humor” differently, most claim that American humor and British humor are quite different in nature. Time and time again, people say that the British and the Americans don’t “get” each other’s sense of humor. To what extent is this true, if at all? 

4.  There’s a received wisdom in Britain that the Americans don’t get irony. It is often believed to be one of the most common differences between the British and American sense of humor. This is of course not true. One of the major differences seems to be how often both nations use irony. The British use irony on a daily basis. They use it as freely as prepositions in everyday speech. They make fun of their friends. They use sarcasm as a shield and a weapon. They avoid sincerity until it’s absolutely necessary. They mercilessly make fun of everyone, including themselves. This is very important, for it shows not only their pride but self-deprecation as well. ④Their brashness and swagger are laden with equal portions of self-deprecation. This is their license to hand it out.