A: Have you read today's newspaper?

B: No.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

A: Yes.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

B: How did it happen?

A: Two pupils were playing football on their way home {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

B.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

A. They were taken to the hospital and the doctors began to operate on them at once.

B: How are the children now?

A: They were saved at last and {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

B: I hope everything goes well .

A: I hope, too.

    Besides the spelling of the word, there are, clearly, many differences between American and British humor.

    There is a common belief in the U.K. that Americans don't understand irony (讽刺). This is of course not true. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Irony may show up in American comedies(喜剧), but people there don't use it as much as the British do in daily life.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It actually runs in the blood of the British people. They use it as much as prepositions(介词) in everyday conversations, as a way of playing with their friends and laughing at their enemies, as well as themselves. This may sometimes make people unhappy if the listeners are not used to it.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} After Americans use irony, they will clearly say that they are "only kidding". They feel the need to make a joke clearer so that it will not make other people uncomfortable.

    Humor is tied so much to culture. American jokes are more clear and forward, a bit like Americans themselves. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} This may result from the fact that British culture is more reserved(矜持的) than American culture.

    However, we still find that certain American comedies have made huge success in Britain and vice versa(反之亦然). {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

（ B ）

    American schools are quite different from those in China. In America, at the beginning of the term, students must select (挑选) their subjects and teachers first.

    Selecting is very important for your marks in America. So at the first term, don't select too many subjects, or you'll feel very nervous and tired. Then you have to ask for some teaching plans. There is some information about subjects, time arranging, marks and textbooks. At the same time, you must choose the teachers. Different teachers have different teaching methods. If the teacher is called "killer" by the last grade, many students will give up choosing him, because this kind of teacher will leave too much homework, too many exams and give too low grades. There is another thing after you select the subjects and teachers. How to buy textbooks makes each student feel hard. The textbooks in America are very expensive. Each one is about $30—50. In order to save money, many students buy some used textbooks, and some students usually borrow textbooks from the school library.

    In class, discussing is very important. The teacher encourages you to ask questions or show your own opinions. They don't usually ask you to sit well. Instead they allow you to sit or stand anywhere you like.