阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项。

    Jokes are things that we say to make other people laugh. Sometimes a joke is just a short sentence, while other times it can be a story that can take a while to tell. An example of a simple joke is:

People who tell jokes are welcomed everywhere bacause everyone likes hearing a good joke. Here is another example of a jokes:

We say a joke is “corny” if it is stupid. An example of a corny joke is:

    But some people may think a corny joke actually a good joke. Telling a good joke depends not only on the joke itself but also on the way it is told. Some people have a skill for telling jokes. And some people simply do not know how to tell jokes. Every language and culture has its own funny jokes. As a result, many jokes lose their humor if they are translated into a different language. Some jokes depend on making fun of other people to be funny. However, these jokes may hurt people's feelings.

Sometimes jokes are told about certain races and religions (宗教). These are called “racial” and “religious” jokes, and they can be burning people, too. Jokes about the supposed special things of the members of one sex are sometimes considered to be “sexist (性别歧视的) rubbish”. Jokes that hurt people's feelings are not really funny.

    Have you heard a good joke lately? Can you tell your classmates one that will make them laugh?

    Jane Austen ever popular

    This summer, the UK will honor its favorite writers, Jane Austen (1775-1817), by making her the face of the new £10 note. In the 200 years since her death, Austen has been getting more and more popular all over the world.

    And yet Austen's works are so English that it's rather strange she should be so popular all over the world. Her novels are so of their time that it's strange that she's still enjoyed in this very different age. Her most famous works including Pride and Prejudice, the one which she is most known for are about the world of the English gentry(贵族阶层)in the late 18^th century.

    Most of her works is about young women of that time. Women of the gentry could not work so their chances of happiness or even basic living depended upon finding a husband. This is a very serious subject matter, of course, but the joy of Austen's stories is her ability to make wonderful, but also touching, comedy out of something so serious.

    Take Pride and Prejudice as an example. Elizabeth Bennet is one of six daughters in a family that struggles with money problems. Her mother wants to marry off as many of them as possible.  Mrs Bennet is one of the great comic characters of English literature.

    The novel is developed by the love-hate relationship between Elizabeth and Mr Darcy. The pleasure of the novel is reading how these obstacles(障碍) are overcome and how the comical and unexpected ending is achieved.

    If we think about this story, it's clear why Jane Austen is still popular 200 years after her death, and why readers can still identify with characters from the long dead world of the 18^th century English gentry. Although there have been many changes since that time, it's still the greatest challenge in life for men and women to find the partner of their dreams.

    Christmas and the Spring Festival are two important festivals in the world.

    Christmas is the most important festival in western countries. It comes on 25th December. When Christmas comes，people have a long holiday. And there is Father Christmas! He comes on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and gives presents to children so they love him very much.

    The Spring Festival is very important in China. It usually happens in January or February. On the New Year's Eve，people have a big family dinner and they watch TV together. Parents usually give their children a hongbao, which means lucky money.