English people are famous for their humour (幽默). {#blank#}1{#/blank#} it is often difficult for foreigners to understand their jokes. The main thing to {#blank#}2{#/blank#} is that English people often use understatement.

    Understatement means saying less{#blank#}3{#/blank#}you think or feel. For example, if {#blank#}4{#/blank#}gets very wet in a shower of rain, he might say, "It's a little damp (潮湿的) {#blank#}5{#/blank#}" Or, if someone is very impolite and shouts at another person {#blank#}6{#/blank#} people might say, "He isn't exactly friendly." People often use understatement in unpleasant (使人不愉快的) {#blank#}7{#/blank#} or to make another person look silly.

    Also, English people like to make fun of themselves as well as others. The comedy (喜剧) 'Mr Bean' is a(n) {#blank#}8{#/blank#}example of this kind of humour. Mr Bean always speaks as little as {#blank#}9{#/blank#} in the comedy. He always {#blank#}10{#/blank#} to use his body to make people happy. Maybe what makes Mr Bean so funny is that he does things that people in the real world will never do.

    Reading is very useful for English learners. When you're learning English, listening, speaking and writing are very {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, but reading is also very helpful. When you read, you can both learn some new words and learn how to {#blank#}2{#/blank#} them. When you read, it gives you a good {#blank#}3{#/blank#} for writing.

    Read something at your right level. Read {#blank#}4{#/blank#} that you can more or less understand. If you need to stop every three words to use a dictionary, it's not {#blank#}5{#/blank#} for you.

    Try to increase your vocabulary. If there are 4 or 5 new words on a page, try to {#blank#}6{#/blank#} their meanings. Then look them up in a dictionary after reading and write them down in your notebook. Try to {#blank#}7{#/blank#} them.

    Try to read regularly. Reading for 15 minutes every day is {#blank#}8{#/blank#} than two hours every Sunday. Fix a time to read. For example, you could read for 15 minutes {#blank#}9{#/blank#} you go to bed or at lunch time.

    Read what interests you. Choose a book or a magazine that you like. You can also read newspapers, for example, 21st Century. There is always {#blank#}10{#/blank#} in it.