16．
　　A good joke can be hardest thing to understand when studying a foreign language. As a recent (1)       in The Guardian newspaper noted, "There's more to understanding a joke in a foreign language than understanding vocabulary and grammar."
　　Being able to understand jokes is hard for a language learner (2)       to form friendships with native speakers. "I always felt that humor was a ceiling (天花板) that I could never (3)       through." Hannah Ashley, a public relations manager in London, who once studied Spanish in Madrid, told The Guardian, "I could never speak to people on the same (4)       as I would speak to a native English speaker, I was almost a boring person because all I could talk about was facts."

17．
　　In fact, most of the time, jokes are only funny for people who share a cultural (1)      or understand humor in the same way. Chinese-American comedian Joe Wong found this out firsthand. He had (2)       huge success in the US, but when he returned to China for his first live show in Beijing, he discovered that people didn't think his Chinese jokes were as funny as his English ones.
　　In Australia, many foreigners find understanding jokes about sports to be the biggest headache. "The hardest jokes are related to rugby (橄榄球) because I know nothing about rugby," said Melody Cao, who was once a student in Australia. "When I heard jokes I didn't get, I just laughed (3)      ."
　　In the other two major English-speaking countries, the (4)       of humor is also different. British jokes seem to be more subtle and dark, while American jokes are more obvious (明显的) with their meanings, a bit like Americans themselves.

32．　　Imagine if your journey to work was from your bedroom to your living room. More and more people in the UK are doing their jobs at home.
　　Baz works as an engineer in a West London factory. He's been an engineer since he left school — but he's not very optimistic about his future. Heavy industry in the UK has almost disappeared. More people work in Indian restaurants than in steel, coal and shipbuilding put together!Baz also often gets tired of his long journey to work. Whether he travels by car or by public transport, it can take up to two hours a day.
　　His sister, Liz, lives in the north of England. She's an Information Technology (IT) trainer at a college. Once every four weeks, she meets her trainees in person, but most of her training is done through IT.
　　Baz's wife, Helen, seldom travels to work at all. She's a graphic designer for a London advertising company. Once she's got the children off to school, she starts work in front of her computer screen. She's currently designing publicity material for a major London festival. When she's finished her designs, she sends them electronically to her director. He works from home too — occasionally they meet up for a coffee.
　　Most people in the UK, like Baz, spend hours travelling to work — and complain about it, too. But an increasing number of people work as telecommuters, like Helen or Liz. Almost all of their work is done online or by phone. There are a million telecommuters in the UK, about 10 percent of the workforce.

33．Choose the words and complete the passage(选择最恰当的单词, 完成短文)
　　My tae known do (跆拳道) instructor stood in front of me, with the board in his hands. "Just tell me when you are ready," he said.
　　I had to break it. That (1)       was ringing around inside my head. Break it!
　　I stepped back for a (2)      . I got in a good stance (姿势), and then spun (旋转) around backwards, doing a complete turn, and brought my heel (脚后跟) up on the edge of the board.
　　The thin brown carpet was hurting my feet. The lights filled the room with heat. Everything was silent. My classmates sat there, looking at me. I had never broken a board before, although I had tried several times. Even a boy who was two years younger than me had broken one, and he always (3)       that I knew it.
　　My white uniform made small noises as I moved, the baggy pants and jacket didn't keep me from sweating. I felt hot.
　　"OK", I whispered, and with one last deep breath I kicked my heel (4)      the hard wood. I stepped back, the board was still in one piece.
　　My instructor said, smiling, "You have to go through the board. Try it again."
　　I was (5)       people telling me to go through the board. They sounded as if I wasn't trying!
　　I tried again. But again, I couldn't break it. I hadn't ever cracked (破开) it! I felt tears filling in my eyes. I wouldn't make everyone disappointed. I wouldn't make myself disappointed.
　　"Almost," my instructor told me. "Try it just one more time."
　　One more chance. That was all I got. "I'll show you, Mr. Board. I'll do it," I whispered.
　　I spun around. I kicked the board. I heard a loud cracking sound and then my foot went through the board!My instructor was (6)      the two pieces high and smiling.

34．Read the passage and fill in the blanks with proper words(在短文的空格内填入适当的词, 使其内容通顺, 每空格限填一次, 首字母已给)
　　With equal opportunities, women are able to choose their own ideal jobs. If a 9 to 5 office job isn't your style, consider the following (1)f      fun jobs available.
　　• Wedding (婚礼) planner
　　While some women dream of their wedding day, others grow up to be wedding planners. (2)B       chances are available, as more than 2 million weddings take place in the United States each year with an (3)a       spend of more than ＄1, 000 per wedding for a wedding planner.
　　• Disney character
　　Imagine being paid to be a princess. For many women working at the Disney resorts, that is (4)e       what they do. The Walt Disney Company wants look-alikes to play the role of Disney characters, like Cinderella, at its Disneyland and Disney World resorts.
　　• Personal shopper
　　If you love to shop, particularly when you are spending someone else's money, then you should consider (5)b       a personal shopper. Personal shoppers meet their customers' (6)n      , lifestyles, likes and dislikes and then put that knowledge to use by buying their clothing and accessories. Although the job does have a few drawbacks ( 缺 点 ) , like fussy customers, Entrepreneur. com says that "mostly, it's a pretty good time."
　　• Doggy daycare
　　Women who love (7)a       might think about opening a doggy daycare center. You can spend your days playing with dogs, before sending them home at the end of the day.

35．Read the passage below and answer the following question. (根据文章内容回答下列问题)
　　One mom is thanking Target for an amazing reason.
　　Jamie Sumner and her 6-year-old son, Charlie, walked into Target last week to get some coffee. Their ordinary shopping trip turned rather special when Charlie, who has cerebral palsy (脑瘫) and uses a wheelchair, saw an advertisement in the kids' clothing section that made him smile.
　　The advertisement describes a young boy around Charlie's age wearing a sweater and laughing. Nothing seemed very out of the ordinary until Sumner saw that the boy in the advertisement was using a walker (助行架).
　　"I stopped because I had never seen 'our normal' in such a place," the mother of three children wrote in a blog post.
　　Sumner wrote that she started crying right there in the middle of Target.
　　"I watched Charlie watch the sign. And it was beautiful," she wrote. "Yes, I started crying in the aisle. Yes, other people stopped and looked. And then they looked at the sign and they smiled. It was such an unexpected moment of connectedness among strangers in the middle of Target in the middle of a week on an otherwise ordinary day."
　　She and Charlie walked past the sign three times before they went out of Target.
　　"It sounds like such a small thing, but for us it is a nod from the world that we are being supported," she wrote. "It's just the beginning, I hope. I hope more disabilities and special needs pop up in clothing advertisements and commercials and on mainstream TV. But for now, I am so grateful to Target for ________________.

36．Write at least 60 words on the topic "I'd like to get close to …"
(以"我想要走近……"为题写一篇不少于 60 个词的短文, 标点符号不占格．)
人的一生会遇见很多美好的事物, 人、物、景等各种美好的存在都会吸引我们走进．请写写你想走近什么?怎么走近?说说你的理由．