Eva Ullmann took her master's degree in 2002 on the part that humour has to play in psychotherapy, and became hooked on the subject. In 2005 she founded the German Institute for Humour in Leipzig. It is dedicated to "the combination of seriousness and humour". She offers lectures, seminars and personal coaching to managers, from small firms to such corporate giants as Deutsche Bank and Telekom. Her latest project is to help train medical students and doctors. There is nothing peculiarly German about humour training. It was John Morreall, an American, who showed that humour is a market segment in the ever-expanding American genre of self-help. In the past two decades, humour has gone global. An International Humour Congress was held in Amsterdam in 2000. And yet Germans know that the rest of the world considers them to be at a particular disadvantage. The issue is not comedy, of which Germany has plenty. The late Vicco von Buelow, alias Lori-ot, delighted the elite with his mockery of German seriousness and stiffness. Rhenish, Swabian and other regional flavours thrive—Gerhard Polt, a bad-tempered Bavarian, now 72, is a Shakespeare among them. There is lowbrow talent too, including Otto Waalkes, a Frisian buffoon. Most of this, however, is as foreigners always suspected: more embarrassing than funny. Germans can often be observed laughing, loudly. And they try hard. "They cannot produce good humour, but they can consume it," says James Parsons, an English man teaching business English in Leipzig. He once rented a theatre and got students, including Mrs Ullmann, to act out Monty Python skits, which they did with enthusiasm. The trouble, he says, is that whereas the English wait deadpan for the penny to drop, Germans invariably explain their punchline. At a deeper level, the problem has nothing to do with jokes. What is missing is the series of irony, overstatement and understatement in workaday conversations. Immigrants in Germany share soul-crushing stories of attempting a non-literal turn of phrase, to evoke a horrified expression in their German friends and a detailed explanation of the literal meaning, followed by a retreat into awkward politeness. Irony is not on the curriculum in Mrs Ullmann's classes. Instead she focuses mostly on the basics of humorous spontaneity and surprise. Demand is strong, she says. It is a typical German answer to a shortcoming: work harder at it.
单选题
Which of the following is true about Eva Ullmann?
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】解析：细节题。根据关键词Eva Ullmann定位到第一段。选项[A]She gives free lectures to small companies in Germany．“她为德国小公司作免费演讲”。与该项相关的是倒数第二句：She offers lectures…from small firms to such corporate giants as Deutsche Bank and Telekom．选项中的“free”一词是无中生有；且文章说其讲座对象从small firms“小公司”到corporate giants“商业巨头”，故而进一步证明该项是错误的。选项[B]Her interest on humor can date back to her college days．“她对幽默的兴趣可以追溯到大学时期”。该段首句说：Eva Ullmann took her master’s degree in 2002 on the part that humour has to play in psychotherapy，and became hooked on the subject．其中master’s degree“硕士学位”暗示colloge days“大学时期”；hooked表示“入迷的”，等同于interest“兴趣”；subject指上文“幽默在心理治疗中的作用”；故该项表述与原文相符。选项[C]She has dedicated herself to the study of psychotherapy．“她致力于心理治疗的研究”。该项与第三句相关：It is dedicated to“the combination of seriousness and humour”．该项显然是偷换概念。选项[D]She is a personal coach who trains medical practitioners．“她是一名培训医疗从业者的私人教练。”该段最后两句分别提到She offers lectures，seminars and personal coaching to managers；Her latest project is to help train medical students and doctors．该项的train medical practitioners=train medical students and doctors：但是文章说“她为经理人提供私人培训”，她是研究幽默的专家，而非私人教练，该项错在“personal coach”一词，属于偷换概念。综上，本题选择[B]。
单选题
It can be learned from Paragraph 2 that Germans are considered______.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】解析：推理题。根据Germans are considered几个词定位到第二段最后一句：And yet Germans know that the rest of the world considers them to be at a particular disadvantage．其中，the rest of the world considers them=Germans are considered：故德国人被认为是at a particular disadvantage“极其不具备优势”。再结合整段讨论的关于幽默的话题，我们可以推断出这里的“不具备优势”指的是“不幽默”。选项[A]unsmiling and hostile“严肃且富有敌意”；unsmiling“严肃的”与幽默接近，但是hostile“敌对的”属于无中生有。选项[B]humorous but impolite“幽默但不礼貌”；humorous与原文表述完全相反，impolite无中生有。选项[C]smileless and humorless“严肃且缺乏幽默感”：该项前后两个词都在强调“不幽默”，故该项可选。选项[D]polite but uncommunicative“礼貌但难以沟通”；该项两个词文章均未提及，都属于无中生有。故本题答案为[C]。
单选题
German comedy is mentioned to show that Germans______.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】解析：例证题。根据关键词German comedy定位到第三段首句。该段首句先引出本段话题即德国喜剧，紧接着所有句子都在举例子，最后提出转折以突出观点，该句即为答案句：Most of this，however，is as foreigners always suspected：more embarrassing than funny．“然而，外国人往往对此质疑：尴尬大于乐趣。”由此可见外国人觉得德国喜剧并不幽默，即德国人“对幽默不敏感”，选项[A]are insensitive to humor一项正确。选项[B]have a good sense of humor“具有很好的幽默感”；该项与原文完全相反。选项[C]always embarrass foreigners“往往让外国人感到尴尬”；让人尴尬的是指德国喜剧，并非德国人，可以排除。选项[D]are not good at performance“不擅长表演”；该项在文章中没有体现。综上，本题选择[A]。
单选题
James Parsons seems to believe that Germans______.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】解析：观点题。根据James Parsons定位到第四段。答案来自该段前三句：Germans can often be observed laughing，loudly．And they try hard．“They cannot produce good humour，but they can consume it，”says James Parsons．其中they try hard“他们很努力(发出笑声)”说明德国人假装能够欣赏幽默，即选项[D]might pretend to be amused“可能假装被逗乐”正确。选项[A]can be easily amused“很容易被逗乐”；该项停留在第一句表面，非正确答案。选项[B]might be excellent actors“可能成为优秀的演员”；文章没有任何提示，该项属于无中生有。选项[C]are enthusiastic about plays“对戏剧充满热情”；原文they did with enthusiasm指“学生们表演得很有热情”，而不是“德国人对戏剧充满热情”。综上，本题答案为[D]。
单选题
According to the last paragraph, Germans seem to believe that______.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】解析：观点题。定位到最后一段。该段的classes、humorous等词说明Mrs Ullmann在课堂上教授幽默；German、Demand is strong“需求很大”等信息说明许多德国人参加了Ullmann的幽默课堂，暗示了德国人认为humor can be instructed“幽默可以被传授”，即[B]正确。选项[A]sense of humor is vital“幽默感很重要”；该项在原文无直接说明，相比[B]项，[B]更加准确。选项[C]demand decides everything“需求决定一切”；该项原文没有提到，也无法推断出来，故排除。选项[D]humor derives from spontaneity“幽默是自发的”；原文说“she focuses mostly on the basics of humorous spontaneity and surprise”，虽然提到了“humorous spontaneity”，但是并没提到德国人认为“幽默是自发的”，故该项不选。综上，本题选择[B]。