单选题{{B}}Text 4{{/B}} Humour, which ought to give rise to only the most light-hearted and gay feelings, can often stir up vehemence and animosity. Evidently it is dearer to us than we realize. Men will take almost any kind of criticism except the observation that they have no sense of humour. A man will admit to being a coward or a liar or a thief or a poor mechanic or a bad swimmer, but tell him he has a dreadful sense of humour and you might as well have slandered his mother. Even if he is civilized enough to pretend to make light of your statement, he will still secretly believe that he has not only a good sense of humour but one superior to most. He has, in other words, a completely blind spot on the subject. This is all the more surprising when you consider that not one man in ten million can give you any kind of intelligent answer as to what humour is or why he laughs. One day when I was about twelve years old, it occurred to me to wonder about the phenomenon of laughter. At first I thought it is easy enough to see what I laugh at and why I am amused, but why at such times do I open my mouth and exhale in jerking gasps and wrinkle up my eyes and throw back my head and halloo like an animal? Why do I not instead rap four times on the top of my head or whistle or whirl about? That was over twenty years ago and I am still wondering, except that I now no longer even take my first assumption for granted, I no longer clearly understand why I laugh at what amuses me nor why things are amusing. I have illustrious company in my confusion, of course. Many of the great minds of history have brought their power of concentration to bear on the mystery of humour, and, to date, their conclusions are so contradictory and ephemeral that they cannot possibly be classified as scientific. Many definitions of the comical are incomplete and many are simply rewordings of things we already know. Aristotle, for example, defined the ridiculous as that which is incongruous but represents neither danger nor pain. But that seems to me to be a most inadequate sort of observation, for if at this minute I insert here the word rutabagas, I have introduced something in congruous, something not funny. Of course, it must be admitted that Aristotle did not claim that every painless incongruity is ridiculous, but as soon as we have gone as far as this admission, we begin to see that we have come to grips with a ghost: when we think we have it pinned, it suddenly appears behind us, mocking us. An all-embracing definition of humour has been attempted by many philosophers, but no definition, no formula has ever been devised that is entirely satisfactory. Aristotle's definition has come to be known loosely as the "disappointment" theory, or the "frustrated expectation". But he also discussed another theory borrowed in part from Plato which states that the pleasure we derive in laughing is an enjoyment of the misfortune of others, due to a momentary feeling of superiority or gratified vanity in appreciation of the fact that we ourselves are not in the observed predicament.

单选题When Jack was eighteen he ______ going around with a strange set of people and staying out very late.

单选题The project is not______a failure. It is a success in some respect.

单选题When one calls a man "Jack" instead of "Mr. Hill", he is on ______ terms with him.

单选题One new ______ to learning a foreign language is to study the language in its cultural context.

单选题In certain forms of writing, the central point of a message can be effectively communicated even though this point is not ______.

单选题Most Americans deem that ______.

单选题There is on question but that Newton was a highly competent Minister of Mint. It was mainly through his efforts (1) the English currency was put on the satisfactory basis at a difficult time. (2) discovered a relationship between prices and the amount of money in circulation, which (3) later formalized in the so-called "quality (4) of money: if the amount of currency in circulaton is doubled--other things (5) the same--then prices also will approximately double. This is a simple application (6) the principle that it is impossible to get something for nothing, but apparently it took someone like Newton to discover it. There is an obvious comparison with Copernicus, who (7) the Polish government on currency questions and in doing so discovered another important (8) (usually known as Gresham's Law): when bad money is accepted as legal tender, (9) money will be driven out of (10) . Copernicus anticipated Gresham in the formation of this law.

单选题In the first sentence of the third paragraph, "transcendent genius" means ______.

单选题Americans had always been preoccupied with reforming their society, with "making it over," and between the 1890s and the end of the First World War, the reform spirit intensified. More and more people tried to address the problem of their time directly, to impose order on a confusing world, and, especially, to create a conflict-free society. Their efforts, inspired by a complicated mixture of calculated self-interest and unselfish benevolence, helped what can be called the Progressive era. The urge for reform had many sources. Industrialization had brought unprecedented productivity, awesome technology, and plenty of consumer goods. But it had also included labor struggle, waste of natural resources, and abuse of corporate power. Rapidly growing cities facilitated the accumulation and distribution of goods, services, and cultural amenities but also magnified problems of poverty, disease, crime, and political corruption. Massive inflows of immigrants and the rise of a new class of managers and professionals shook the foundations of old social classes. And the depression that crippled the nation in the 1890s made many leading citizens realize what working people had known for some time: the central promise of American life was not being kept; equality of opportunity-whether economic, political, or social--was a myth. Progressives tried to resolve these problems by organizing ideas and actions around three basic themes. First, they sought to end abuses of power. Second, progressives aimed to replace corrupt power with the power of reformed institutions such as schools, charities, medical clinics, and the family. Third, progressives wanted to apply principles of science and efficiency on a nationwide scale to all economic, social, and political institutions, to minimize social and economic disorder and to establish cooperation, especially, between business and government, that would end wasteful competition and labor conflict. Befitting their name, progressives had strong faith in the ability of humankind to create a better world. More than ever before, Americans looked to government as an agent of the people that could and should intervene in social and economic relations to protect the common good and substitute public interest for self-interest.

单选题General George Washington and his hungry, Uragged/U troops crossed the Delaware River from Pennsylvania, surprised the garrison of German mercenaries in Trenton, and captured the city.

单选题The old gentleman ______ to be an old friend of his grandfather"s.

单选题Not content to ______ along in ignorance and on her own, Patty began reading everything she could get and immediately set out to develop a network of gardening colleagues.

单选题This is but a ______ of the total amount of information which the teenager has stored.

单选题She was slated to present an abstract of her thesis at the national convention, and so spent the holiday ______.

单选题We have done things we ought not to have done and ______ undone things we ought to have done.

单选题Jack ______ to the manager for the mistakes he had made. A. excused B. pardoned C. forgave D. apologized