8．You probably laugh at something you find funny，but how much do you really know about jokes and humor？Reader's Digest （RD） questioned several experts to give us some facts about them．
RD：What's the oldest joke in the world？
"We can't know the oldest joke in the world because it would have existed earlier than writing．"says Christie Davies，professor of sociology at the University of Reading in the UK．The oldest joke book that's been found so far is the Greek Philogelos．It dates from the 4th century AD，although the jokes date from an earlier time．According to psychologist Steve Wilson，director of National Humor Month （April in the US），it contains 265jokes．
RD：Do some people fail to develop a sense of humor？
Rod Martin，professor of psychology at the Western University in Canada，believes that while everyone is born without a sense of humor，as we develop，humor and laughter begin to appear．"Of course，some children are more serious，quiet，and less likely to laugh frequently，but this doesn't mean they don't have a sense of humor．"And according to Steve Wilson，there are no adults who don't have a sense of humor．"Almost everyone is able to develop a sense of humor，and I teach people how．"he says．
RD：Do people share a sense of humor unique to their own nation？
Sense of humor does differ a lot by country，according to an author named Scott Weems．British humor is thought to be absurd in nature，while American humor has an aggressive quality．According to a study，Germans are found to find everything funny．
56．What do we know about the oldest joke book？B
A．It remains unknown．
B．It was written in Greek．
C．It was found in the UK．
D．It contains the oldest joke．
57．What does Rod Martin agree with about people's sense of humor？A
A．Nobody is born with a sense of umor．
B．Some adults lose it when they grow up．
C．Childhood is the best time to develop such ability．
D．Children have a poorer sense of humor than adults．
58．What kind of humor has an aggressive feature？D
A．British humor B．German humor C．Canadian humor D．American humor．
分析 本文是一篇社會文化類閱讀，文章主要介紹了三個問題：1、世界上最古老的笑話是什么？2、有些人天生沒有幽默感？3、人們分享他們自己國家特有的幽默感嗎？
解答 56-58 BAD
56．B細節(jié)理解題．由第一個問題的回答中的The oldest joke book that's been found so far is the Greek Philogelos．可知，迄今為止發(fā)現(xiàn)的世界上最古老的笑話書是希臘的 Philogelos．故選B．
57．A細節(jié)理解題．由第二個問題的回答中的everyone is able to develop a sense of humor，可知，沒有人先天就具有幽默感．故選A．
58．D細節(jié)理解題．由最后一個問題的回答中的American humor has an aggressive quality．可知美國幽默具有侵略性．故選D．
點評 本文考察學生的理解推斷能力以及細心程度，只要抓住文章的關鍵詞，采用尋讀的方法查找細節(jié)，就能找到正確答案．
