Unit 3 A taste of English humour
第二部分：阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）
第一节（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
A
I learnt to fly in a balloon in a race across the Atlantic Ocean in 1992 and became extremely interested in the sport. In the same way that a mountain climber dreams of climbing the world's highest mountain, I dreamed about flying non-stop around the world.
I spent six years planning the flight and failed twice before I and my team managed to succeed. For some reason, we had to go first to North Africa to catch the right winds. That added 10,000 kilometres, and another week, to our journey. But because of this, our flight broke all the records for distance and time spent in the air.
The most memorable part of the trip for me is that we lived in the air for 20 days and that the rising sun was the most amazing thing we saw. We had to go out of the balloon's capsule (舱), in which we were transported, three times while in the air to repair the fuel (燃料) system. We didn't have any safety equipment but when you are in a situation like that, you just do what you have to do without thinking about feeling afraid.
Landing was a fantastic moment. I remember that when I got out of the capsule, I looked at my footprint in the sand. I remembered the astronaut Neil Armstrong, who was so happy to put his footprint on the moon, so far away from Earth. At that moment, I was so happy to have my foot back on Earth!
21. The author became interested in ballooning because of _____.
A. a cross-ocean race
B. a mountain climb
C. a childhood dream
D. a long sea journey
22. What can be inferred from Paragraph 2 about the author and his team's flight?
A. They set a new record.
B. They shortened their flight.
C. Their flight went very smoothly.
D. Their flight covered 10,000 kilometres.
23. Why did the balloonists get out of the capsule during the flight?
A. To fight their fear.
B. To do some repair work.
C. To admire the rising sun.
D. To check safety equipment.
24. The author mentioned Neil Armstrong to show his _____.
A. regret
B. surprise
C. respect
D. pleasure
B
You probably laugh at something you find funny, but how much do you really know about jokes and humour? 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 265 jokes.
RD: Do some people fail to develop a sense of humour?
Rod Martin, professor of psychology at the Western University in Canada, believes that while everyone is born without a sense of humour, as we develop, humour and laughter begin to appear. “Of course, so me children are more serious, quiet, and less likely to laugh frequently, but this doesn't mean they don't have a sense of humour.” And according to Steve Wilson, there are no adults who don't have a
