British humour - Unit 12

C2 Proficiency · Multiple Choice Cloze · Close-up C2, National Geographic Learning

For questions 1–8, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap.

find

take

get

have

decipher

analyse

deduce

interpret

attachment

fondness

appreciation

delight

blow

play

hold

boast

bold

sense

nonsense

light

making

putting

cutting

turning

sets

spells

fits

bouts

rests

lands

builds

grows

It's often said that non-native speakers don't (1) ___ the British sense of humour, and it's easy to see why this is so. Almost every conversation between Brits has an undercurrent of humour, making it difficult for a non-native speaker to (2) ___ when a Brit is joking or being serious. In addition, the British also have a particular (3) ___ for understatement. In refusing to be overwhelmed by anything, the British might retort 'Not bad' when they really mean, 'That's great'. Furthermore, the British don't like to (4) ___ their own trumpet. They tend to make (5) ___ of their accomplishments by being excessively modest and (6) ___ themselves down. But the most difficult part of British humour for foreigners is that much of British humour is not obviously hilarious and does not result in (7) ___ of laughter. However, those unaccustomed to British humour need not worry, for the best thing about it is that it is not something you can learn, it's something that (8) ___ on you.

British humour

Available as a free printable PDF worksheet with an optional answer key.

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