A lot of us lose life’s tough battles by starting a frontal（正面的) attack — when a touch of humor might well enable us to win. Consider the case of a young friend of mine, who
36 a traffic jam on his way to work shortly  37 receiving an ultimatum（最后通牒) about being late for work. Although there was a good reason for Sam’s being late — serious illness at home — he decided that this by-now-familiar excuse wouldn’t  38 any longer. His supervisor（主管) was probably already pacing up and down preparing a dismissal
39  .
Yes, the boss was. When Sam entered the office at 9:35, it was as  40 as a locker room（更衣室)— everyone was hard at work. Sam’s supervisor  41 him. Suddenly, Sam forced a grin （露齿笑) and  42 out his hand. “How do you do!” he said. “I’m Sam Maynard. I’m   43 a job, which, I understand, became available just 35 minutes ago. Does the early bird get the worm？”
The room burst into  44  . The supervisor clamped off（忍住) a smile and walked back to his office. Sam Maynard had  45 his job — with the only tool that could win, a laugh.
Humor is a most effective, yet  46  ignored, means of handling the difficult situations in our lives. It can be used for patching up differences, apologizing, saying “no”, criticizing, getting the other fellow to do what you want  47 his losing face. For some jobs, it’s the only tool that can succeed. It is a way to discuss subjects so sensitive that serious dialogue may start a quarrel.

A. hit             B. struck              C. beat                D. made
A. since             B. when               C. before               D. after
A. benefit           B. matter                    C. work                 D. affect 
A. debate           B. speech                   C. excuse               D. argument
A. noisy             B. quiet                 C. clean                 D. messy
A. shouted at        B. put up with           C. looked forward to     D. came up to
A. stretched         B. gave                 C. handed               D. expanded
A. searching for      B. preparing for         C. applying for      D. answering for
A. laughing          B. laugh                C. laughters             D. laughter
A. lost               B. saved                C. got                  D. found
A. frequently        B. occasionally          C. never                D. regularly
A. despite           B. with                 C. without              D. by

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