The second barrier shared culture. Humour takes our norms and changes them so they become funny. People at the meeting wouldn't be able to share a joke if they share those norms. Even if two people from different countries spoke the same language, they always understand the joke.
Topic another issue. If the Brit told a small joke about their royal family, it funny to the Australian. But for the Thai businesswoman this offensive. These are the reasons why interpreters often ignore jokes when translating during business meetings.
Result:
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Correct answer: wouldn't
Explanation: The contraction 'wouldn't' is the negative form of 'would,' indicating that the business people are not expected to understand the joke. This fits grammatically as it aligns with the conditional structure of the sentence, which discusses a hypothetical situation regarding understanding humor across cultures.
Meaning: 'Wouldn't' means 'would not,' indicating a lack of understanding in this context.
Wrong options:
- would tell: 'Would tell' suggests an action that is not relevant here, as the sentence is about understanding rather than telling jokes.
- didn't: This option is repeated and does not provide a different meaning or fit.
- was: 'Was' is a past tense verb that does not fit the conditional context of the sentence.
- wouldn't: This option is repeated and does not provide a different meaning or fit.
Correct answer: would be
Explanation: The phrase 'would be' indicates a hypothetical situation regarding shared culture as a barrier to humor. It fits grammatically as it follows the conditional structure of the sentence, suggesting that the barrier exists under certain circumstances.
Meaning: 'Would be' indicates a potential state or condition, in this case, the existence of a barrier.
Wrong options:
- would tell: 'Would tell' suggests an action rather than a state of being, which does not fit the context of discussing barriers.
- didn't: This option is repeated and does not provide a different meaning or fit.
- wouldn't: This option is repeated and does not provide a different meaning or fit.
- was: 'Was' is a past tense verb that does not fit the conditional context of the sentence.
Correct answer: didn't
Explanation: The word 'didn't' is the negative past tense of 'did,' indicating that the people at the meeting lack shared norms. This fits grammatically as it aligns with the conditional structure of the sentence, discussing a hypothetical situation.
Meaning: 'Didn't' means 'did not,' indicating a lack of shared norms necessary for understanding humor.
Wrong options:
- would tell: 'Would tell' suggests an action that does not fit the context of discussing shared norms.
- wouldn't: This option is repeated and does not provide a different meaning or fit.
- was: 'Was' is a past tense verb that does not fit the conditional context of the sentence.
- would be: 'Would be' indicates a state rather than a lack of action, which does not fit here.
- didn't: This option is repeated and does not provide a different meaning or fit.
Correct answer: wouldn't
Explanation: The contraction 'wouldn't' indicates that the people would not always understand the joke, fitting grammatically within the conditional structure of the sentence. It suggests a hypothetical situation regarding understanding humor across cultures.
Meaning: 'Wouldn't' means 'would not,' indicating a lack of understanding in this context.
Wrong options:
- would tell: 'Would tell' suggests an action that does not fit the context of understanding jokes.
- didn't: This option is repeated and does not provide a different meaning or fit.
- was: 'Was' is a past tense verb that does not fit the conditional context of the sentence.
- would be: 'Would be' indicates a state rather than a lack of understanding, which does not fit here.
- wouldn't: This option is repeated and does not provide a different meaning or fit.
Correct answer: would be
Explanation: The phrase 'would be' indicates a hypothetical situation regarding topic sensitivity as another issue. It fits grammatically as it follows the conditional structure of the sentence, suggesting that the topic can be an issue under certain circumstances.
Meaning: 'Would be' indicates a potential state or condition, in this case, the existence of another issue.
Wrong options:
- would tell: 'Would tell' suggests an action rather than a state of being, which does not fit the context of discussing issues.
- didn't: This option is repeated and does not provide a different meaning or fit.
- wouldn't: This option is repeated and does not provide a different meaning or fit.
- was: 'Was' is a past tense verb that does not fit the conditional context of the sentence.
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