Read the article. Seven sentences have been removed from the text. Choose from the sentences A – H the one which fits each gap. There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.The Art of JokingThe search involved travel abroad, a website, 40,000 printable jokes, more than two million ratings from 70 countries, a year’s exhaustive breakdown of humour by age, sex and nationality, and a brain scan of someone listening to jokes. Laughlab, an experiment set up more than a year ago, established that the British, Irish, New Zealanders and Australians prefer a play on words and that the French, Danes and Belgians have a taste for the surreal. пустоH Americans and Canadians, on the other hand, chuckle at jokes showing one group’s superiority over another. The Germans apparently have the broadest sense of humour – if only because they have no national preference, and therefore find almost anything funny. It has been a fascinating year,’ said Richard Wiseman, a psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire, and founder of Laughlab. ‘But if I hear one more joke I’m going to punch someone. It has been like being trapped in the back of a taxi with a driver who constantly says, ‘Here’s one that you have never heard. пустоE Quite frankly, I’ve had enough. ’ The study reached a climax yesterday when a PhD student, dressed as a giant chicken, unveiled the world’s funniest joke before the cameras in Covent Garden, London. The winning joke was the product of international selection including ratings by website visitors. пустоF It was posted by Gurpal Gosall, a 31‑year‑old psychiatrist from Manchester. This joke, according to Dr Wiseman, appealed to all. It also contained the three elements that were found central to humour: a sense of superiority, an unexpected response, and a sad feeling of mortality. The joke was this: A couple of New Jersey hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls to the ground. He doesn’t seem to be breathing, his eyes are rolled back in his head. The other guy whips out his mobile phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps to the operator: ‘My friend is dead! What can I do?’ The operator, in a calm, soothing voice says: ‘Just take it easy. I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.’ There is a silence, then a shot is heard. The guy’s voice comes back on the line. He says: ‘OK, now what?’ Dr Gosall had liked the joke for years. He said: ‘It makes people feel better ... reminds you that there’s always someone out there doing something more stupid than you.’ It was one of a series of jokes read to a volunteer who was being given a brain scan. With each joke, a specific area at the front of the volunteer’s brain lit up. пустоB There was also a reaction in an area linked to memory, showing recognition of an old joke. ‘It fits in with other research, because if people have damage to that part of the brain, then they lose their sense of humour,’ Dr Wiseman said. There were other discoveries. In a study of British regional variation, the Welsh were the keenest on jokes in general, and the Scots were the least keen. One joke – ‘What’s brown and sticky? A stick – was submitted 300 times, and nobody ever found it funny. Dr Wiseman also read out Laughlab’s candidate for worst joke: ‘Knock knock.’‘Who’s there?’ ‘Boo.’ ‘Boo who?’ ‘Don’t cry.’ The LaughLab computers counted the number of words 65 in every joke that people submitted. пустоD But only the best jokes from each country were included in the survey. Interestingly, the winning ‘hunters’ joke is 102 words long – almost the perfect length for a joke! Many of the jokes submitted contained references to animals. The researchers found that jokes mentioning ducks were seen as funnier than other jokes. пустоA According to the data, jokes containing 103 are the funniest. Regardless, the implication is clear – if you are going to tell a joke involving an animal, make it a duck. пустоG Perhaps it’s because of their beaks, or webbed feet, or odd shape. Careful analysis of the data revealed that people found the jokes funniest on the 7th October at 6.03 in the evening. Perhaps they have scientifically discovered the funniest moment of the year!