Lesson 29
Funny or not?
是否可笑？
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1Lesson 29
2Funny or not?
3What is the basis of 'sick' humour?
4Whether we find a joke funny or not largely depends on where we have been brought up.
5The sense of humour is mysteriously bound up with national characteristics.
6A Frenchman, for instance, might find it hard to laugh at a Russian joke.
7In the same way, a Russian might fail to see anything amusing in a joke
8which would make an Englishman laugh to tears.
9Most funny stories are based on comic situations.
10In spite of national differences, certain funny situations have a universal appeal.
11No matter where you live,
12you would find it difficult not to laugh at, say, Charlie Chaplin's early films.
13However, a new type of humour,
14which stems largely from U.S., has recently come into fashion.
15It is called 'sick humour'.
16Comedians base their jokes on tragic situations
17like violent death or serious accidents.
18Many people find this sort of joke distasteful.
19The following example of 'sick humour' will enable you to judge for yourself.
20A man who had broken his right leg was taken to hospital a few weeks before Christmas.
21From the moment he arrived there,
22he kept on pestering his doctor to tell him when he would be able to go home.
23He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital.
24Though the doctor did his best, the patient's recovery was slow.
25On Christmas day, the man still had his right leg in plaster.
26He spent a miserable day in bed thinking of all the fun he was missing.
27The following day, however, the doctor consoled him by telling him
28that his chances of being able to leave hospital in time for New Year celebrations were good.
29The man took heart and sure enough,
30on New Year's Eve he was able to hobble along to a party.
31To compensate for his unpleasant experiences in hospital,
32the man drank a little more than was good for him.
33In the process, he enjoyed himself thoroughly
34and kept telling everybody how much he hated hospitals.
35He was still mumbling something about hospitals at the end of the party
36when he slipped on a piece of ice and broke his left leg.
1Listen to the tape then answer the question below. 2听录音，然后回答以下问题。 3What is the basis of 'sick' humour? 4 Whether we find a joke funny or not largely depends on were we have been brought up. The sense of humour is mysteriously bound up with national characteristics. A Frenchman, for instance, might find it hard to laugh at a Russian joke. In the same way, a Russian might fail to see anything amusing in a joke witch would make an Englishman laugh to tears. 5 Most funny stories are based on comic situations. In spite of national differences, certain funny situations have a universal appeal. No matter where you live, you would find it difficult not to laugh at, say, Charlie Chaplin's early films. However, a new type of humour, which stems largely from the U.S., has recently come into fashion. It is called 'sick humour'. Comedians base their jokes on tragic situation like violent death or serious accidents. Many people find this sort of joke distasteful The following example of 'sick humour' will enable you to judge for yourself. 6 A man who had broken his right leg was taken to hospital a few weeks before Christmas. From the moment he arrived there, he kept on pestering his doctor to tell him when he would be able to go home. He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital. Though the doctors did his best, the patient's recovery was slow. On Christmas Day, the man still had his right leg in plaster. He spent a miserable day in bed thinking of all the fun he was missing. The following day, however, the doctor consoled him by telling him that his chances of being able to leave hospital in time for New Year celebrations were good. The good. The man took heart and, sure enough, on New Years' Eve he was able to hobble along to a party. To compensate for his unpleasant experiences in hospital, the man drank a little more than was good for him. In the process, he enjoyed himself thoroughly and kept telling everybody how much he hated hospitals. He was still mumbling something about hospitals at the end of the party when he slipped on a piece of ice and broke his left leg. 7New words and expressions 生词和短语 8 largely 9adv. 在很大程度上 10 comic 11adj. 喜剧的，可笑的 12 universal 13adj. 普通的 14 comedian 15n. 滑稽演员，喜剧演员 16 distasteful 17adj. 讨厌的 18 pester 19v. 一再要求，纠缠 20 dread 21v. 惧怕 22 recovery 23n. 康复 24 plaster 25n. 熟石膏 26 console 27v. 安慰，慰问 28 hobble 29v. 瘸着腿走 30 compensate 31v. 补偿 32 mumble 33v. 喃喃而语 34参考译文 35 我们觉得一则笑话是否好笑，很大程度取决于我们是在哪儿长大的。幽默感与民族有着神秘莫测的联系。譬如，法国人听完一则俄国笑话可能很难发笑。同样的道理，一则可以令英国人笑出泪来的笑话，俄国人听了可能觉得没有什么可笑之处。 36 大部分令人发笑的故事都是根据喜剧情节编写的。尽管民族不同，有些滑稽的情节却能产生普遍的效果。比如说，不管你生活在哪里，你看查理.卓别林的早期电影很难不发笑。然而，近来一种新式幽默流行了起来，这种幽默主要来自美国。它被叫作"病态幽默"。喜剧演员根据悲剧情节诸如暴死，重大事故等来编造笑话。许多人认为这种笑话是低级庸俗的。下面是个"病态幽默"的实例，你可据此自己作出判断。 37 圣诞节前几周，某人摔断了右腿被送进医院。从他进医院那一刻时，他就缠住医生，让医生告诉他什么时候能回家。他十分害怕在医院过圣诞。尽管医生竭力医治，但病人恢复缓慢。圣诞节那天，他的右腿还上着石膏，他在床上郁郁不乐地躺了一天，想着他错过的种种欢乐。然而，第二天，医生安慰他说，出院欢度新年的可能性还是很大的，那人听后振作了精神。果然，除夕时他可以一瘸一拐地去参加晚会了。为了补偿住院这一段不愉快的经历，那人喝得稍许多了一点。在晚会上他尽情娱乐，一再告诉大家他是多么讨厌医院。晚会结束时，他嘴里还在嘟哝着医院的事，突然踩到一块冰上滑倒了，摔断了左腿。