资源描述
Entertaining HumorWhats Funny? Donald M. Huffman N 1The joy of laughing at a funny story is universal, probably as old as language itself. But, what is it that makes a story or a joke funny? 2 As one who has enjoyed humor since I first recognized it, Ive made an attempt to explain and discuss humor with students in such diverse cultures as Latin America and China. Ive done some serious thinking about funny stories. It has been a labor of loveN!3Why is it that several students in a class will fall out of their chairs laughing after I tell a joke while the rest of the students look as if Ive just read the weather report?NObviously some people are more sensitive to humor than others. And, we recognize that some people tell jokes very well while others struggle to say something funny. Weve all heard people say, I like jokes, but I cant tell one well, and I can never remember them. Some people have a better sense of humor than others just as some people have more musical talent, mathematical talent, etc. than others. A truly funny person has a joke for every occasion, and when one is told, that triggers an entire string of jokes from that persons memory bank.NA humorless person is not likely to be the most popular person in a group. It is reasonable to say that the truly humorous individual is not only well liked, but is often the focus of attention in any gathering.4Even some animals have a sense of humor. My wifes mother often visited us for extended stays.NShe normally didnt like dogs, but she fell in love with BlitzenNa female LabN we had, and the relationship was mutual. Even when young, Blitzen would teaseGrandma by very selectively carrying one of her bedroom slippers into the living room where Grandma sat in her favorite, comfortable chair. Blitzen pranced just beyond the reach of Grandma until Grandma was tempted to leave her chair to get the slipper from Blitzen. When Grandma left her chair, Blitzen would quickly jump into the chair, flashing her Lab smile from sparkling brown eyes which clearly said, Aha, I fooled you again.5Typical jokes or humorous stories have a three-part anatomy that is easily recognized. First is the SETUP (or setting), next is the BODY (or story line), and these are followed by the PUNCH LINEN (an unexpected or surprise ending) which will make the joke funny if it contains some humor. Usually all three parts are present, and each must be clearly presentedN.It helps if the story/joke teller uses gestures and language which are well known to the audience.6Humor, as a form of entertainment, can be analyzed in order to discover what makes a funny story or joke seem funny.Here, for example, are some of the most common types of humor. They range from the most obvious humor to the more subtle types. 7SLAP-STICK is the most obvious humor. Its language is simple, direct, and often makes fun of another person or group. Slap-stick was and is the technique of the stand-up comedianN and the clown.It appeals to all ages and all cultures. Nearly every English-speaking comedian in this century has used the following joke in one form or another. One man asks another, Who was that lady I saw you with last night?The other replies, That was no lady, that was my wife. The humor lies in the fact that the second man is saying that his wife is not a lady. In other words, she is not a refined woman. The joke is no less funny because it is so often used. The audience knows in advance what will be said, because it is classic humor, and any audience values it even more because of its familiarity.8Chinese cross-talk is a special type of slap-stick in which two Chinese comedians humorously discuss topics such as bureaucrats, family problems, or other personal topics. Cross-talk can be heard anywhere from small village stages to the largest Beijing theatres, and to radio and television. It is clearly a traditional form of humor well understood by Chinese people.9A PLAY ON WORDS is not so obvious as slap-stick, but it is funny because of misused or misunderstood language. My favorite example is the story of three elderly gentlemen traveling by train in England. As the train slowed for a stop the first man asked, Is this WembleyN?No, said the second, Its Thursday. So am I, said the third man. Lets stop for a beer. We know that older people often do not hear things clearly, so the misunderstanding of both Wednesday (for Wembley) and thirsty (for Thursday) makes a nice setup for the punch line delivered by the third man.10The famous Chinese cartoonist and humorist Ding Cong is a master of word play. In one of his funny cartoons, a teacher says, How comeN you completely copied somebody elses homework? The young student replies, I didnt completely copy it. My name on the page is different. In another classic Ding Cong cartoon, an irritated father asks, Tell me, whats one plus two? The son says, I dont know. The impatient father then says, For example, you, your mother, and I altogether are how many, you idiot?The son proudly answers, Three idiots. Whether these stories are cartoons or jokes, told by a slap-stick comedian or a cross-talking team, they appeal to people everywhere as funny stories because they have a noteNN of reality to them, and the unexpected punch line is quite funny.11PUNS are even more subtle forms of word play. They use the technique of similar sounding words or alternative meanings of the same word. Puns are thought by some critics to be the lowest form of humor, but I disagree with this. Puns require more subtle and sophisticated language skills than most humor forms, but even the very young can use them in their simpler forms. For example, the riddle or trick question often uses a pun in the setup, the story line, or, more often, the punch line. Puns are the first type of humor I learned, and at about 5 years of age I remember hearing the following riddle. One person asks, What is black and white and red all over? The other person usually cannot answer the riddle, so says, I give up. What is the answer? The riddler replies, A newspaper.This is the obvious answer if one knows that red is pronounced the same as read in English, but the meanings are clearly different. 12DOUBLE ENTENDRES (French for double meanings) are special variations of puns in which words or phrases have double meanings. Frequently the two meanings are very different, and one is quite proper while the second is often, but not always, vulgar. I like the somewhat mild story of a school teacher and a principal of a high school who are concerned because some boys and girls have been seen kissing on the school playground. The teacher says to the students, The principal and I have decided to stop kissing on the school playground. Hearing some laughter, she senses her message was not altogether clear, so she adds, What I mean to say is that there will be no more kissing going on under our nosesN.This clarification, of course, does nothing to correct the first statement and the double meaning of the joke becomes even more laughable. 13Some professional humorists think too much of todays humor is not very intelligent or sophisticated.They dislike the suggestive or vulgar language used too frequently, and they feel that most humorists are not very creative. It is true that some of todays humor is rather shocking, but I dont think humor is to be blamedN for that. Humor is aliveN and well, and it will persist simply because there are funny things happening every day. Some humorous people see and hear these funny things and are able to make them into funny, entertaining jokes and stories. (1,346 words)Fatal AttractionSimon Brett 1The Queen of British murder谋杀 mystery writing is, without doubt, Agatha Christie. Although the writer herself died over 20 years ago, her 78 Whodunit是谁干的 novels continue to sell畅销 in huge numbers. They have been translated into more than a hundred languages and they have sold over two billion copies. 2 The appeal of Agatha Christies books, both in Britain and abroad, is not hard to understand.Each book is cleverly constructed构思.She uses characters创造的人物 that are easily recognizable and her plots develop almost likeclockwork.But most importantly, all her stories set a puzzle 谜团for the reader.3Nearly all of Christies books start with a murder, forcing迫使 the reader to ask the question, whodunit?, and all of them end with a solution. The fun for the reader is in following the clues hidden隐含的线索 in the story and trying to reach the correct solution正确答案 before the author reveals揭开谜底 it. This formula模式 appeals 吸引to the strongest of human instincts本能curiosity好奇心and its popularity shows no sign of going awayN.4Many of the mysteries案子 are solved by one of Christies regular经常 investigators侦探, like the very confident BelgianN, Hercule PoirotN, or the apparently显然 harmless 没有恶意的little old lady, Miss MarpleN.She also created a special特有的 setting背景 for her stories which has become as familiar熟知 as some of her characters创作的一些人物.It is England between the two World Wars, where close-knit小村庄 communities社区关系 live in quiet villages or rich city folk城里的阔佬们 assemble豪宅 for weekends at grand乡下的 country houses. 5This world is ruled制度 by a rigid严格的 social hierarchy等级. The owners of the country houses, probably members of the aristocracy贵族, are at the top, then there are the professional classes职业阶层: doctors, lawyers and businessmen. At the bottom底层 are the common people, who normally通常 appear in the books as servants仆从, cooks and gardeners.When a murder is committed发生, theres no shortage缺少 of suspects嫌疑人 to be investigated调查. 6Agatha Christies world is not quite完全 a real world, which is one of the reasons why her books have not become dated过时.This is a world which is safe and predictable循规蹈矩的 until a murder shatters打乱 peoples lives. The crime案件 must be solved so that the murderer can be arrested抓住, but also, so that calm can be restored恢复.N7During most of Agatha Christies life, England had the death penalty死刑 for murder. So, once the crime in her books is solved and the murderer identified找出, that is the end for him or her. There are no （loose ends尚待解决或解释的枝节问题） and the reader can sleep peacefully in his or her bed. 8In the real world, of course, things dont happen quite完全 like that. Criminals go unpunished逍遥法外, people are wronglyconvicted伤及无辜 and there are miscarriages （失败或案件处理失当）of justice（公平或审判）. In short, the real world is not a safe place. It is for this reason that so many readers like to bury逃避 their heads inN an old-fashioned detective侦探 story with a safe and predictable可预测的 ending. 9The kind of whodunit Agatha Christie wrote is certainly old-fashioned. Few contemporary当代的 crime writers are producing创作 this kind of book. The modern crime novel is more morally道德上 and psychologically心理上 complex复杂的, often adding 加上to whodunit?, another question: whydunit?.Modern writers are more interested in understanding the criminals mind and what drives驱使 a person to kill. They explore探讨 a world of crime that is much darker than anything imagined by Agatha Christie. Instead of being comforting, most contemporary crime novels unsettle使不安 their readers. 10But Britains affection for what the Americans call the cosy舒适型 school of crime fiction小说 has not died.NMurder is still considered to be entertainment消遣娱乐 and the television schedules节目 are full of detective侦探 dramas戏剧 which end with a murderer safely under arrest逮捕. 11Another sign of how popular whodunits have become are Murder Mystery Weekends周末谋杀奇案, offered by hotels. Guests客人们 take on（以面貌出现） the characters角色 of classic whodunit suspects嫌疑人 and spend a weekend trying to find out who among them is the murderer.Or there are murder dinner parties, at which groups of friends get together to solve a crime over the dinner table, using specially特别地 prepared准备 information线索 about their character and their whereabouts行踪.If murder with your meal doesnt appeal, there are a range of popular board棋盘 games and computer games to test your powers of detection侦查，探测.12But for some people it can become an obsession着魔.Letters still get sent to 221b Baker Street, LondonN, home of Sherlock HolmesN, perhaps the most famous fictional小说的 detective侦探 of all, asking for his help in solving a variety of mysteries迷案.So many letters arrive for the great detective, that the company which now occupies使用 that address employs someone with the special job of answering them. 13So long as human beings remain curious, there seems no doubt that the whodunit, in all its various forms, will continue继续 to exert发挥 its fatal致命的 attraction. (791 words) Wow, Would I Love to Do ThatN Dan Kirk1I was 16 years old when I became interested in juggling. I saw a television commercial in which two guys began tossing cans of frozen orange juice back and forth in a juggling pattern. 2Wow, would I love to do that! I imagined myself performing表演 before a clapping audience面前的观众在鼓掌. 3Fat chance真是异想天开N.Even if即便 I knew how to juggle杂耍, I was scared to death of standing in front of an audience观众. But then a strange coincidence巧事 occurred发生, the kind of thing that makes you think its an answer to prayer, even when you havent actually prayed真正祈祷.NA few days later, my older brother, Jeff, and I were visiting some friends when a boy of my age said, Hey, you should see what my brother learned to do. He took me to his brothers room, where the older boy was showing Jeff how to juggle golf balls. 4I want to learn too, I said. 5In no time没有多久 I was hooked对着迷. Even though I dropped a lot of balls at first, I was amazed 感到惊讶how easily I caught on懂得. First, I just tossed抛 a single ball up in the air from one hand to the other.Then I tried two balls, one from each hand, letting them pass in the air在空中交叉. 6Finally I was ready for three balls. The pattern做法 was simple简单: I held two golf balls in my right hand and one in the left. Tossing one of the balls from my right hand into the air, I waited till it reached the top of its arc弧，弧形物.Then I tossed up the ball from my left hand, so that the two balls passed each other. And before that one came down, I sent up the ball that had remained留 in my right hand. I caught and tossed the balls, back and forth, back and forth. When I dropped one, I started over. By the end of the evening I could make 10 tosses before dropping a ball.7It was a challenge; I had to perfect完善 this skill. The next day I got three tennis balls and practiced练习 in the garage车库 until I could make 20 tosses before dropping a ball. I practiced（ with a vengeance激烈地）. I wanted to be as good as those guys on TV.8As I got better, I began to add tricks加上花样, tossing the balls so that one went over the top of the others, or under the others, or I bounced one off my head or elbow and still kept the pattern going或者我让一个球弹在我的头上或者臂肘上，并继续按原来的方式抛球. 9Funny thing is, I thought I was making up all those tricks可笑的是，我以为是我自己创造了那些花样. But one day at the library I discovered a book on juggling, and there were all the tricks I was doing然而有一天我在图书馆发现了一本关于杂耍的书，所有我玩的花样，里面都有 ! The basic three-ball pattern was a cascade, juggling the balls in a circle was a shower, and throwing one ball over the top was a half-shower三个球的基本花样叫层叠，将球抛成一个圆圈叫簇旋，将一只球抛得最高叫半簇旋.N10 I bought a set of juggling clubs, and my parents bought me a set of juggling rings我买了一套杂耍棒，我的父母为我买了一套杂耍圈. I performed for my family and a few friends, but I never thought of myself as an entertainer我给家人和一些朋友表演，可是我从没有把自己当作一个演员.Entertaining meant getting up in front of an audience. Impossible! I couldnt do that那样的话就意味着在一群观众面前站起来。不可能！我可做不到这一点. 11Then five years later, when I was 21, my mother called me aside one day during the Christmas season and said, Dan, how would you like to juggle for the Salvation Army dinner this year? 五年之后，当我21岁时，在圣诞节期间的一天，母亲把我叫到一边说：“丹，你愿不愿意给今年的救世军聚餐会表演杂耍？”For the past two years Mom and her boss had helped at the annual dinner在过去的两年里母亲和她的老板一直在给一年一度的聚餐会帮忙. 12 There will be other entertainment, she hastened to add还有其他节目呢，”她急忙补充了一句. All you need to do is stand at one side of the auditorium and juggle during dinner你只要在吃饭的时候，站在会堂的一边表演杂耍就行了.N13Two days before Christmas, as people streamed into the auditorium, there I was, juggling on a small stage at one side of the hall圣诞节的前两天，当人群涌入会堂的时候，我就在那儿，在会堂一边的一个小舞台上表演杂耍. I was nervous, but somehow the tension gave me courage我很紧张，但不知为什么，那紧张也给了我勇气. I began doing my tricks, including one Id recently mastered: juggling behind my back我开始耍花样，包括我刚刚掌握的：在我的背后去玩杂耍. Then I juggled the clubs, and finally a bowling ball and two small balls然后我耍起了杂耍棒，最后耍起了一个保龄球和两个小球。. Kids crowded around the stage, laughing孩子们拥在舞台周围，哈哈大笑. People applauded人们鼓掌喝彩。.14Suddenly I felt an elation I had never experienced before突然间，我感受到了一种从未有过的得意洋洋的感觉. I was performing for an audience, and they loved it!我在为观众表演，而且他们喜欢看 15At home I kept practicing.I began juggling cigar boxes, knives and torches我开始耍雪茄盒、刀和火把. And when an uncle gave me his unicycle, I learned to ride it and juggle at the same time当我的一个叔叔把他的独轮车送给我的时候，我学会了一边骑车一边杂耍. 16I began to think about becoming a professional我开始考虑成为一个职业杂耍演员. I knew Id have to do more than just tricks; Id have to speak, make jokes and so on我知道仅仅耍花样是不够的；我得能说会道，能讲笑话等等. Thats what the books said. So I prayed祈祷 about it. When I next juggled in front of my family, I added some jokes当又在全家面前表演杂耍的时候，我加上了些笑话。. I hoped that trying them out on my family would help me feel more comfortable doing the same thing in public我希望先在自己家人面前试试这一套，这样会让我在观众面前做同样事情的时候更放松些。. 17My chance soon came. I was asked to juggle torches at a fashion show with a Polynesian theme我被邀请到一个波利尼西亚主题的时装展示会上表演耍火把。.I went barefoot and bare-chested, dressed in silly-looking shorts, with black stripes across my face我光着脚，赤裸着上身，穿着傻乎乎的短裤，脸上画着黑色条纹。. As I was about to go on, I was handed a list of announcements我正要上台，有人给了我一个写着通知的单子。. Please read these when you finish your act, the mistress of ceremoniesNsaid“请在你的节目表演完之后念一下，”晚会的女主持人说. It was too late to back out打退堂鼓已经来不及了.18 Was I ever nervous我从没这么紧张过!NI dropped the torchesthree times我有三次没有接住火把! But not wanting the audience to know how nervous I was, I tried to make my mistakes look like part of the act可是我不想让观众看出我有多么紧张，便尽量使我的失误看起来是节目安排的一部分. I danced over the torchescrazily, making jungle sounds, until I could pick them up and resume my juggling我发疯般地跳舞，在火把上跨来跨去，发出丛林里的声音，直到我可以把它们捡起来继续杂耍表演.The people applauded. They liked my act. And somehow I got through reading the announcements人们鼓掌喝彩。他们喜欢我的节目。我也总算念完了那些通知. 19The following month I received a phone call from the principal of a local elementary school过了一个月，我接到一个当地小学校长的电话. An old performer had asked for a sick leave一个老演员请了病假. Could I fill in? And include a message?我能否接替他表演，并且寓教于乐N Sure, I said.20Three weeks later I was standing before a couple of hundred eager children三个星期后，我站在两百来个热切的孩子面前. Using my juggling practice as an example, I began my message我用自己学习杂耍的经历为例，给他们讲道理。. When I started to juggle, I let the balls drop当我开始表演杂耍的时候，我故意把球掉在地上. I picked them up, started, and dropped them again我把它们捡起来，又让它们落在地上. 21 Thats what its like when you start, I said开始的时候都是这样，”我说. But then, as the program progressed, I began to do more and more tricks, juggling while riding a unicycle and while lying on my back, getting back up to my feet without dropping a ball可是，随着节目的进展，我的花样也变得越来越多我骑着独轮车耍球，我躺着耍球，慢慢站起来而又不让一个球掉下去。. 22Forty-five minutes later I ended the performance with my final word of advice to the children: If you want to succeed, at juggling or anything else, you have to keep trying.45分钟以后，我给了孩子们一句忠告，作为节目的结束语：“不论是
展开阅读全文