Lesson 29 Funny or not?

Whether we find a joke funny or not largely depends on where we have been brought up. The sense of humour is mysteriously bound up with紧紧连在一起 national characteristics. A Frenchman, for instance, might find it hard to laugh at a Russian joke. In the same way同样, a Russian might fail to see anything amusing in a joke which would make an Englishman laugh to tears.

Most funny stories are based on comic situations. In spite of national differences, certain funny situations have a universal appeal吸引力. No matter where you live, you would find it difficult not to laugh at, say (=for example), Charlie Chaplin’s early films. However, a new type of humour, which stems largely from起源于 the U.S., has recently come into fashion. It is called ‘sick humour’. Comedians base their jokes on tragics situations like violent death暴死 or serious accidents. Many people find this sort of joke distasteful. The following example of ‘sick humour’ will enable you to judge for yourself自己做判断.

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 doctor 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悲惨的 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可能性 of being able to leave hospital in time for New Year celebrations were good. The man took heart and, sure enough果然, on New Year’s 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.

New words and expressions

largely 在很大程度上

comic 喜剧的

universal 普遍的

comedian 滑稽演员

distasteful 讨厌的

pester 纠缠

dread 惧怕

recovery 康复

plaster 熟石膏

console 安慰

hobble 瘸着腿走

compensate 补偿

mumble 喃喃而语

Notes on the text

l generally一般地

├mostly大多数的

├chiefly主要的

└largely很大程度上

┞for the most part

├by and large

├on the whole

└at large大体上

l fanny(有贬义)可笑

├amusing使人笑的

├ridiculous滑稽的

├comic可笑的，喜剧的

└humorous幽默的

┌comedy喜剧

├comedian喜剧演员

└clown小丑

l distasteful(有味道的)讨厌的

He pestered me to buy him a car.

He pestered me for a car.

Whether we like a food or not largely depends on we have been brought up.长大

be bound up with紧紧连在一起

I find it easy to learn English.

┌In the same way

└Similarly同样地

┌laugh to tears笑出眼泪

└smile from ear to ear笑合不拢嘴

In spite of national differences, both Chinese and Americans share the same love for peace.

In spite of cultural differences,…(文化)

l 美国的社会问题

1. Low Birth Weight出生重量减

2. Infant Mortality婴儿死亡率

3. Unmarried Teenager Birth未婚生子(轻少年)

4. Juvenile Arrest Rate少年犯逮捕率

5. Violent teen death暴力杀害的孩子

6. Single – parent family单亲家庭

7. not in school or working失业人员

l dread of doing害怕做…

├I dread of being late.

└I dread the thought of being home alone.

l Wish you soon recovery.尽快康复

I return to go good condition.

I regain strength.重获力量

I get well.我好了

I’m myself again.好了

I’m not myself today.身体不好

hobble along a road瘸腿走路

l whistle吹口哨

├whisper低声细语

├murmur咕咕噜噜

└mumble喃喃

come into fasion慰然成风

be taken to hospital被送往医院

l keep on doing不断地(有情感色彩)

└keep doing一直做

dread doing害怕做

l On Christmas Day

└at Christmas

Thinking of you.想到你

┌The following day,第二天

└The next day,

chance机会，可能性

└adj.可能的possible

good = great大

└在文章中一个good可译为大

┌New Year Celebration庆会

└New Year Resolutions誓愿

take heart鼓足劲头

hobble along to a party瘸腿参加会

l To do so为此(表目的)

└In doing so,在做此事过程中

unpleasant感观不舒服(都可用此表示不愉快)

He drank a little more than (that) was good for him.喝多了点

In the process在过程中

At that moment, I realized all of a sudden how much I needed my husband.

at the end of(万能)结尾

Exercises

1. The French, for instance, might find it hard to…

*the French指整体意义上的法国人

2. Most amusing stories are based on comic situations.

*most of“大部分”of之后必须有限定词the, these, those, my, your

*most直接加名词时为“多数的”

Most people haven’t understood the question.多数人还没理解

3. A man whose right leg had been broken was taken to hospital…

*句子主干是A man … was taken to hospital

空为定语从句

4. He had no sooner arrived there than he began pestering his doctor…

*见到no sooner找than一…就…

5. The man compensated for his unpleasant experiences in hospital by drinking a little more than…

*题中需要一表方式的状语by doing表示通过…方式

6. Though the doctor did all he could…

*do one’s best

*do all one can

*do one’s utmost

*make every effort

*do all he could都表竭尽全力

7. The doctor comforted him by…

*comfort安慰

8. – and kept telling everyone to what extent he hated hospitals

*to what extent与how much意思相同表程度

*at great length极详细地，极周密地

*to one’s cost亲自体验到

9. He was still mumbling something to the same effect at the end…新概念英语学习软件

*to the same effect相同，同样

He sent a letter and sent a fax to the same effect.发一封信并发一封内容相同的传真