新编大学英语4课文原文doc.docx

新编大学英语4课文原文doc.docx

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新编大学英语4课文原文doc

1] Thejoyoflaughingatafunnystoryisuniversal,probablyasoldaslanguageitself. But,whatisitthatmakesastoryorajokefunny?

[2] AsonewhohasenjoyedhumorsinceIfirstrecognizedit,I've madeanattemptto explainanddiscusshumorwithstudentsinsuchdiverseculturesasLatinAmericaandChina. I'vedonesomeseriousthinkingaboutfunnystories.Ithasbeenalaboroflove[N]!

[3] WhyisitthatseveralstudentsinaclasswillfalloutoftheirchairslaughingafterItellajokewhiletherestofthestudentslookasifI'vejustreadtheweatherreport?

[N] Obviouslysomepeoplearemoresensitivetohumorthanothers. And,werecognizethatsomepeopletelljokesverywellwhileothersstruggletosaysomethingfunny. We'veallheardpeoplesay,"Ilikejokes,butIcan'ttellonewell,andIcanneverrememberthem." Somepeoplehaveabettersenseofhumorthanothersjustassomepeoplehavemoremusicaltalent,mathematicaltalent,etc.thanothers. Atrulyfunnypersonhasajokeforeveryoccasion,andwhenoneistold,thattriggersanentire string ofjokesfromthatperson'smemorybank.[N] A humorless personisnotlikelytobethemostpopularpersoninagroup. Itisreasonabletosaythatthetruly humorous individualisnotonlywellliked,butisoftenthefocusofattentioninanygathering.[4] Evensomeanimalshaveasenseofhumor. Mywife'smotheroftenvisitedusforextendedstays.[N] Shenormallydidn'tlikedogs,butshe fellinlovewithBlitzen[N]—afemaleLab[N] wehad,andtherelationshipwas mutual. Evenwhenyoung,Blitzenwould tease Grandma byvery selectively carryingoneofherbedroomslippersintothelivingroomwhereGrandmasatinherfavorite,comfortablechair. Blitzen pranced just beyondthereachof GrandmauntilGrandmawas tempted toleaveherchairtogettheslipperfromBlitzen. WhenGrandmaleftherchair,Blitzenwouldquicklyjumpintothechair, flashing herLabsmile from sparkling browneyeswhichclearlysaid,"Aha,Ifooledyouagain."

[5] Typicaljokesorhumorousstorieshaveathree-part anatomy thatiseasilyrecognized. FirstistheSETUP（or setting）,nextistheBODY（orstoryline）,andthesearefollowedbythePUNCHLINE[N] （anunexpectedorsurpriseending）whichwillmakethejokefunnyifitcontainssomehumor. Usuallyallthreepartsarepresent,andeachmustbeclearlypresented[N]. Ithelpsifthestory/joketellerusesgesturesandlanguagewhicharewellknowntotheaudience.

[6] Humor,asaformofentertainment,canbeanalyzedinordertodiscoverwhatmakesafunnystoryorjokeseemfunny. Here,forexample,aresomeofthemostcommontypesofhumor.Theyrangefromthemostobvioushumortothemoresubtletypes.

[7] "SLAP-STICK"isthemostobvioushumor. Itslanguageissimple,direct,andoftenmakesfunofanotherpersonorgroup. Slap-stickwasandisthetechniqueofthestand-upcomedian[N] andthe clown. Itappealstoallagesandallcultures. NearlyeveryEnglish-speaking comedian inthiscenturyhasusedthefollowingjokeinoneformoranother. Onemanasksanother,"WhowasthatladyIsawyouwithlastnight?

" Theotherreplies,"Thatwasnolady,thatwasmywife."Thehumorliesinthefactthatthesecondmanissayingthathiswifeisnotalady.Inotherwords,sheisnotarefinedwoman. Thejokeisnolessfunnybecauseitissooftenused. Theaudienceknowsinadvancewhatwillbesaid,becauseitisclassichumor,andanyaudiencevaluesitevenmorebecauseofits familiarity.

[8] Chinese"cross-talk"isaspecialtypeofslap-stickinwhichtwoChinesecomedianshumorouslydiscusstopicssuchas bureaucrats,familyproblems,orotherpersonaltopics. Cross-talkcanbeheardanywherefromsmallvillagestagestothelargestBeijingtheatres,andtoradioandtelevision. ItisclearlyatraditionalformofhumorwellunderstoodbyChinesepeople.

[9] APLAYONWORDSisnotsoobviousasslap-stick,butitisfunnybecauseof misused ormisunderstoodlanguage. MyfavoriteexampleisthestoryofthreeelderlygentlementravelingbytraininEngland. Asthetrainslowedforastopthefirstmanasked,"IsthisWembley[N]?

" "No,"saidthesecond,"It'sThursday." "SoamI,"saidthethirdman. "Let'sstopforabeer." Weknowthatolderpeopleoftendonothearthingsclearly,sothemisunderstandingofbothWednesday（forWembley）andthirsty（forThursday）makesanice setup forthepunchlinedeliveredbythethirdman.

[10] ThefamousChinese cartoonist and humorist DingCongisamasterofwordplay. Inoneofhisfunny cartoons,ateachersays,"Howcome[N] youcompletelycopiedsomebodyelse'shomework?

" Theyoungstudentreplies,"Ididn'tcompletelycopyit.Mynameonthepageisdifferent." InanotherclassicDingCongcartoon,an irritated fatherasks,"Tellme,what'soneplustwo?

" Thesonsays,"Idon'tknow." Theimpatientfatherthensays,"Forexample,you,yourmother,andIaltogetherarehowmany,you idiot?

" Thesonproudlyanswers,"Threeidiots." Whetherthesestoriesarecartoonsorjokes,toldbya slap-stickcomedianoracross-talkingteam,theyappealtopeopleeverywhereasfunnystoriesbecausetheyhaveanote[N] [N] ofrealitytothem,andtheunexpectedpunchlineisquitefunny.

[11] PUNS areevenmoresubtleformsofwordplay. Theyusethetechniqueofsimilarsoundingwordsoralternativemeaningsofthesameword. Punsarethoughtbysomecriticstobethelowestformofhumor,butIdisagreewiththis.Punsrequiremoresubtleandsophisticatedlanguageskillsthanmosthumorforms,buteventheveryyoungcanusethemintheirsimplerforms. Forexample,the"riddle"ortrickquestionoftenusesapuninthesetup,thestoryline,or,moreoften,thepunchline. PunsarethefirsttypeofhumorIlearned,andatabout5yearsofageIrememberhearingthefollowingriddle. Onepersonasks,"Whatisblackandwhiteandredallover?

" Theotherpersonusuallycannotanswertheriddle,sosays,"Igiveup.Whatistheanswer?

" The riddler replies,"Anewspaper."Thisistheobviousanswerifoneknowsthat"red"ispronouncedthesameas"read"inEnglish,butthemeaningsareclearlydifferent.

[12] DOUBLEENTENDRES （Frenchfordoublemeanings）arespecialvariationsofpunsinwhichwordsorphraseshavedoublemeanings.Frequentlythetwomeaningsareverydifferent,andoneisquiteproperwhilethesecondisoften,butnotalways, vulgar. Ilikethesomewhatmildstoryofaschoolteacheranda principal ofahighschoolwhoareconcernedbecausesomeboysandgirlshavebeenseenkissingontheschoolplayground. Theteachersaystothestudents,"TheprincipalandIhavedecidedtostopkissingontheschoolplayground." Hearingsome laughter,shesenseshermessagewasnotaltogetherclear,sosheadds,"WhatImeantosayisthattherewillbenomorekissinggoingonunderournoses[N]." This clarification,ofcourse,doesnothingtocorrectthefirststatementandthedoublemeaningofthejokebecomesevenmore laughable. 

[13] Someprofessionalhumoriststhinktoomuchoftoday'shumorisnotveryintelligentorsophisticated. Theydislikethe suggestive orvulgarlanguageusedtoofrequently,andtheyfeelthatmosthumoristsarenotverycreative. Itistruethatsomeoftoday'shumorisrathershocking,butIdon'tthinkhumoristobeblamed[N] forthat. Humorisalive[N] andwell,anditwillpersistsimplybecausetherearefunnythingshappeningeveryday. Somehumorouspeopleseeandhearthesefunnythingsandareabletomakethemintofunny, entertaining jokesandstories. （1,346words）

OnmyfirstjobassportseditorfortheMontpelier（Ohio） LeaderEnterprise,Ididn'tgetalotoffanmail, soIwas intrigued byaletterthatwasdroppedonmydeskonemorning. 

[2] WhenIopenedit,Iread:

"AnicepieceofwritingontheTigers.Keepupthegoodwork." ItwassignedbyDonWolfe,thesportseditor. BecauseIwasateenager（beingpaidthegrandtotalof15centsa column inch[N]）,hiswordscouldn'thavebeenmore inspiring. [N] Ikepttheletterinmydeskdraweruntilitgot rag-eared. WheneverIdoubtedIhadtherightstufftobeawriter[N],Iwouldreread Don'snoteandfeelconfidentagain. 

[3] Later,whenIgottoknowhim,IlearnedthatDon madea habitof [N]writingaquick,encouragingword[N] topeopleinall walksoflife. "WhenImakeothersfeelgoodaboutthemselves,"hetoldme,"Ifeelgoodtoo."

[4] Notsurprisingly,hehadabodyoffriendsasbigas nearby LakeErie[N].Whenhediedlastyearat75,thepaperwasfloodedwithcallsandletters[N] frompeoplewhohadbeen recipients ofhis spirit-lifting words. 

[5] Overtheyears,I'vetriedtocopytheexampleofDonandotherfriendswhocareenoughtowriteupliftingcomments,becauseIthinkthey areontosomething important. Inaworldtoooftencoldand unresponsive,suchnotesbringwarmthandreassurance. Weallneedaboostfromtimetotime,andafewlinesofpraisehavebeenknowntoturnaroundaday[N],evenalife. 

[6] Why,then,aretheresofew upbeat notewriters?

 Myguessisthatmanywho shyawayfrom thepracticearetooself-conscious[N]. They'reafraidthey'llbemisunderstood,sound sentimental or insincere. Also,writingtakestime;it'sfareasiertopickupthephone. 

[7] The drawback withphonecalls,ofcourse,isthattheydon'tlast. Anoteattaches[N] more importanceto our well-wishing. Itisamatterofrecord[N],andourwordscanbereadmorethanonce, savored andtreasured. 

[8] Eventhoughnotewritingmaytakelonger,someprettybusypeopledoit,includingGeorgeBush. Somesayheowes[N] muchofhissuccessinpoliticstohisever-ready[N] pen.How?

 Throughouthiscareerhehas followedup virtuallyeverycontactwitha cordial response—acompliment,alineofpraiseor