新编大学英语第三版Book 4 Unit 1中英对照

Entertaining Humor—What's Funny?

享受幽默——什么东西令人开怀？

Donald M. Huffman

funny

听了一个有趣的故事会发笑、很开心，古今中[1] The joy of laughing at a funny story is

universal, probably as old as language 外都一样。这一现象或许同语言本身一样悠久。itself. But, what is it that makes a story or 那么，到底是什么东西会使一个故事或笑话让a joke funny? 人感到滑稽可笑的呢？

[2] As one who has enjoyed humor since I humor first recognized it, I've made an attempt 我是第一次辨识出幽默便喜欢上它的人，因此to explain and discuss humor with 我曾试图跟学生议论和探讨幽默。这些学生文students in such diverse cultures as Latin 化差异很大，有来自拉丁美洲的，也有来自中America and China. I've done some 国的。我还认真地思考过一些滑稽有趣的故事。serious thinking about funny stories. It 这么做完全是出于自己的喜好。 has been a labor of love!

[3] Why is it that several students in a

class will fall out of their chairslaughing

after I tell a joke while the rest of the

students look as if I've just read the human's different reactions (to weather report? Obviously some people joke); comparison (humorous vs. are more sensitive to humor than others. humorless people)

And, we recognize that some people tell 为什么听我讲完一个笑话后，班上有些学生会jokes very well while others struggle

people say, "I like jokes, but I can't tell

one well, and I can never remember 笑得前仰后合，而其他学生看上去就像刚听我别人更敏感。而且，我们也发现有的人很善于讲笑话，而有的人要想说一点有趣的事却要费to say something funny. We've all heard 读了天气预报一样呢？显然，有些人对幽默比them." Some people have a better sense 好大的劲。我们都听人说过这样的话：“我喜欢of humor than others just as some people 笑话，但我讲不好，也总是记不住。”有些人比have more musical talent , mathematical 别人更有幽默感，就像有些人更具有音乐、数talent, etc. than others. A truly funny 学之类的才能一样。一个真正风趣的人在任何person has a joke for every occasion, and 场合都有笑话可讲，而且讲了一个笑话，就会when one is told, that triggers an entire 从他记忆里引出一连串的笑话。一个缺乏幽默string of jokes from that person's memory 感的人不可能成为一群人中最受欢迎的。一个bank. A humorless person is not likely to 真正有幽默感的人不仅受人喜爱，而且在任何be the most popular person in a group. It 聚会上也往往是人们注意的焦点。这么说是有is reasonable to say that the truly

humorous individual is not only well

liked, but is often the focus of attention in

any gathering.

[4] Even some animals have a sense of animal humor; example (Lab) humor. My wife's mother often visited us 甚至有些动物也具有幽默感。我岳母从前经常道理的。

for extended stays. She normally didn't

like dogs, but she fell in love with

Blitzen —a female Lab we had, and the

relationship was mutual. Even when

very selectively carrying one of her

bedroom slippers into the living room

where Grandma sat in her favorite,

beyond the reach of Grandma until

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."

[5] Typical jokes or humorous stories

have a three-part anatomy that is easily

recognized. First is the SETUP (or setting), 来我们家，并能住上很长一段时间。通常她不喜欢狗，但却很喜欢布利茨恩——我们养过的一条拉布拉多母猎犬。而且，她们的这种好感是相互的。布利茨恩在很小的时候就常常戏弄张舒适的椅子上时，布利茨恩就故意把她卧室里的一只拖鞋叼到起居室，并在外祖母刚好够不到的地方蹦来跳去，一直逗得外祖母忍不住布利茨恩就迅速跳上那椅子，从它那闪亮的棕在说：“啊哈，你又上了我的当。” young, Blitzen would tease Grandma by 外祖母。当外祖母坐在起居室里她最喜欢的那外祖母从椅子上一起来，comfortable chair. Blitzen pranced just 站起来去拿那只拖鞋。Grandma was tempted to leave her chair 色眼睛里掠过一丝拉布拉多式的微笑，无疑是three-part anatomy (of jokes): (SETTING, BODY, PUNCHLINE)

典型的笑话或幽默故事由明显的三部分构成。next is the BODY (or story line), and these 第一部分是铺垫（即背景），接下来是主干部are followed by the PUNCH LINE (an 分（即故事情节），随后便是妙语（即一个出unexpected or surprise ending) which will 人意料或令人惊讶的结尾）。如果这个妙语含make the joke funny if it contains some 有一定的幽默成分，这个笑话便会很有趣。通humor. Usually all three parts are present, 常笑话都包含这三部分，而且每部分都必须交and each must be clearly presented. It 代清楚。如果讲故事或说笑话的人使用听众都helps if the story/joke teller 熟悉的手势和语言，则有助于增强效果。[C-Euses gestures and language which are 重点]已考过 well known to the audience.

[6] Humor, as a form of entertainment, humor can be analyzed; types can be analyzed in order to discover what (general paragraph for Para. 7-12) makes a funny story or joke seem funny. 我们可以对幽默这种娱乐形式进行分析，从而Here, for example, are some of the most 发现究竟是什么使一个有趣的故事或笑话令人common types of humor. They range

subtle types.

[7] "SLAP-STICK" is the most obvious

often makes fun of another person or 发笑。举例来说，最常见的幽默有以下几种，幽默。 SLAP-STICK 了当，常常以取笑他人为乐。说笑打闹这种形from the most obvious humor to the more 包括了从最显而易见的幽默到比较微妙含蓄的humor. Its language is simple, direct, and “滑稽剧”是最明显的幽默。它语言简单、直截group. Slap-stick was and is the technique 式过去是、现在仍然是滑稽说笑演员和小丑的of the stand-up comedian and the clown. 惯用技巧。它为不同年龄、不同文化背景的人It appeals to all ages and all cultures. 们所喜爱。几乎本世纪的每个讲英语的滑稽说Nearly every English-speaking comedian 笑演员都曾以这样或那样的方式说过下面这则

in this century has used the following joke 笑话。一位男士问另一位男士：“昨晚我看到的in one form or another. One man asks

another, "Who was that lady I saw you

was no lady, that was my wife." The

is saying that his wife is not a lady. In 那位和你在一起的夫人是谁？” 那位男士回答道：“那可不是什么夫人，那是我老婆。”这个是一位夫人，也就是说她不是一个高雅的女人。笑。由于这是一个经典笑话，观众都知道要说with last night?" The other replies, "That 笑话的幽默之处在于第二位男士说他的妻子不humor lies in the fact that the second man 这个笑话并没有因为经常讲而变得不再那么好other words, she is not a refined woman. 什么，而且因为大家对这个笑话很熟悉而更加The joke is no less funny because it is so 珍爱它。

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.

[8] Chinese "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 Chinese cross-talk: (special type of slap-stick) 中国的相声是一种特殊的滑稽剧。相声中两名中国喜剧演员幽默地谈论诸如官僚主义者、家

庭问题或其他一些有关个人的话题。相声随处heard anywhere from small village stages 都能听到，无论是在乡村的小舞台上，还是在to the largest Beijing theatres, and to 北京最大的剧院里，抑或在广播、电视上。它radio and television. It is clearly a 显然是中国人家喻户晓的一种传统的幽默形traditional form of humor well understood 式。 by Chinese people.

[9] A PLAY ON WORDS is not so obvious PLAY ON WORDS (not so obvious as as slap-stick, but it is funny because of

favorite example is the story of three

elderly gentlemen traveling by train in slap-stick, but …; example: three 的误用或误解而引人发笑。我特别喜欢的一个misused or misunderstood language. My gentleman) England. As the train slowed for a stop the 例子是三位年长的绅士在英国乘火车旅行的故

当火车慢慢停下来时，第一位绅士问道：“这first man asked, "Is this Wembley?" "No," 事。

said the second, "It's Thursday." "So am 是Wembley （温布利）吗？”“不，”第二位绅I," said the third man. "Let's stop for a

not hear things clearly, so 士说：“是Thursday （星期四）。”“我也是，” 知道上了年纪的人往往耳背，因此会把beer." We know that older people often do 第三位说道， “让我们下车喝杯啤酒吧。”我们the misunderstanding of both Wednesday Wembley （温布利）听成了Wednesday （星

，把Thursday （星期四）听成了thirsty (for Wembley) and thirsty (for Thursday) 期三）

makes a nice setup for the punch

line delivered by the third man. （渴了），这样一来就为第三位老人的妙语做好了铺垫。

[10] The famous Chinese cartoonist and example (of play-on-words: word humorist Ding Cong is a master of word play) (example: Ding Cong’s cartoon) play. In one of his funny cartoons, a 著名的中国漫画家和幽默家丁聪便是一位文字teacher says, "How come you completely 游戏大师。在他的一幅幽默漫画中，一位老师copied somebody else's homework?" The 说：“你为什么一字不改地抄别人的作业？”那

young student replies, "I didn't completely 位年轻的学生回答道：“我没有一字不改地抄。copy it. My name on the page is different." 我把作业上的名字改成自己的了。” 在丁聪的In another classic Ding Cong cartoon, one plus two?" The son says, "I don't know." The impatient father then says, "For example, you, your mother, and 另一幅经典漫画里，一位生气的父亲问道：“告这位不耐烦的父亲接着说道：“比方说，你、你妈妈和我，我们加起来一共是几个，傻瓜？”儿子得意地回答道：“是三个傻瓜。”这些故事1加2等于几？” 儿子说：“我不知道。”an irritated father asks, "Tell me, what's 诉我，I altogether are how many, you idiot ?" 无论是漫画还是笑话，是由演滑稽剧的喜剧演The son proudly answers, "Three idiots." 员说还是由搭档的相声演员讲，都为各地人们Whether these stories are cartoons or 所喜爱。人们喜爱这些有趣的故事，因为它们jokes, told by a slap-stick comedian or a 贴近现实生活，而且里面那些出人意料的妙语cross-talking team, they appeal to people 十分有趣。 everywhere as funny stories because they have a note of reality to them, and the unexpected punch line is quite funny.

[11] PUNS are even more subtle forms of word play. They use the technique of similar sounding words

or alternative meanings of the same PUNS (even more subtle forms of word. Puns are thought by some critics to words; example: riddles) be the lowest form of humor, but I 双关语是一种更微妙的文字游戏。它使用的技disagree with this. Puns require more 巧是利用发音相似的词或同一个词的不同意subtle and sophisticated language skills 思。有些批评家认为双关语是最低级的幽默，than most humor forms, but even the very 但我不同意这种观点。双关语与其他形式的幽young can use them in their simpler 默相比需要更细微、更巧妙的语言技巧；然而，forms. For example, the "riddle" or trick 简单的双关语甚至很小的孩子也能利用。例如，question often uses a pun in the setup, the 谜语或脑筋急转弯问题常使用双关语做铺垫、story line, or, more often, the punch line. 制造故事情节，而且更多地是用在妙语部分。Puns are the first type of humor I learned, 双关语是我最早懂得的幽默。记得大约在五岁and at about 5 years of age I remember 时我听到了下面这个谜语。一个人问：“什么东hearing the following riddle. One person 西整个儿是黑的、白的和红的？” 另外一个人asks, "What is black and white and red all 通常猜不出来，于是问道：“我不猜了。是什么over?" The other person usually cannot 呀？”出谜语的人回答：“是报纸。”如果你知道answer the riddle, so says, "I give up. 在英语中“red（红色）”和“read（读）”的读What is the answer?" The riddler replies, 音一样但意思完全不同，答案就很明显了。 "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.

[12] DOUBLE ENTENDRES (French for double meanings) are

or phrases have double meanings. Frequently the two meanings are very DOUBLE ENTENDRES (special variations of puns; example: teacher DOUBLE ENTENDRES （法语中的“一语双关”）是双关语的特殊形式, 其中的词或短语有special variations of puns in which words and principal)

different, and one is quite proper while the 双重意思。两个意思往往很不相同，一个比较second is often, but not always, vulgar . I 恰当，另一个往往比较粗俗——但并不总是这like the somewhat mild story of a school 样。我喜欢那个关于一位中学教师和校长因看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 senses her message was

I mean to say is that there will be no more kissing going onunder our noses." This clarification, of course, does nothing to correct the first statement and the double meaning of the joke becomes even more laughable.

[13] Some professional humorists think too much of today's 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 today's conclusion : point & counterpoint 一些专业的幽默家认为如今的幽默大多缺乏智慧，不够巧妙。他们不喜欢在幽默中过多使用有色情意味或粗俗的语言，而且觉得大多数幽见学生在学校操场上接吻而感到担心的故事。故事并不过火。那位教师对学生们说：“我和校长已经决定停止在学校操场上接吻。” 听到笑声，她意识到她没有把意思表达清楚，于是补充说：“我的意思是不能再在我们的鼻子底下发生接吻这样的事了。” 当然，这个解释并没有义变得更加好笑。 playground." Hearing some laughter, she 纠正她的第一句话，反而使这个笑话的双重含not altogether clear, so she adds, "What humor is rather shocking, but I don't think 默家缺乏创造性。的确，现在有些幽默令人震humor is to be blamed for that. Humor is 惊，但我认为这不是幽默的过错。幽默本身是alive and well, and it will persist simply 活泼健康的，它还会继续生存下去，只因为每because there are funny things happening 天都有有趣的事情发生。一些有幽默感的人会every day. Some humorous people see to make them into

funny, entertaining jokes and stories. (1,346 words) 看到、听到这些有趣的事情，并把它们编成妙and hear these funny things and are able 趣横生、令人开心的笑话和故事。