大英四第一单元

Unit 1 Book 4

Students

’

Handout

2009

Guidelines for Students

Book 4 Unit 1

Part I

In-class Reading

Key words and phrases in in-class reading:

present

humor

mutual

trigger

suggestive

tempt

value

sensitive

message

lie in

string

appeal

beyond the reach of

fall in love with sb.

make an attempt to do sth.

1.

note (

l

.

74

)

Some phrases with “note”:

1) make a note of something: write something down so that you can look at it later

e.g.

I) I made a note of her address and phone number.

II) Make a note on the calendar that he’s c

oming on Tuesday.

III) She took out her diary and made a note of the time of the meeting.

2) take/make notes: write notes

e.g.

I) I read the first chapter and took notes.

II) She sat quietly in the corner making careful notes.

II) I noticed he was making notes about the deals as I was describing them to the board.

3) take note: pay careful attention to something

e.g.

I) Take note of the weather conditions.

II) People were beginning to take note of her talents as a writer.

III) I realized that I had forgotten to take note of any landmarks en route.

2. blame (

l

.

102

)

Some phrases with “blame”:

1) blame somebody for something:

e.g.

I) You can hardly blame Peter for being angry with her.

II) It’s not fair to blame me—it’s n

ot my fault that we lost.

2) be to blame:

e.g.

I) You are not to blame for what happened.

II) The hot weather is partly to blame for the water shortage.

3) only have yourself to blame: used to say that someone’s problems are their own fault

e.g.

I) If he fails his exams, he’ll only have himself to blame.

II) He’s only got himself to blame if no one will talk to him.

3. alive (

l

.

102

)

adj.

(not before noun)

1) still living and not dead:

e.g.

I) Doctors fought to keep her alive.

II) It was really a bad accident

—they’re lucky to be alive.

2) active and happy:

e.g.

I) With the wind rushing through her hair she felt intensely alive.

II) It was the kind of morning when you wake up and feel really alive.

3) continuing to exist:

e.g.

I) Ancient traditions are still very much alive in rural areas.

1

Unit 1 Book 4

Students

’

Handout

2009

II) The big factories are trying to stay alive by cutting costs.

﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋ ﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋

Difficult sentences or useful expressions from the text:

1

The 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, I’ve made an attempt to explain and

discuss humor with students in suc

h diverse cultures as Latin America and China. I’ve done some

serious thinking about funny stories. It has been a labor of love

2

!

3

Why 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 I’ve just read the weather report?

3

Obviously 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. We’ve all heard people say, “I like jokes, but I can’t

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 person’s memory bank.

4

A 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.

4

Even

some

animals

have

a

sense

of humor.

My

wife’s

mother

often

visited

us

for

extended

stays

5

. She normally didn’t like dogs, but she

fell in love with Blitzen

—

a female Lab

6

we had, and

the relationship was mutual. Even when young, Blitzen would tease Grandma 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.”

5

Typical 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

LINE

7

(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

presented

8

.

It

helps

if

the

story/joke teller uses gestures and language which are well known to the audience.

6

Humor, 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.

7

“SLAP

-

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 comedian

9

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 for

m 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

2

Unit 1 Book 4

Students

’

Handout

2009

because of its familiarity.

8

Chinese

“cross

-

talk”

is

a

special

type

o

f

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.

9

A 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 Wembley?” “No,” said

the second, “It’s Thursday.” “So am I,” said the third man. “Let’s 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.

10

The famous Chinese cartoonist and humorist Ding Cong is a master of word play. In one of

his

funny

cartoo

ns,

a

teacher

says,

“

How

come

10

you

completely

copied

somebody

else’s

homework?”

The

young

student

replies,

“I

didn’t

completely

copy

it.

My

name

on

the

page

is

different.” In another classic Ding Cong cartoon, an irritated father asks, “Tell me, what’s on

e plus

two?”

The

son

says,

“I

don’t

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 note

11

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 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.

12

DOUBLE

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

noses

12

.”

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 humor is rather shocking,

but I don’t think humor is to

be blamed for that. Humor is alive and well, and it will persist simply

3