新概念英语第三册课堂笔记 第二十九课
 
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 b

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