新编大学英语4课文原文doc.doc

(完整版)新编大学英语4课文原文doc1The joy of laughing at a funny story isuniversal， probably as old as language itself。But， what is it that makes a story or a joke funny？2As one who has enjoyed humor since I first recognized it, Ivemade an attempt toexplain and discuss humor with students in such diverse cultures as Latin America and China。Ive done some serious thinking about funny stories。 It has been a labor of loveN!3Why 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 Ive just read the weather report？NObviously 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。Weve all heard people say, I like jokes， but I cant 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 entirestringof jokes from that persons memory bank.NAhumorlessperson is not likely to be the most popular person in a group.It is reasonable to say that the trulyhumorousindividual is not only well liked， but is often the focus of attention in any gathering.4Even some animals have a sense of humor。My wifes mother often visited us for extended stays.NShe normally didnt like dogs， but shefell in love withBlitzenNa female LabNwe had, and the relationship wasmutual.Even when young， Blitzen wouldteaseGrandmaby veryselectivelycarrying one of her bedroom slippers into the living room where Grandma sat in her favorite, comfortable chair。Blitzenprancedjustbeyond the reach ofGrandma until Grandma wastemptedto leave her chair to get the slipper from Blitzen.When Grandma left her chair， Blitzen would quickly jump into the chair，flashingher Labsmilefromsparklingbrown eyes which clearly said, Aha， I fooled you again。”5Typical jokes or humorous stories have a three-partanatomythat is easily recognized.First is the SETUP （orsetting)， next is the BODY （or story line), and these are followed by the PUNCH LINEN(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 presentedN.It helps if the story/joke teller uses gestures and language which are well known to the audience。6Humor, 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”SLAPSTICK” 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 standup comedianNand theclown.It appeals to all ages and all cultures。Nearly every English-speakingcomedianin this century has used the following joke in one form 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 because of itsfamiliarity。8Chinese crosstalk” is a special type of slapstick in which two Chinese comedians humorously discuss topics such asbureaucrats， 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。9A PLAY ON WORDS is not so obvious as slapstick, but it is funny because ofmisusedor 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 WembleyN？”No，” said the second, ”Its Thursday。So am I,” said the third man。Lets 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 nicesetupfor the punch line delivered by the third man。10The famous ChinesecartoonistandhumoristDing Cong is a master of word play。In one of his funnycartoons, a teacher says, ”How comeNyou completely copied somebody elses homework？”The young student replies, ”I didnt completely copy it. My name on the page is different.In another classic Ding Cong cartoon， anirritatedfather asks, Tell me， whats one plus two？The son says， ”I dont know.The impatient father then says， For example， you， your mother， and I altogether are how many, youidiot？”The son proudly answers, ”Three idiots。”Whether these stories are cartoons or jokes， told by aslap-stickcomedian or a cross-talking team， they appeal to people everywhere as funny stories because they have a noteNNof reality to them, and the unexpected punch line is quite funny.11PUNSare 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？Theriddlerreplies， ”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。12DOUBLE 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 aprincipalof 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 somelaughter, 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 nosesN。Thisclarification， of course, does nothing to correct the first statement and the double meaning of the joke becomes even morelaughable.13Some professional humorists think too much of todays humor is not very intelligent or sophisticated.They dislike thesuggestiveor vulgar language used too frequently, and they feel that most humorists are not very creative。It is true that some of todays humor is rather shocking, but I dont think humor is to be blamedNfor that。Humor is aliveNand well, and it will persist simply because there are funny things happening every day.Some humorous people see and hear these funny things and are able to make them into funny，entertainingjokes and stories。(1,346 words)On my first job as sports editor for the Montpelier (Ohio)LeaderEnterprise， I didnt get a lot of fan mail，so I wasintriguedby a letter that was dropped on my desk one morning.2When I opened it, I read： A nice piece of writing on the Tigers. Keep up the good work.It was signed by Don Wolfe, the sports editor.Because I was a teenager (being paid the grand total of 15 cents acolumninchN), his words couldnt have been moreinspiring。NI kept the letter in my desk drawer until it gotrag-eared。Whenever I doubted I had the right stuff to be a writerN， I wouldrereadDons note and feel confident again.3Later, when I got to know him, I learned that Donmade ahabit ofNwriting a quick， encouraging wordNto people in allwalks of life。”When I make others feel good about themselves，” he told me, I feel good too.”4Not surprisingly, he had a body of friends as big asnearbyLake ErieN。When he died last year at 75, the paper was flooded with calls and lettersNfrom people who had beenrecipientsof hisspirit-liftingwords。5Over the years， Ive tried to copy the example of Don and other friends who care enough to write uplifting comments， because I think theyare on to somethingimportant。In a world too often cold andunresponsive， such notes bring warmth and reassurance。We all need a boost from time to time， and a few lines of praise have been known to turn around a dayN, even a life.6Why， then, are there so fewupbeatnote writers？My guess is that many whoshy away fromthe practice are too selfconsciousN。Theyre afraid theyll be misunderstood, soundsentimentalorinsincere.Also, writing takes time; its far easier to pick up the phone.7Thedrawbackwith phone calls, of course, is that they dont last。A noteattachesNmoreimportance toourwell-wishing。It is a matter of recordN， and our words can be read more than once，savoredand treasured.8Even though note writing may take longer， some pretty busy people do it， including George Bush。Some say he owesNmuch of his success in politics to his everreadyNpen. How？Throughout his career he hasfollowed upvirtuallyevery contact with acordialresponsea compliment, a line of praise or a nod of thanks。NHis notes go not only to friends and associates, but to casual acquaintances and total strangerslike the surprised person who gota warm pat on the backfor lending Bush an umbrella.9Even top corporate managers, who have mostly affected styles of leadership that can becharacterizedonly astough， cold andaloof， have begun to learn the lesson, and earn the benefits， of writing notes thatliftpeopleup.NFormer Ford chairman Donald Peterson， who is largely credited forturningthe companyroundin the 1980s， made it a practice to write positive messages to associates every day。NId justscribblethem on amemopador the corner of a letter andpassthemalong， he says。 The most important ten minutes of your day are those you spend doing something to boost the people who work for you。10”Too often， he observed, ”people we genuinely like have no idea how we feel about them。Too often we think, I havent said anything critical; why do I have to say something positive？We forget that human beings need positive reinforcement-in fact， wethriveon it！11What does it take to write letters that lift spirits and warm hearts?NOnly a willingness to express our appreciation。The most successfulpractitionersinclude what I call the four ”Ss of note writing。121)They aresincere。 No one wants false praise。132）They are usually short。If you cant say what you want to say in three sentences, youre probably strainingN。143）They are specific.Complimenting a business colleague by telling him good speech is toovague；great story about Warren Buffetsinvestmentstrategy” isprecise.154）They arespontaneous.This gives them thefreshnessand enthusiasm that will linger in the readers mind long afterward.16Its difficult to be spontaneous when you have to hunt for letterwriting materials， so I keep paper,envelopes and stamps close at hand, even when I travel.Fancystationeryisnt necessary； its the thought that counts.17So， who around youdeservesa note of thanks or approval？A neighbor, your librarian, a relative, yourmayor, your mate, a teacher, your doctor？You dont need to bepoetic.If you need a reason， look for amilestone, the anniversary of a special event you shared, or a birthday or holiday.For the last 25 years， for example， Ive prepared an annual Christmas letter forlongdistancefriends， and I often add a handwritten word of thanks or congratulations。Acknowledging some success or good fortune that has happened during the year seems particularly appropriate considering the spirit of the Christmas season。18Be generous with your praise.Superlatives like greatest”, smartest， ”prettiest make us all feel good. Even if your praise is a little ahead of reality, remember that expectations are often the parents of dreams fulfilled.N19Today I got a warm,complimentaryletter from my old boss andmentor, Norman Vincent Peale。His little note to me was full of uplifting phrases, and it sent me to mytypewriterto compose a fewoverdueletters of my own。I dont know if they willmake anybody elses day, but they made mine。As my friend Don Wolfe said, making others feel good about themselves makes me feel good too。(978 words）Over the past few decades， it has been proveninnumerabletimes that the various types of behavior, emotions, and interests thatconstitutebeingmasculineand feminine are patterned by both heredity and culture。In the process of growing up, each child learns hundreds ofculturallypatterned details of behavior that become incorporated into itsgenderidentity。Some of this learning takes place directly.In other words, the child is told by others how to act in an appropriatelyfeminineor masculine way.Other details of gender behavior are taught unconsciously, orindirectly， as the culture provides different images，aspirations， and adult models for girls and boys。2Recently， for example, a study of American public schools showed that there is a culturalbiasin education that favors boys over girls。According to the researchers, the bias isunintentionaland unconscious， but it is there and it is influencing the lives of millions of schoolchildren every year。Doctors David and Myra Sadker videotaped classroom teachers in order to study sex-related bias in education.Their research showed that many teachers who thought they werenonsexistwere amazed to see howbiasedthey appeared on videotape。From nursery schoolNtopostgraduatecourses， teachers were shown tocall onmales in class far more than on female students。This has a tremendous impact on the learning process for, in general, those students who become active classroom participants developNmore positive attitudes and go on to higher achievement。As a matter of fact， in the late 1960s, when many of the best all-womens collegesNin thenortheasternUnited States opened their doors to male students, it was o