Funny or not?

原文

Whether we find a joke funny or not largely depends on were we have been brought up. The sense of humour is mysteriously bound up with national characteristics. A Frenchman, for instance, might find it hard to laugh at a Russian joke. In the same way, a Russian might fail to see anything amusing in a joke witch 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. No matter where you live, you would find it difficult not to laugh at, say, Charlie Chaplin's early films. However, a new type of humour, which stems largely from the U.S., has recently come into fashion. It is called 'sick humour'. Comedians base their jokes on tragic situation like violent death or serious accidents. Many people find this sort of joke distasteful The following example of 'sick humour' will enable you to judge for yourself.

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 doctors 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 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 of being able to leave hospital in time for New Year celebrations were good. The good. The man took heart and, sure enough, on New Years' 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.

译文

我们是否觉得一个笑话好笑，主要取决于我们的成长环境。幽默感神秘地与民族特性紧密相连。例如，一个法国人可能难以对一个俄国笑话发笑。同样，一个俄国人可能看不到任何好笑之处，而那个笑话会让一个英国人笑出眼泪来。

大多数有趣的故事都是基于滑稽的情景。尽管有民族差异，某些滑稽的情景具有普遍的吸引力。不管你住在哪里，你会发现很难不对，例如，查理·卓别林的早期电影发笑。但是，一种新的幽默类型，很大程度上源于美国，最近流行起来。它被称为“病态幽默”。（注：病态幽默是一种以悲剧性事件为基础的幽默形式，常涉及暴力或事故。）喜剧演员把他们的笑话建立在悲剧性的情景上，比如暴力死亡或严重事故。许多人觉得这种笑话令人反感。下面的“病态幽默”例子将使你自己判断。

一个把右腿摔断的人在圣诞节前几周被送进医院。从他到达的那一刻起，他就不断地缠着医生告诉他什么时候能回家。他极不愿意在医院过圣诞节。虽然医生尽了最大努力，病人的恢复很慢。在圣诞节那天，这个人右腿还打着石膏。他在床上度过了一个 Miserable 的日子，想着所有他错过的乐趣。然而，第二天，医生安慰他说，他有可能在过新年庆祝活动前出院的机会很大。这个人受到了鼓舞，果然，在新年除夕那天，他能一瘸一拐地去参加一个聚会。为了补偿他在医院的不愉快经历，这个人喝了比对他有益的酒多一点。在这个过程中，他尽情地享受了自己，并不停地告诉大家他多么讨厌医院。在聚会的结尾，他还在喃喃自语着关于医院的事，这时他在一块冰上滑倒，摔断了左腿。

词汇表

humour

名词, 动词

英:/ˈhjuːmə(r)/

美:/ˈhjuːmər/

定义

1. 幽默 - The quality of being amusing or comic, especially as expressed in literature or speech.

例子: British humour often involves irony and understatement.

例子: He has a great sense of humour that makes everyone laugh.

2. 心情 - A mood or state of mind.

例子: She was in a bad humour after the argument.

例子: His humour improved once he heard the good news.

近义词

wit: 强调机智和聪明，常用于快速的言语幽默，而 'humour' 更广泛，包括视觉或文字形式。

comedy: 更侧重于娱乐形式如戏剧或表演，'humour' 可以是非正式的日常生活表达。

funny: 更口语化，常形容事物有趣，'humour' 则更抽象地指幽默感或能力。

反义词:

seriousness, gravity, solemnity

用法

常用于描述文化或个人特质中的幽默感，语境包括文学、对话或心理状态；英式英语中常用作 'humour'，美式英语中常写作 'humor'；常搭配如 'sense of humour'。

形式:

复数: humours, 动词过去式: humoured (英式), 形容词形式: humorous

深入解析：关键句型 "Whether [clause], [main clause] depends on [clause]"

定义

这个句型是一种常见的条件或假设结构，用于表达某事物的结果或依赖关系。基本结构为：Whether [从句]（表示条件或选择）+ , [主句] depends on [从句]（主句说明依赖的内容）。例如，在文章中如 "Whether we find a joke funny or not largely depends on where we have been brought up."，它定义了幽默感受成长环境影响的核心含义。权威教材如《新概念英语》或《剑桥英语语法》指出，这种句型常用于讨论不确定性或变量间的关系，Whether 引导一个让步或条件从句，帮助连接主句与原因。

用法

此句型主要用于正式或半正式语境，如文章、演讲或讨论中，表达事物之间的因果依赖。例如，在语法体系中，它属于复合句范畴，链接到状语从句和主从复合句，常与条件句（如 if 从句）相关联，建立跨语法点联系，如与副词 largely 结合强调程度，或与过去完成时（如 "where we have been brought up"）一起使用，展示时间和原因的互动。使用场景包括学术写作、意见表达或分析性对话中，例如 "Whether you succeed depends on how hard you work."。它在英语中帮助学生从简单句过渡到复杂句，增强逻辑表达能力。

注意事项

学生易犯的错误包括：误用 Whether 与 If，如将 "Whether" 替换为 "If"，导致句意从选择性变为纯粹条件；另一个常见偏误是忽略逗号分隔从句，使句子变得晦涩，或在从句中时态不一致，如用一般过去时代替过去完成时。纠正建议：总是记住 Whether 常用于两难选择或不确定性，并练习添加逗号以提高可读性。同时，避免在口语中过度复杂化，以免显得生硬；多读权威文本，观察句型在上下文中如何保持平衡。

练习

一个额外的例子："Whether you enjoy the movie or not largely depends on your personal taste." 通过这个例子，学生可以尝试替换 [clause]，如将 "you enjoy the movie or not" 改为 "the team wins the game or not"，然后构建完整句子，并在对话中应用，例如在讨论喜好时说出来，以强化实际使用。

额外内容

背景知识：这个句型源于英语的逻辑表达传统，类似于拉丁语的条件结构，在现代英语中演变为更灵活的形式。对比分析：与法语的 "Si... dépend de..." 类似，但英语版更强调连接词的精确性。补充信息：掌握此句型后，学生能更好地处理辩论或分析性写作，如在 IELTS 或 TOEFL 考试中，提升整体语言流畅度。

深入解析：关键句型 "A [noun] who [relative clause] was [main clause]"

定义

这个句型是一种使用定语从句的描述性结构，用于修饰主句中的名词，强调特定特征或背景。基本结构为：A [名词] + who [关系从句] + was [主句]，如文章中的 "A man who had broken his right leg was taken to hospital."。权威教材如《新概念英语》定义它为定语从句的典型应用，who 引导从句修饰前面的名词，表达额外信息或原因。在语法中，它帮助连接主句与从句，突出人物或事物的细节。

用法

此句型常用于叙述故事、描述人物或事件，提供背景信息。规则是：who 用于指人，紧跟在名词后，必须与主句保持时态一致；在语法体系中，它属于关系代词范畴，链接到定语从句和复杂句结构，建立跨语法点联系，如与过去完成时（如 "who had broken"）结合，展示时间顺序，或与被动语态（如 "was taken"）关联，增强描述性。使用场景包括小说、新闻报道或口头讲述中，例如 "A student who studies hard will succeed."。它有助于学生从简单描述过渡到详细表达，提高语言的连贯性。

注意事项

学生易犯的错误包括：误用 who 与 which，如将指人的 who 换成 which，导致句子不准确；另一个偏误是时态混乱，例如在从句中使用一般过去时代替过去完成时，破坏逻辑（如说 "A man who broke his leg" 而非 "who had broken"）。纠正建议：通过记忆关系代词的用法表（who 为人，which 为物），并练习句子重组，避免从句过长或嵌套过多。同时，注意在写作中确保从句与主句的主体一致，以免句子变得笨拙。

练习

一个额外的例子："A teacher who has many years of experience was respected by all students." 学生可以尝试修改为自己的情境，如 "A friend who helped me in need was always there."，然后在写作或对话中应用，以加深对句型的理解和灵活性。

额外内容

背景知识：这个句型起源于英语的相对子句发展，源自古英语的从句连接。对比分析：与中文的定语结构类似，但英语要求更严格的词序。补充信息：学习此句型能提升阅读理解能力，尤其在处理长句时，如在英语文学中常见，帮助学生分析复杂文本并提高写作水平。