英语口语
Unit 20 Humour Speaking
第20单元 幽默 说
A journalist(J) is interviewing a comedian (C) about his new show.
一个记者正在就一位喜剧演员的新剧目对他进行采访.
J:What do you think is the most important thing in your job?
你认为工作中最重要的是什么?
C:I have to make people laugh,
我必须让人们笑，
but I also want them to think about our life.
但是我也想让他们想一想我们的生活.
J:Are your shows for everybody?
你们的演出面对所有人吗?
C:Of course,I would like to reach a wide audience,
当然,我想赢得广泛的观众,
though I mostly have adults in mind.
虽然我内心更多的是考虑成年观众.
Still,I do not think everybody will find my kind of humour funny.
然而,我认为不是所有的人都觉得我幽默可笑
J:How do you make your audience laugh?
你怎么样使你的观众发笑.
C:There are many ways to make people laugh.
有很多方式可以使观众笑.
Jokes about speaking a foreign language,German for example,always work.
可以讲外语的笑话,譬如德语,就经常起作用
My next show will have a part in which I act the role of a scientist,
在我的下一场演出中,我将演一个科学家,
the way that a scientist walks and talks.
要模仿科学家走路和说话的样子.
J:And how do you make people think about life?
你怎么样让人们思考生活 ?
C:In the middle of the show,I plan to sing a song.
在节目的中间,我将唱一首歌.
It's a bitter sweet song.It makes people think about life.
那是一支让人含泪也让人笑的歌.它使人们思考生活.
I think it's going to be the greatest moment in the show.
我认为它将成为演出的高潮.
英语阅读
Reading Laughing Matter
阅读 笑的问题
Comedies are theater plays that make people laugh.
喜剧是引人发笑的舞台。
The writers of comedies often use different techniques to make their audiences laugh.
喜剧作家常常使用多种手法使观众开怀大笑。
Cross-dressing men or women often appear on the stage.
穿着异性服装的男男女女常常出现在舞台上。
Dustin Hoffman is famous for his role acting as a woman.
达斯汀。霍夫曼就是以成功地扮演妇女而著名的。
Funny plays often have characters that are stereotypes of nationalities
滑稽剧中有些模式化的形象
or people doing certain jobs.
或从事某种工作的人物形象。
The actors make us laugh by making fun of somebody's way of dressing
演员逗我们笑，靠的是拿别人的着装开玩笑
or telling an amusing story.
或是讲个逗乐的故事。
Acting out stereotypes of people from different countries can be very funny.
表演老套人们从不同的国家是非常滑稽的
It often makes people roar with laughter about themselves.
被取笑的人自己也常常觉得自己可笑。
It sounds funny to hear foreigners speak with an accent.
它喜欢带着外国口音有趣的讲话。
Word play is a way to create fun in comedies.
喜剧中也会借助于活动来表演。
Shakespeare's plays made people in the sixteenth century laugh loudly.
莎士比亚的戏剧使得16世纪的人开怀大笑。
But to us his plays are not very funny
但对我们而言，并无趣味
because the meaning of words in English has changed.
因为英语中的词义已经发生了变化，
Today students of English,even if English is their mother tongue,
如今，学习英语的学生，即使英语是母语，
often cannot understand his jokes.
常常也难以理解莎士比亚的笑话。
Clowns also make people laugh.
丑角演员也会使人发笑。
They often act alone or as a pair and make a different kind of fun.
他们常常独自表演，也可结伴表演，制造也一种别具一格的乐趣。
Clowns often don't use any words at all.
丑角演员通常一句话也不说。
It is their clothes,make-up and the way they walk that makes people laugh
逗人们笑的是他们的衣着，装扮和步态。
Some people think clowns are only funny for children.
有人以为丑角只对儿童而言滑稽。
Actually they can help people forget their problems, at least for a short moment.
实际上，他们可以帮助人们忘掉烦恼哪怕一时。
Another type of people whose job is to make people laugh are comedians.
另有一种类型的人，其工作也是使人发笑，他们便是喜剧演员。
They often work alone or as a pair.
他们常常是一个独自表演或联袂演出。
Unlike clowns,comedians' clothes are usually not very strange.
与丑角不同，喜剧演员的衣服通常并不奇怪。
Although body language and their face are important in their shows,
尽管表演中他们体态语和面部表情是很重要
they do not use the make-up that clowns use.
但他们不使用丑角演员所用的装扮。
Comedians may act out a situation during their shows.
喜剧演员在演出中会营造出一种气氛。
We call that a sketch,but usually,their shows don't look like comedies.
我们称之为"绝活"。但是，通常情况下，他们的演出看上去并不像喜剧。
What comedians have in common with the players in a comedy
喜剧演员和喜剧中的演员的共同点
is their way of playing with words.
是使用话语表演。
Comedians make people laugh,but also think about life.
喜剧演员使人发笑，同时也使人思索生活
At one moment in a show,you can hear the audience laughing loudly.
在演出中，你一会儿会听到观众的哄堂大笑。
A few minutes later everybody is quiet,
一会儿大家都鸦雀无言
listening and thinking about the comedian's words.
聆听并思考着喜剧演员的台词
Typical for China is the crosstalk show,
在中国，典型的喜剧形式是相声表演。
where a pair of comedians entertains the audience with word play.
两个喜剧演员通过语言游戏使观众愉悦。
A crosstalk show has two speakers making many jokes and funny conversations.
相声表演有两个喜剧演员参与，他们开很多玩笑，有许多有趣的对话
They may also dress up a little
他们还会改变一下装扮
or act out small sketches in front of the laughing audience.
或来上一段绝活。在捧腹大笑的观众面前
Comedians of all times and many countries
很多国家各个时期的滑稽演员
have a long tradition of this type of comedy.
都采用了这种具有悠久传统的喜剧形式
Dating back to the Qin Dynasty (221-207BC),
追溯到秦朝(公元221-207年)
the traditional crosstalk shows,or xiangsheng shows,
传统的相声表演
have made people all over China roar with laughter for centuries.
已使全中国人笑了千年
Skilled artists make use of all the richness of the spoken language
技艺娴熟的艺术家们充分挖掘口头语言的丰富内涵
to create a rapid flow of fun.
创造出一种快捷的脱口而出的娱乐形式。
Their talk includes rhythm and rhyming words as well as tongue twisters,
他们的语言形式包括节奏，韵律以及绕口令
which often make the audience applaud.
这些使他们经常赢得观众的掌声。
To appreciate the jokes of crosstalk artists,
为了充分理解和欣赏相声艺术家的玩笑，
listeners have to know very well what the comedians are talking about.
听众必须熟知喜剧中的谈话内容。
If you are not fluent in Chinese,you will not catch all of it.
如果你不精汉语，你将不可能领会他所表达的。
Perhaps that is the reason
或许这就是原因
why few foreigners know about this Chinese art form.
只有为数极少的外国人了解这种历史悠久的中国艺术。
综合技能
INTEGRATING SKILLS Reading and writing
综合技能 读，写
WE'VE ALREADY MET,HAVEN'T WE?
我们见过，对吗?
The story of how I got my new job,
这故事说的是我怎么样得到这份新工作的。
and came to be on such good terms with my boss is a funny one.
与老板的相遇真是一个很碰巧的巧合。
It happened like this I was cycling along a street on my way to the interview.
事情是这样发生的我骑着自行车在通过面试地点的路上
A yellow car passed me and suddenly cut in right in front of me,
一辆黄色轿车从我身边超车，突然又停了下来，
as there was another car coming in the other direction.
因为对面正好有一辆车开过来了。
I had to brake hard and I hit another cyclist.
我只好急刹车，碰着了另一位骑车人。
We both fell,but fortunately neither of us was hurt.I was extremely angry!
我们俩都倒下来了，所幸两人都没有受伤。我恼火极了！
I saw that a little further up the road the traffic lights had turned red.
我看到前不远的路口红灯亮了。
I cycled as fast as I could
我以最快的速度骑过去
and saw that the driver in the yellow car was waiting at the red light.
我看到黄色轿车里的司机正在红灯的地方等。
I was still so angry that I went up to tell him what I thought of him.
我仍然满腔怒火，便决定把我对他的看法告诉他。
I cycled in front of him,
我骑到汽车前面，
got off my bicycle and laid it down on the road in front of his car
下了车，把车放倒在车头前面的路上
so that he couldn't drive off.
这样汽车就开不走了
Then I told him what a bad driver I thought he was.
然后我对他说，他这个司机太蹩脚了。
I told him that he had knocked two people off their bicycles
我告诉他，他把两个骑自行车的人撞倒了，
and had nearly caused a bad accident.
差点儿出了事故。
I told him that he was a danger to other people on the road.
我告诉他，他对路上别人构成了危险。
I went on shouting at him while everyone was looking at him.
我继续不断冲他嚷嚷，而大家都瞧着他。
His face became red.
他的脸变得通红
When the light turned green,I said to him,"Don't be so stupid in the future
当绿灯亮时，我对他说"以后不要做这种蠢事了，
Drive carefully so that everyone can enjoy a long life.
"开车小心点，让人家多活几年"
Then I picked up my bicycle and rode on.
说完后我扶起自行车，继续往前骑
Fortunately,I was on time for the interview.
幸运的是，我及时赶上了面试。
It was an important job,and I wanted the job very much.
这次面试是为了一份很重要的工作，而我又非常想得到它
I walked into the room where three people were waiting to interview me.
我走进面试室，三位要对我进行面试的人在那儿等着我
There was a woman who was the boss of the office in which I wanted to work.
有一位妇女，是我去工作的那个部门的老板
There was a man with whom I would have to work together
还有一位是将来的同事
and finally the manager of the company-the driver of the yellow car!
最后一位是公司的经理，就是那位黄色轿车的司机
We looked at each other for a moment in great surprise and total silence.
好一会儿，我们面面相觑沉默不语
What should I do now?
现在该怎么办呢?
I decided to look on the whole matter as a great joke!
我决定把整个事情当作是开了一次玩笑
I laughed and said,"Yes,we've already met,haven't we?
我笑着说道"对了，我们早就认识了，不是吗?
I remember that the last time we met I did most of the talking,
我记得我们上次见面时，主要说话的是我
so perhaps I should let you do the talking this time.
"因此，这次也许我该让你来讲话了。"
For a moment I saw him thinking.
我看他慎重地思考了片刻
Then he realized that I was not going to say anything about his bad driving.
后来他意识到我不打算给别人讲述任何事他那蹩脚的驾驶技术
The interview went very well.
面试非常顺利
I told the company about my work experience
我向他公司谈了我的工作经历
and answered their questions as well as I could.
并且可能老实地回答了他们的问题。
Two days later I received a letter offering me the job.
两天后我收到他们的来信，同意把这个职位给我。
I was pleased that the manager had decided not to be angry with me for having been so rude.
我很高兴，经理没有对我发怒因为我的粗暴无礼
Now I make jokes about it and say to everyone
现在我常常对大家开玩笑说，
that I dare tell my manager exactly what I think of him.
我敢对经理直言我对他的看法
课后练习
Work book Unit 20 Humour Integrating skills Reading
练习 第20单元 幽默 综合技能 阅读
THE TWO OLD FRIENDS
二位老朋友
Two old friends were living in one house;
这二位老朋友是住在同一间房子里
One found a muffin,the other caught a mouse.
一个发现松糕，另一个捉到老鼠
Said he who found the muffin to him who caught the mouse,
发现松糕的人告诉他谁捉到了老鼠
"This happens just in time!For we've nothing in the house,
这是刚才发生的!我们没有任何东西在这房子里
"Except a piece of lemon and a teaspoonful of honey,
除了一块柠檬和一茶匙蜂蜜
"And what to do for dinner-since we haven't any money?
自从我们没有钱，那拿什么来做晚餐呢？
"What can we expect if we haven't any dinner?
如果我们没有了晚餐，那还期望什么呢？
"We'll lose our teeth and hair and keep on growing thinner!
"我们失去了牙齿和头发让我们继续瘦下去吧！"
Said he who caught the mouse to him who found the muffin.
捉到老鼠的人对他说谁发现了松糕
"We might cook this little mouse,if only we had some stuffin'!
我们只要有一些填料，就可以煮这个小老鼠
"With some sage and a little onion,we could do extremely well,
加些鼠尾草和一点洋葱，我们可以做非常捧
"But how to get that stuffin' is difficult to tell!"
但该怎么样得到那填料，这很难说
Those two old friends ran quickly to the town
这二位老朋友迅速跑出这城镇
And asked for sage and onions while they walked up and down;
他们到处寻找鼠尾草和洋葱
They borrowed two large onions,but no sage was to be found
他们借来二个大洋葱但没有找到鼠尾草
In the shops,or in the market ,or all the gardens around.
商店或市场或所有的花园。
But someone said,"A hill there is ,a little to the west,
有人说"那有个小山，西边也有个，
"And to its top a narrow path,you will not need a rest;
到了山顶陕窄的小路上，你将不能停下来；
"And there among the rocks lives an ancient sage,
一颗老的鼠尾草在那岩石之间居住，
"A wise old man,who reads all day long only a single page.
一位博学的老人，整天时间仅读了一页。
"Climb up,and seize him by his legs!reading as he sits,
爬上去，抓住他的腿，
"And pull him down,and chop him into bits!
推他下去，砍下一少量！
"Then mix him with your onion,cut up also very small,
然后把它与你的洋葱混合。砌得非常碎，
"And your stuffin'will be ready and very good,after all."
之后你的填料就准备得非常好。
Those two old friends without loss of time
这二位老朋友没有浪费时间
The mountain at once began to climb;
立该开始跑上这座山；
And at the top,among the rocks,and with a serious look,
在山顶，很认真去看这岩石间。
They saw that sage,reading a very,very thick book.
他们看到了这鼠尾草，正在读一本非常非常厚的书
"You wise old sage!"they cried aloud,"Your book you've read enough in!
博学的鼠尾草!他们大声哭了，"你的书，你已读够了"
We wish to chop you into bits to mix you in our stuffin'!
"我们请求你砍下少量来合成我们的填料"
But the old wise sage looked calmly up,stopped reading and then shook,
但这博学老鼠尾草看起来很平静，停止读然后震动，
And hit the two friends' hairy heads with the big and heavy book;
用一本又大又重的书打伤这二位老朋友的头；
And over mountain top and side they rolled all the way down
他们从山顶上滚下来了，
They rolled,and never stopped in street or field or town,
他们滚动着，在街道、田野、城镇从没有停下，
And when they reached their house,they found besides their missing stuffin.
当他们到达他们的房子时，他们发现除了他们缺少的填料。
The mouse had fled,and before doing that,had eaten up the muffin.
老鼠已经逃跑了，走之前把松饼吃光了。
They left their home without a word through the back door，
他们从后门离开了，没有留下一个字。
And from that hour those friends were never heard of more.
从那时起，那些朋友就再也没有听到更多。
文本来源于在线英语听力