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Book4Unit1LeisureActivitiesEntertainingHumor—What'sFunny?DonaldM.HuffmanThejoyoflaughingatafunny'storyisuniversal,probablyasoldaslanguageitself.But,whatisitthatmakesastoryorajokefunny?AsonewhohadenjoyedhumorsinceIfirstrecognizedit,I'vemadeanattempttoexplainanddiscusshumorwithstudentsinsuchdiverseculturesasLatinAmericaandChina.I'vedonesomeseriousthinkingaboutfunnystories.Ithasbeenalaboroflove!WhyisitthatseveralstudentsinaclasswillfalloutoftheirchairslaughingafterItellajokewhiletherestofthestudentslookasifI'vejustreadtheweatherreport?Obviouslysomepeoplearemoresensitivetohumorthanothers.And,werecognizethatsomepeopletelljokesverywellwhileothersstruggletosaysomethingfunny.We'veallheardpeoplesay,Ilikejokes,butIcan'ttellonewell,andIcanneverrememberthem.Somepeoplehaveabettersenseofhumorthanothersjustassomepeoplehavemoremusicaltalent,mathematicaltalentetc.thanothers.Atrulyfunnypersonhasajokeforeveryoccasion,andwhenoneistold,thattriggersanentirestringofjokesfromthatperson'smemorybank.Ahumorlesspersonisnotlikelytobethemostpopularpersoninagroup.Itisreasonabletosaythatthetrulyhumorousindividualisnotonlywellliked,butisoftenthefocusofattentioninanygathering.Evensomeanimalshaveasenseofhumor.Mywife'smotheroftenvisitedusforextendedstays.Shenormallydidn'tlikedogs,butshefellinlovewithBlitzen—afemaleLabwehave,andtherelationshipwasmutual.Evenwhenyoung,BlitzenwouldteaseGrandmabyveryselectivelycarryingoneofherbedroomslippersintothelivingroomwhereGrandmasatinherfavorite,comfortablechair.BlitzenprancedjustbeyondthereachofGrandmauntilGrandmawastemptedtoleaveherchairtogettheslipperfromBlitzen.WhenGrandmaleftherchair,Blitzenwouldquicklyjumpintothechair,flashingherLabsmilefromsparklingbrowneyeswhichclearlysaid,Aha,Ifooledyouagain.Typicaljokesorhumorousstorieshaveathree-partanatomythatiseasilyrecognized.FirstistheSETUP(orsetting),nextistheBODY(orstoryline),andthesearefollowedbythePUNCHLINE(anunexpectedorsurpriseending)whichwillmakethejokefunnyifitcontainssomehumor.Usuallyallthreepartsarepresent,andeachmustbeclearlypresented.Ithelpsifthestory/joketellerusesgesturesandlanguagewhicharewellknowntotheaudience.Humor,asaformofentertainment,canbeanalyzedinordertodiscoverwhatmakesafunnystoryorjokeseemfunny.Here,forexample,aresomeofthemostcommontypesofhumor.Theyrangefromthemostobvioushumortothemoresubtletypes.SLAP-STICKisthemostobvioushumor.Itslanguageissimple,direct,andoftenmakesfunofanotherpersonorgroup.Slap-stickwasandisthetechniqueofthestand-upcomedianandtheclown.Itappealstoallagesandallcultures.NearlyeveryEnglish-speakingcomedianinthiscenturyhasusedthefollowingjokeinoneformoranother.Onemanasksanother,WhowasthatladyIsawyouwithlastnight?Theotherreplies,Thatwasnolady,thatwasmywife.Thehumorliesinthefactthatthesecondmanissayingthathiswifeisnotalady.Inotherwords,sheisnotarefinedwoman.Thejokeisnolessfunnybecauseitissooftenused.Theaudienceknowsinadvancewhatwillbesaid,becauseitisclassichumor,andanyaudiencevaluesitevenmorebecauseofitsfamiliarity.Chinesecross-talkisaspecialtypeofslap-stickinwhichtwoChinesecomedianshumorouslydiscusstopicssuchasbureaucrats,familyproblems,orotherpersonaltopics.Cross-talkcanbeheardanywherefromsmallvillagestagestothelargestBeijingtheatres,andtoradioandtelevision.ItisclearlyatraditionalformofhumorwellunderstoodbyChinesepeople.APLAYONWORDSisnotsoobviousasslap-stick,butitisfunnybecauseofmisusedormisunderstoodlanguage.MyfavoriteexampleisthestoryofthreeelderlygentlementravelingbytraininEngland.Asthetrainslowedforastopthefirstmanasked,IsthisWembley?No,saidthesecond,It'sThursday.SoamI,saidthethirdman.Let'sstopforabeer.Weknowthatolderpeopleoftendonothearthingsclearly,sothemisunderstandingofbothWednesday(forWembley)andthirsty(forThursday)makeanicesetupforthepunchlinedeliveredbythethirdman.ThefamousChinesecartoonistandhumoristDingCongisamasterofwordplay.Inoneofhisfunnycartoons,ateachersays,Howcomeyoucompletelycopiedsomebodyelse'shomework?Theyoungstudentreplies,Ididn'tcompletelycopyit.Mynameonthepageisdifferent.InanotherclassicDingCongcartoon,anirritatedfatherasks,Tellme,what'soneplustwo?Thesonsays,Idon'tknow.Theimpatientfatherthensays,Forexample,you,yourmother,andIaltogetherarehowmany,youidiot?Thesonproudlyanswers,Threeidiots.Whetherthesestoriesarecartoons,jokestoldbyaslapstickcomedian,oracross-talkingteam,theyappealtopeopleeverywhereasfunnystoriesbecausetheyhaveanoteofrealitytothem,andtheunexpectedpunchlineisquitefunny.11PUNSareevenmoresubtleformsofwordplay.Theyusethetechniqueofsimilarsoundingwordsoralternativemeaningsofthesameword.Punsarethoughtbysomecriticstobethelowestformofhumor,butIdisagreewiththis.Punsrequiremoresubtleandsophisticatedlanguageskillsthanmosthumorforms,buteventheveryyoungcanusethemintheirsimplerforms.Forexample,theriddleortrickquestionoftenusesapuninthesetup,thestoryline,or,moreoften,thepunchline.PunsarethefirsttypeofhumorIlearned,andatabout5yearsofageIrememberhearingthefollowingriddle.Onepersonasks,Whatisblackandwhiteandredallover?Theotherpersonusuallycannotanswertheriddle,sosays,Igiveup.Whatistheanswer?Theriddle