Notes on the text課文注釋
1 whether we find a joke funny or not，這是一個名詞性的從句，在句中作主語。
2 be bound up with，與……聯(lián)系在一起。
3 you would find it difficult not to laugh at, say, Charlie Chaplin's early films. 比如說，你看了查理·卓別林的早期電影很難不發(fā)笑。句中的say是插入語，可譯作“比如說”。查理·卓別林是電影有名的演員之一。他在諸如《淘金記》（1924）這類電影中扮演的流浪漢“小人物”在各種不利的條件下仍獲得了成功。
4 stem from，起源于。
5 come into fashion，
開始流行，時興起來。
6 judge for yourself，你自己來判斷。
7 take heart，振作精神。
8 the man drank a little more than was good for him．這個人稍微多喝了一點酒。
此句than后面省略了主語what， be good for sb. 是“對某人有益”的意思。
參考譯文
我們覺得一則笑話是否好笑，很大程度上取決于我們是在哪兒長大的。幽默感與民族有著神秘莫測的聯(lián)系。譬如，法國人聽完一則俄國笑話可能很難發(fā)笑。同樣的道理，一則可以令英國人笑出淚來的笑話，俄國人聽了可能覺得沒有什么可笑之處。
大部分令人發(fā)笑的故事都是根據(jù)喜劇情節(jié)編寫的。盡管民族不同，有些滑稽情節(jié)卻能產(chǎn)生普遍的效果。比如說，不管你生活在哪里，你看了查理·卓別林的早期電影很難不發(fā)笑。然而，近來一種新式幽默流行了起來，這種幽默主要來自美國。它被叫作“病態(tài)幽默”。喜劇演員根據(jù)悲劇情節(jié)諸如暴死、重大事故等來編造笑話。許多人認為這種笑話是低級庸俗的。下面是個“病態(tài)幽默”的實例，你可以據(jù)此自己作出判斷。
圣誕節(jié)前幾周，某人摔斷了右腿被送進醫(yī)院。從他進醫(yī)院那一刻時，他就纏住醫(yī)生，讓醫(yī)生告訴他什么時候能回家。他十分害怕在醫(yī)院過圣誕。盡管醫(yī)生竭力醫(yī)治，但病人恢復緩慢。圣誕節(jié)那天，他的右腿還上著石膏，他在床上郁郁不樂地躺了一天，想著他錯過的種種歡樂。然而，第二天，醫(yī)生安慰他說，出院歡度新年的可能性還是很大的，那人聽后振作了精神。果然，除夕時他可以一瘸一拐地去參加晚會了。為了補償住院這一段不愉快的經(jīng)歷，那人喝得稍許多了一點。在晚會上他盡情娛樂，一再告訴大家他是多么討厭醫(yī)院。晚會結束時，他嘴里還在嘟噥著醫(yī)院的事，突然踩到一塊冰上滑倒了，摔斷了左腿。
Multiple choice questions
多項選擇題
Choose the correct answers to the following questions.
Comprehension理解
1 Whether you find ‘sick humour’ funny or not will depend on ______ .
a．your having been brought up in America
b．the joke being related to a fundamentally comic situation
c．your ability to see the funny side of an unpleasant event
d．your ability to laugh until you cry
2 The man spent Christmas Day feeling miserable because ______ .
a．the doctor had failed to attend to him
b．he was not able to be with his friends
c．being unable to walk, he did not enjoy the celebrations at the hospital
d．he thought he might also miss the New Year's Eve celebrations
3 The point of the joke taken to illustrate ‘sick humour’is that ______ .
a．no sooner was the man out of hospital than he had to go back in again
b．the man should not have said how much he hated hospitals
c．the man would be unable to walk for the rest of his life
d．the man had not got a leg to stand on
Structure 結構
4 ______ , for instance, might find it hard to . . . (11. 3-4)
a．The French
b．A French
c．A man in France
d．If you were French
5 ______ amusing stories are based on comic situations. (1. 7)
a．Most
b．Most of
c．The majority
d．Mostly
6 A man ______ broken was taken to hospital . . . (1. 13)
a．whose right leg had been
b．who had the right leg
c．with one right leg
d．to whom the right leg had been
7 He had no sooner arrived there ______ pestering his doctor . . . (11. 13-14)
a．a(chǎn)nd then he began
b．than he began
c．he began
d．to begin
8 The man compensated for his unpleasant experiences in hospital ______ a little more than . . . (11. 19-20)
a．drinking
b．to drink
c．by drinking
d．a(chǎn)nd drunk
Vocabulary詞匯
9 Though the doctor ______ . . . (1. 15)
a．worked very well
b．could not have been better
c．was extremely skilled
d．did all he could
10 The doctor him by ______ . . . (1. 17)
a．felt
b．a(chǎn)dvised
c．pleased
d．comforted
11 - and kept telling everyone ______ he hated hospitals. (1. 21)
a．a(chǎn)t great lengths that
b．to their cost
c．to what extent
d．why
12 He was still mumbling something ______ at the end . . . (11. 21-22)
a．in the same way
b．to the same effect
c．of common sense
d．of some sort
1 whether we find a joke funny or not，這是一個名詞性的從句，在句中作主語。
2 be bound up with，與……聯(lián)系在一起。
3 you would find it difficult not to laugh at, say, Charlie Chaplin's early films. 比如說，你看了查理·卓別林的早期電影很難不發(fā)笑。句中的say是插入語，可譯作“比如說”。查理·卓別林是電影有名的演員之一。他在諸如《淘金記》（1924）這類電影中扮演的流浪漢“小人物”在各種不利的條件下仍獲得了成功。
4 stem from，起源于。
5 come into fashion，
開始流行，時興起來。
6 judge for yourself，你自己來判斷。
7 take heart，振作精神。
8 the man drank a little more than was good for him．這個人稍微多喝了一點酒。
此句than后面省略了主語what， be good for sb. 是“對某人有益”的意思。
參考譯文
我們覺得一則笑話是否好笑，很大程度上取決于我們是在哪兒長大的。幽默感與民族有著神秘莫測的聯(lián)系。譬如，法國人聽完一則俄國笑話可能很難發(fā)笑。同樣的道理，一則可以令英國人笑出淚來的笑話，俄國人聽了可能覺得沒有什么可笑之處。
大部分令人發(fā)笑的故事都是根據(jù)喜劇情節(jié)編寫的。盡管民族不同，有些滑稽情節(jié)卻能產(chǎn)生普遍的效果。比如說，不管你生活在哪里，你看了查理·卓別林的早期電影很難不發(fā)笑。然而，近來一種新式幽默流行了起來，這種幽默主要來自美國。它被叫作“病態(tài)幽默”。喜劇演員根據(jù)悲劇情節(jié)諸如暴死、重大事故等來編造笑話。許多人認為這種笑話是低級庸俗的。下面是個“病態(tài)幽默”的實例，你可以據(jù)此自己作出判斷。
圣誕節(jié)前幾周，某人摔斷了右腿被送進醫(yī)院。從他進醫(yī)院那一刻時，他就纏住醫(yī)生，讓醫(yī)生告訴他什么時候能回家。他十分害怕在醫(yī)院過圣誕。盡管醫(yī)生竭力醫(yī)治，但病人恢復緩慢。圣誕節(jié)那天，他的右腿還上著石膏，他在床上郁郁不樂地躺了一天，想著他錯過的種種歡樂。然而，第二天，醫(yī)生安慰他說，出院歡度新年的可能性還是很大的，那人聽后振作了精神。果然，除夕時他可以一瘸一拐地去參加晚會了。為了補償住院這一段不愉快的經(jīng)歷，那人喝得稍許多了一點。在晚會上他盡情娛樂，一再告訴大家他是多么討厭醫(yī)院。晚會結束時，他嘴里還在嘟噥著醫(yī)院的事，突然踩到一塊冰上滑倒了，摔斷了左腿。
Multiple choice questions
多項選擇題
Choose the correct answers to the following questions.
Comprehension理解
1 Whether you find ‘sick humour’ funny or not will depend on ______ .
a．your having been brought up in America
b．the joke being related to a fundamentally comic situation
c．your ability to see the funny side of an unpleasant event
d．your ability to laugh until you cry
2 The man spent Christmas Day feeling miserable because ______ .
a．the doctor had failed to attend to him
b．he was not able to be with his friends
c．being unable to walk, he did not enjoy the celebrations at the hospital
d．he thought he might also miss the New Year's Eve celebrations
3 The point of the joke taken to illustrate ‘sick humour’is that ______ .
a．no sooner was the man out of hospital than he had to go back in again
b．the man should not have said how much he hated hospitals
c．the man would be unable to walk for the rest of his life
d．the man had not got a leg to stand on
Structure 結構
4 ______ , for instance, might find it hard to . . . (11. 3-4)
a．The French
b．A French
c．A man in France
d．If you were French
5 ______ amusing stories are based on comic situations. (1. 7)
a．Most
b．Most of
c．The majority
d．Mostly
6 A man ______ broken was taken to hospital . . . (1. 13)
a．whose right leg had been
b．who had the right leg
c．with one right leg
d．to whom the right leg had been
7 He had no sooner arrived there ______ pestering his doctor . . . (11. 13-14)
a．a(chǎn)nd then he began
b．than he began
c．he began
d．to begin
8 The man compensated for his unpleasant experiences in hospital ______ a little more than . . . (11. 19-20)
a．drinking
b．to drink
c．by drinking
d．a(chǎn)nd drunk
Vocabulary詞匯
9 Though the doctor ______ . . . (1. 15)
a．worked very well
b．could not have been better
c．was extremely skilled
d．did all he could
10 The doctor him by ______ . . . (1. 17)
a．felt
b．a(chǎn)dvised
c．pleased
d．comforted
11 - and kept telling everyone ______ he hated hospitals. (1. 21)
a．a(chǎn)t great lengths that
b．to their cost
c．to what extent
d．why
12 He was still mumbling something ______ at the end . . . (11. 21-22)
a．in the same way
b．to the same effect
c．of common sense
d．of some sort