Funny or not?
原文
Lesson 29
Funny or not?
What is the basis of 'sick' humour?
Whether we find a joke funny or not largely depends on where 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
which 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 U.S., has recently come into fashion.
It is called 'sick humour'. Comedians base their jokes on tragic situations 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 doctor 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 man took heart and sure enough, on New Year's 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
第29课
好笑还是不好笑？
“病态”幽默（即那些令人不适、甚至反感的幽默）的依据是什么呢？
我们是否觉得某个笑话好笑，很大程度上取决于我们的成长环境（即我们是在什么样的环境中长大的）。
幽默感似乎与一个国家的民族特性有着某种神秘的联系（或者说，幽默感是受民族特性影响的）。
例如，一个法国人可能很难被一个俄罗斯笑话逗笑。
同样地，一个俄罗斯人可能根本看不出某个笑话有什么好笑的地方。
而这个笑话却能让英国人笑出眼泪。
大多数有趣的故事都是基于一些滑稽、搞笑的情境创作的。
尽管存在文化差异，但某些有趣的情境却具有普遍的吸引力（即能够引起全球人们的共鸣）。
无论你住在哪里，
你很难不笑出来，比如说，看查理·卓别林的早期电影。
然而，最近一种新型的幽默风格开始流行起来，这种幽默主要源自美国。
这被称为“病态幽默”（sick humour）。喜剧演员的笑料往往基于一些悲剧性场景，比如暴力死亡或严重事故。
很多人觉得这种类型的笑话很令人反感（或：很无趣、很糟糕）。
以下这个“病态幽默”（sick humour）的例子，可以让你自己判断一下这种幽默风格到底如何。
一名右腿骨折的男子在圣诞节前几周被送往医院。
从他到达那里的那一刻起，
他一直缠着医生，想知道自己什么时候可以回家。
他非常害怕不得不在医院里度过圣诞节。
尽管医生尽了最大努力，患者的康复进程仍然很缓慢。
在圣诞节那天，那个人的右腿仍然打着石膏。
他在床上度过了痛苦的一天，一直在想着自己错过的所有乐趣。
然而，第二天医生安慰他说：
他按时出院、能够参加新年庆祝活动的几率很大。
那男人重新振作起来，果然在除夕夜时，他还能一瘸一拐地赶到参加派对。
为了弥补他在医院里所经历的不愉快经历，
那个人喝得有点过量了。
在这个过程中，他玩得非常开心，还不停地告诉所有人他有多讨厌医院。
派对结束时，他还在嘟囔着关于医院的事情；突然，他踩到一块冰，摔倒了，导致左腿骨折。