第一段
①If you intend using humor in your talk to make people smile, you must know how to identify shared experiences and problems.②Your humor must be relevant to the audience and should help to show them that you are one of them or that you understand their situation and are in sympathy with their point of view. ③Depending on whom you are addressing, the problems will be different.④If you are talking to a group of managers, you may refer to the disorganized methods of their secretaries; alternatively if you are addressing secretaries, you may want to comment on their disorganized bosses.
单词&词组
shared a. 共同的，共享的
be relevant to 与……相关
in sympathy with 支持某人/某事
address v. 向……讲话；对……发表演说
disorganized a. 计划不周的；缺乏组织的；杂乱无章的
alternatively ad. 二选一地，或者
本段翻译
如果想在谈话中用幽默来使人发笑，你必须知道如何识别(与听众)共有的经历和问题。你的幽默必须与听众相关，且应该有助于表明你是他们中的一员，或你理解他们的处境并赞同其观点。根据谈话对象的不同，问题也有所不同。如果同经理们谈话，你可以谈及其秘书们缺乏条理的工作方式；或者，如果同秘书们讲话，你可能需要就他们不善计划的老板做评论。
第二段
①Here is an example, which I heard at a nurses’ convention, of a story which works well because the audience all shared the same view of doctors.②A man arrives in heaven and is being shown around by St.Peter.He sees wonderful accommodations,beautiful gardens,sunny weather,and so on.③Everyone is very peaceful, polite and friendly until, waiting in a line for lunch, the new arrival is suddenly pushed aside by a man in a white coat, who rushes to the head of the line, grabs his food and stomps over to a table by himself.④“Who is that?” the new arrival asked St. Peter.⑤“Oh, that’s God,” came the reply, “but sometimes he thinks he’s a doctor.”
单词&词组
convention n. （同一行业或同一组织的人参加的）大会，会议
accommodation n. 房间（尤指作居住用）；住所，住处；工作场所
push aside 把人推到一边
stomp v. 重踏移动，行进等
a nurses' convention 护士大会
show sb. around 带某人参观
rush to the head of the line 冲到队伍前头
本段翻译
下面举个例子，它是我在一次护士大会上听到的。这个故事之所以(幽默)效果好是因为在场的听众对医生都持相同看法。一个人到了天堂，由圣彼得带着四处参观。他看到了怡人的住所、美丽的花园、和煦的天气等等。所有人都很热爱和平、很礼貌、很友善，直到在排队等候午餐时，这位新来者突然被一位穿白大褂的人推开，只见其冲到队伍前头，一把夺过食物，怒气冲冲地独自噔噔走向餐桌。“那是谁啊?”新来者问圣彼得。“哦，他是上帝，”他接着回应，“但有时他以为自己是医生。”
第三段
①If you are part of the group which you are addressing, you will be in a position to know the experiences and problems which are common to all of you and it’ll be appropriate for you to make a passing remark about the inedible canteen food or the chairman’s notorious bad taste in ties.②With other audiences you mustn’t attempt to cut in with humor as they will resent an outsider making disparaging remarks about their canteen or their chairman. ③You will be on safer ground if you stick to scapegoats like the Post Office or the telephone system.
单词&词组
be in a position to do 有资格、有能力、有条件做某事
passing a. 顺便提及的
inedible a. 不宜食用的；不能吃的
notorious a. 声名狼藉的；臭名昭著的
cut in 插嘴，打断
disparaging a. 蔑视的，轻视的，毁谤的
be on dangerous/ safe ground 处于危险/安全境地
scapegoat n. 替罪羊
make a passing remark about 顺便提及
make disparaging remarks about 发表蔑视性评论
off-the-cuff remarks 即兴讲话
a raised eyebrow 扬眉
make a light-hearted remark 做轻松评论
本段翻译
如果你是谈话对象集体中的一员，你就能理解对于你们所有人来说共同的经历和问题，从而可以对食堂极难吃的食物或者领导在选择领带方面差劲的品味评头论足。而对于其他听众，你千万不要试图插入这类幽默，因为他们会反感一个局外人对他们的食堂或领导发表蔑视性的评论。但如果你选择去调侃邮局或电信系统这样的“替罪羊”，则会处于更安全的境地。
第四段
①If you feel awkward being humorous, you must practice so that it becomes more natural.②Include a few casual and apparently off-the-cuff remarks which you can deliver in a relaxed and unforced manner.③Often it’s the delivery which causes the audience to smile, so speak slowly and remember that a raised eyebrow or an unbelieving look may help to show that you are making a light-hearted remark.
单词&词组
awkward a. 别扭的
casual a. 随意的，不经意的，随便的
off-the-cuff a. 未经准备的，当场的，即席的
deliver v. 授（课），讲（道），讲（话）
light-hearted a. 轻松的
本段翻译
如果你在表现幽默的时候感到很别扭，那就必须练习使它变得更自然。加入一些随意的、貌似即兴的话语，用轻松自然的方式把它们说出来。通常引听众微笑的是你说话的方式，因此说慢一些，并且记住，扬扬眉或者露出一副不相信的表情可能有助于表明你在轻松地说话。
第五段
①Look for the humor.②It often comes from the unexpected.③A twist on a familiar quote “If at first you don’t succeed, give up” or a play on words or on a situation.④Search for exaggeration and understatement.⑤Look at your talk and pick out a few words or sentences which you can turn about and inject with humor.
单词&词组
twist n. 转折，转变；歪曲，曲解
play on/upon words 说双关语
exaggeration n. 夸张
understatement n. （修辞）低调陈述
inject v. 注入
a twist on a familiar quote 扭曲熟知的短语
pick out 挑选
turn about 转来转去，玩转
inject with 插入，注入
本段翻译
寻找幽默。幽默常常来自意料之外。对人们熟知的引语加以曲解，如“你要是一开始不成功，就放弃”，或者拿词藻或场景做文章。寻求夸大其词和轻描淡写。琢磨一下你的谈话，挑出你能拿来做文章的几个词或几句话，注入幽默。
五道题
21. To make your humor work, you should_______
[A] take advantage of different kinds of audience
[B] make fun of the disorganized people
[C] address different problems to different people
[D] show sympathy for your listeners
22. The joke about doctors implies that, in the eyes of nurses, they are________
[A] impolite to new arrivals
[B] very conscious of their godlike role
[C] entitled to some privileges
[D] very busy even during lunch hours
23. It can be inferred from the text that public services _______
[A] have benefited many people
[B] are the focus of public attention
[C] are an inappropriate subject for humor
[D] have often been the laughing stock
24. To achieve the desired result, humorous stories should be delivered_______
[A] in well-worded language
[B] as awkwardly as possible
[C] in exaggerated statements
[D] as casually as possible
25. The best title for the text may be________
[A] Use Humor Effectively
[B] Various Kinds of Humor
[C] Add Humor to Speech
[D] Different Humor Strategies
选项单词
make fun of 嘲笑
show sympathy for 对……表示同情
entitle v. 给予某人获得某事物或做某事的权利
laughing stock 笑柄
well-worded a. 措辞得当的
参考答案
CBDDA
答案解析
21、[定位]第一段首句指出，如果你想在谈话中用幽默使人发笑，就必须知道如何识别与其他人共同的经历和问题。接着对此进行解释，即：你的幽默必须与听众相关，能显示你是他们中的一员，或理解他们的处境并赞同他们的观点。③句进一步指出：针对不同听众，应谈及不同的问题。因此[C]项正确。
22、[定位] 根据题干关键词jokes about doctors、nurses定位至第二段。②至⑥句展开介绍笑话内容。其中②③句以某位新人天堂者的视角描绘天堂的和谐，④句情境突变，一位“白大褂”以霸道行为打破了该和谐。⑤⑥句以新来者发问“那是谁”和圣彼得的回答“那是上帝，不过有时他以为自己是医生”点睛， 嘲讽医生的傲慢和目中无人。[B] 项中very conscious of意为“很在意(尤其因自己认为某事很重要) ”， 后接godlike role， 实际表达“医生自视甚高， 自以为是”的含义， 因此为正确答案。
23、[定位]第三段指出，如果谈话者是听众中的一份子，就可以用双方共同的经历作为幽默的素材， 否则， 这样做就不合适。末句指出， 如果拿公共服务行业作为“替罪羊”(scapegoats) 来调侃的话， 你将会平安无事。由此可以推知，它们是大家经常谈论的笑料，因此[D]正确。
24、[定位] 根据题干关键词delivered定位至第四段。该段主要介绍如何通过练习使讲述幽默变得更自然。其中的关键词natural(自然的) ， casual(随意的) ， off-the-cuff(即兴的) ， relaxed， unforced和light-hearted(轻松的) 等， 都表明“幽默要想效果好， 应当以自然的方式述说”这一观点， 因此[D] 正确。
25、[定位]文章第一至三段谈论“选择恰当的幽默话题，来使幽默奏效”；第四段谈论“讲述幽默的方式”，即用自然随意的方式来达到幽默效果；第五段建议人们刻意寻找幽默，随后提出生成幽默的策略方法。由此可见，全文围绕“如何有效地使用幽默”展开，[A]为正确项。
