新编大学英语4课文原文doc

U1

[1]

Thejoyoflaughingatafunnystoryisuniversal,probablyasoldaslanguageitself.But,whatisitthat

makesastoryorajokefunny?

[2]

AsonewhohasenjoyedhumorsinceIfirstrecognizedit,I'vemadeanattempttoexplainand

discusshumorwithstudentsinsuchdiverseculturesasLatinAmericaandChina.I'vedonesomeserious

thinkingaboutfunnystories.Ithasbeenalaboroflove

[N]

!

[3]

WhyisitthatseveralstudentsinaclasswillfalloutoftheirchairslaughingafterItellajokewhiletherestof

Obviouslysomepeoplearemoresensitivetohumor

thestudentslookasifI'vejustreadtheweatherreport?

[N]

thanothers.And,werecognizethatsomepeopletelljokesverywellwhileothersstruggletosaysomething

funny.We'veallheardpeoplesay,"Ilikejokes,butIcan'ttellonewell,andIcanneverrememberthem."Some

peoplehaveabettersenseofhumorthanothersjustassomepeoplehavemoremusicaltalent,mathematical

talent,etc.thanothers.Atrulyfunnypersonhasajokeforeveryoccasion,andwhenoneistold,thattriggers

string

mostpopularpersoninagroup.Itisreasonabletosaythatthetruly

humorless

personisnotlikelytobethe

humorous

anentire

ofjokesfromthatperson'smemorybank.

[N]

A

individualisnotonlywell

liked,butisoftenthefocusofattentioninanygathering.

[4]

normallydidn'tlikedogs,butshe

was

Evensomeanimalshaveasenseofhumor.Mywife'smotheroftenvisitedusforextendedstays.She

[N]

fellinlovewith

Blitzen—afemaleLabwehad,andtherelationship

[N][N]

mutual

teaseGrandmaselectively

.Evenwhenyoung,Blitzenwouldcarryingoneof

byvery

herbedroomslippersintothelivingroomwhereGrandmasatinherfavorite,comfortable

pranced

beyondthereachofGrandmauntilGrandmawastempted

toleave

chair.Blitzen

just

herchairtogettheslipperfromBlitzen.WhenGrandmaleftherchair,Blitzenwouldquicklyjumpintothe

flashing

smile

sparkling

Aha

chair,

herLab

from

browneyeswhichclearlysaid,",Ifooledyouagain."

[5]

anatomy

Typicaljokesorhumorousstorieshaveathree-part

thatiseasilyrecognized.Firstisthe

),nextistheBODY(orstoryline),andthesearefollowedbythePUNCHLINE(an

[N]

unexpectedorsurpriseending)whichwillmakethejokefunnyifitcontainssomehumor.Usuallyallthreeparts

setting

SETUP(or

arepresent,andeachmustbeclearlypresented.Ithelpsifthestory/joketellerusesgesturesandlanguage

[N]

whicharewellknowntotheaudience.

[6]

Humor,asaformofentertainment,canbeanalyzedinordertodiscoverwhatmakesafunnystoryorjoke

seemfunny.Here,forexample,aresomeofthemostcommontypesofhumor.Theyrangefromthemost

obvioushumortothemoresubtletypes.

[7]

personorgroup.Slap-stickwasandisthetechniqueofthestand-upcomedian

allagesandallcultures.NearlyeveryEnglish-speaking

"SLAP-STICK"isthemostobvioushumor.Itslanguageissimple,direct,andoftenmakesfunofanother

clown

.Itappealsto

inthiscenturyhasusedthefollowing

[N]

andthe

comedian

jokeinoneformoranother.Onemanasksanother,"WhowasthatladyIsawyouwithlastnight?"Theother

replies,"Thatwasnolady,thatwasmywife."Thehumorliesinthefactthatthesecondmanissayingthathis

wifeisnotalady.Inotherwords,sheisnotarefinedwoman.Thejokeisnolessfunnybecauseitissooften

used.Theaudienceknowsinadvancewhatwillbesaid,becauseitisclassichumor,andanyaudiencevalues

familiarity

itevenmorebecauseofits

Chinese"

discusstopicssuchas

.

[8]

cross-talk

"isaspecialtypeofslap-stickinwhichtwoChinesecomedianshumorously

bureaucrats

,familyproblems,orotherpersonaltopics.Cross-talkcanbeheard

anywherefromsmallvillagestagestothelargestBeijingtheatres,andtoradioandtelevision.Itisclearlya

traditionalformofhumorwellunderstoodbyChinesepeople.

APLAYONWORDSisnotsoobviousasslap-stick,butitisfunnybecauseof

misunderstoodlanguage.Myfavoriteexampleisthestoryofthreeelderlygentlementravelingbytrainin

[9]

misusedor

England.Asthetrainslowedforastopthefirstmanasked,"IsthisWembley?""No,"saidthesecond,"It's

[N]

Thursday.""SoamI,"saidthethirdman."Let'sstopforabeer."Weknowthatolderpeopleoftendonothear

thingsclearly,sothemisunderstandingofbothWednesday(forWembley)andthirsty(forThursday)makesa

setup

nice

forthepunchlinedeliveredbythethirdman.

andhumoristDingCongisamasterofwordplay.Inoneofhis

,ateachersays,"Howcomeyoucompletelycopiedsomebodyelse'shomework?"The

[10]

cartoonist

ThefamousChinese

cartoons

funny

[N]

youngstudentreplies,"Ididn'tcompletelycopyit.Mynameonthepageisdifferent."InanotherclassicDing

irritated

impatientfatherthensays,"Forexample,you,yourmother,andIaltogetherarehowmany,you

Congcartoon,an

fatherasks,"Tellme,what'soneplustwo?"Thesonsays,"Idon'tknow."The

?"The

idiot

sonproudlyanswers,"Threeidiots."Whetherthesestoriesarecartoonsorjokes,toldby

slap-stick

a

comedianoracross-talkingteam,theyappealtopeopleeverywhereasfunnystoriesbecause

theyhaveanote[N][N]ofrealitytothem,andtheunexpectedpunchlineisquitefunny.

[11]PUNSareevenmoresubtleformsofwordplay.Theyusethetechniqueofsimilarsoundingwordsor

alternativemeaningsofthesameword.Punsarethoughtbysomecriticstobethelowestformofhumor,butI

disagreewiththis.Punsrequiremoresubtleandsophisticatedlanguageskillsthanmosthumorforms,buteven

riddle

theveryyoungcanusethemintheirsimplerforms.Forexample,the"

"ortrickquestionoftenusesa

puninthesetup,thestoryline,or,moreoften,thepunchline.PunsarethefirsttypeofhumorIlearned,andat

about5yearsofageIrememberhearingthefollowingriddle.Onepersonasks,"Whatisblackandwhiteand

redallover?"Theotherpersonusuallycannotanswertheriddle,sosays,"Igiveup.Whatisthe

riddler

replies,"Anewspaper."Thisistheobviousanswerifoneknowsthat"red"is

answer?"The

pronouncedthesameas"read"inEnglish,butthemeaningsareclearlydifferent.

[12]DOUBLEENTENDRES

(Frenchfordoublemeanings)arespecialvariationsofpunsinwhich

wordsorphraseshavedoublemeanings.Frequentlythetwomeaningsareverydifferent,andoneisquite

vulgar

ofahighschoolwhoareconcernedbecausesomeboysandgirlshavebeenseenkissing

properwhilethesecondisoften,butnotalways,

anda

.Ilikethesomewhatmildstoryofaschoolteacher

principal

ontheschoolplayground.Theteachersaystothestudents,"TheprincipalandIhavedecidedtostopkissing

laughter

,shesenseshermessagewasnotaltogetherclear,so

ontheschoolplayground."Hearingsome

sheadds,"WhatImeantosayisthattherewillbenomorekissinggoingonunderour

clarification

ofthejokebecomesevenmore

noses

[N]

."This

,ofcourse,doesnothingtocorrectthefirststatementandthedoublemeaning

.

laughable

[13]

Someprofessionalhumoriststhinktoomuchoftoday'shumorisnotveryintelligentorsophisticated.They

suggestive

dislikethe

orvulgarlanguageusedtoofrequently,andtheyfeelthatmosthumoristsarenot

verycreative.Itistruethatsomeoftoday'shumorisrathershocking,butIdon'tthinkhumoristobe

blamed

[N]

forthat.Humorisalive

[N]

andwell,anditwillpersistsimplybecausetherearefunnythingshappening

everyday.Somehumorouspeopleseeandhearthesefunnythingsandareabletomaketheminto

entertaining

funny,

U2

jokesandstories.(1,346words)

OnmyfirstjobassportseditorfortheMontpelier(Ohio)LeaderEnterprise,Ididn'tgetalotoffanmail,soI

intrigued

byaletterthatwasdroppedonmydeskonemorning.

was

[2]WhenIopenedit,Iread:"AnicepieceofwritingontheTigers.Keepupthegoodwork."Itwassignedby

DonWolfe,thesportseditor.BecauseIwasateenager(beingpaidthegrandtotalof15cents

column

itgot

tobeawriter

inspiring

.Ikepttheletterinmydeskdraweruntil

[N]

.WheneverIdoubtedIhadtherightstuff

Don'snoteandfeel

a

inch

[N]

),hiswordscouldn'thavebeenmore

rag-eared

reread

[N]

,Iwould

confidentagain.

[3]

Later,whenIgottoknowhim,IlearnedthatDonmade

ahabitof

writingaquick,encouragingwordtopeople

[N]

[N]

walksoflife.

inall

"WhenImakeothersfeelgoodabout

themselves,"hetoldme,"Ifeelgoodtoo."

[4]

as

paperwasfloodedwithcallsandletters

hadbeen

Notsurprisingly,hehadabodyoffriendsasbig

nearby

LakeErie

[N]

.Whenhediedlastyearat75,the

frompeoplewho

[N]

spirit-lifting

words.

recipients

ofhis

[5]

comments,becauseIthinkthey

and

Overtheyears,I'vetriedtocopytheexampleofDonandotherfriendswhocareenoughtowriteuplifting

areontosomething

important.Inaworldtoooftencold

unresponsive

,suchnotesbringwarmthandreassurance.Weallneedaboostfromtimetotime,and

afewlinesofpraisehavebeenknowntoturnaroundaday,evenalife.

[N]

[6]Why,then,aretheresofewupbeatnotewriters?Myguessisthatmanywhoshyawayfromthe

practice

sound

are

too

or

self-conscious

[N]

.They're

afraid

they'll

be

misunderstood,

sentimentalinsincere

.Also,writingtakestime;it'sfareasiertopickupthephone.

[7]

note

bereadmorethanonce,

drawback

The

with

phone

calls,

our

of

course,

is

that

they

don't

last.A

attaches

importancetowell-wishing

.Itisamatterofrecord,andourwordscan

[N]

[N]

more

savored

andtreasured.

[8]Eventhoughnotewritingmaytakelonger,someprettybusypeopledoit,includingGeorgeBush.Some

sayheowesmuchofhissuccessinpoliticstohisever-readypen.How?Throughouthiscareerhe

response—acompliment,alineofpraiseora

Hisnotesgonotonlytofriendsandassociates,buttocasualacquaintancesandtotal

[N]

followedupvirtually

everycontactwitha

[N]

cordial

has

nodofthanks.

[N]

strangers—likethesurprisedpersonwhogot

awarmpatontheback

forlendingBushanumbrella.

[9]

be

ofwritingnotesthat

for

Eventopcorporatemanagers,whohavemostlyaffectedstylesofleadershipthatcan

characterized

tough

up

.FormerFordchairmanDonaldPeterson,whoislargelycredited

[N]

round

aloof

onlyas

people

,coldand,havebeguntolearnthelesson,andearnthebenefits,

lift

turning

thecompany

inthe1980s,madeitapracticetowritepositivemessagestoassociates

memopadpassalong

scribble

everyday.

[N]

"I'djust

themona

orthecornerofaletterand

them

,"

hesays."Themostimportanttenminutesofyourdayarethoseyouspenddoingsomethingtoboostthepeople

whoworkforyou."

[10]"Toooften,"heobserved,"peoplewegenuinelylikehavenoideahowwefeelaboutthem.Toooftenwe

think,Ihaven'tsaidanythingcritical;whydoIhavetosaysomethingpositive?Weforgetthathumanbeings

thrive

needpositivereinforcement—infact,we

onit!"

[11]

appreciation.Themostsuccessful

Whatdoesittaketowritelettersthatliftspiritsandwarmhearts?Onlyawillingnesstoexpressour

[N]

includewhatIcallthefour"S's"ofnotewriting.

practitioners

[12]1)Theyaresincere.Noonewantsfalsepraise.

[13]2)Theyareusuallyshort.Ifyoucan'tsaywhatyouwanttosayinthreesentences,you'reprobably

[N]

straining.

[14]

too

3)Theyarespecific.Complimentingabusinesscolleaguebytellinghim"goodspeech"is

vague

investment

precise

;"greatstoryaboutWarrenBuffet's

strategy"is.

[15]4)Theyarespontaneous.Thisgivesthemthefreshnessandenthusiasmthatwilllingerinthe

reader'smindlongafterward.

[16]It'sdifficulttobespontaneouswhenyouhavetohuntforletter-writingmaterials,soIkeep

paper,envelopesandstampscloseathand,evenwhenI

stationery

isn'tnecessary;it'sthethought

travel.Fancy

thatcounts.

[17]So,whoaroundyoudeservesanoteofthanksor

approval?Aneighbor,yourlibrarian,arelative,

mayor

your

,yourmate,ateacher,yourdoctor?Youdon't

.Ifyouneedareason,lookfor

,theanniversaryofaspecialeventyou

poetic

needtobe

milestone

a

shared,orabirthdayorholiday.Forthelast25years,for

example,I'vepreparedanannualChristmasletter

long-distance

friends,andIoftenadda

for

handwritten

word

of

thanks

or

congratulations.Acknowledgingsomesuccessorgoodfortunethathashappenedduringtheyearseems

particularlyappropriateconsideringthespiritoftheChristmasseason.

[18]Begenerouswithyourpraise.Superlativeslike"greatest","smartest","prettiest"makeusallfeelgood.

Evenifyourpraiseisalittleaheadofreality,rememberthatexpectationsareoftentheparentsofdreams

[N]

fulfilled.

[19]TodayIgotawarm,complimentaryletterfrommyoldbossand

mentor

,NormanVincent

typewriter

Peale.Hislittlenotetomewasfullofupliftingphrases,anditsentmetomy

tocomposea

overduemakeanybodyelse'sday

lettersofmyown.Idon'tknowiftheywill,buttheymade

few

mine.AsmyfriendDonWolfesaid,makingothersfeelgoodaboutthemselvesmakesmefeelgoodtoo.(978

words)

U3

Overthepastfewdecades,ithasbeenproven

innumerabletimesthatthevarioustypesofbehavior,

masculine

andfemininearepatternedbybothheredity

constitute

emotions,andintereststhat

being

culturally

andculture.Intheprocessofgrowingup,eachchildlearnshundredsof

patterneddetailsof

gender

behaviorthatbecomeincorporatedintoits

identity.Someofthislearningtakesplacedirectly.In

feminine

,asthecultureprovidesdifferent

otherwords,thechildistoldbyothershowtoactinanappropriately

detailsofgenderbehavioraretaughtunconsciously,or

ormasculineway.Other

indirectly

aspirations

images,

,andadultmodelsforgirlsandboys.

[2]Recently,forexample,astudyofAmericanpublicschoolsshowedthatthereisaculturalbiasin

educationthatfavorsboysovergirls.Accordingtotheresearchers,

unintentional

thebiasis

andunconscious,butitisthereandit

isinfluencingthelivesofmillionsofschoolchildrenevery

year.DoctorsDavidandMyraSadkervideotapedclassroom

teachersinordertostudysex-relatedbiasineducation.Their

researchshowedthatmanyteacherswhothoughtthey

nonsexistwereamazedtoseehow

biased

they

were

appeared

on

videotape.From

courses,teacherswereshown

nursery

postgraduate

school

[N]

to

callon

to

malesinclassfarmorethanonfemalestudents.This

hasatremendousimpactonthelearningprocessfor,ingeneral,

thosestudentswhobecomeactiveclassroomparticipants

developmorepositiveattitudesandgoontohigherachievement.

[N]

Asamatteroffact,inthelate1960s,

whenmanyofthebestall-women'scolleges[N]inthenortheasternUnitedStatesopenedtheirdoorsto

malestudents,itwasobservedbyprofessorsandwomenstudentsalikethattheboyswere"takingover"

[N]

the

noticeably

.A

offemaletomalestudentshasalsobeenobservedinlawandmedicalschool

participation

classroomdiscussionsandthatactive

similar

bywomenstudentshaddiminished

subordination

classroomsinrecentyears.

[3]

participatingasactivelyasboysinclassby

ResearchdonebytheSadkersshowedthatsometimesteachersunknowinglypreventedgirlsfrom

assigning

themdifferenttasksinaccordancewithstereotyped

nursery

schoolyoungsters,

genderroles.Forinstance,oneteacherconductingascienceclasswith

continuallyhadthelittleboysperformthescientific"experiment"whilethegirlsweregiventhetask

withclassroommaterialsisaveryimportantaspect

[N]

putting

away

.Sincehands-onwork

of

thematerials

[N]

vital

ofearlyeducation,thegirlswerethusbeingdeprivedofa

entirelives.

learningexperiencethatwouldaffecttheir

[4]Anotherdimensionofsex-biasededucationisthetypicalAmericanteacher'sassumptionthatboyswill

dobetterinthe"hard","masculine"subjectsofmathandsciencewhilegirlsareexpectedtohavebetterverbal

andreadingskills.Asanexampleofaself-fulfillingprophecy,Americanboysdo,indeed,developreading

upto

patterns.InGermany,forexample,allstudies[N]areconsidered

fallbehind

fromthen

problems,whilegirls,whoaresuperiortoboysinmath

on.[N]Butthesearecultural,not

theageofnine,

genetic

"masculine",anditisgirlswhodevelopreadingproblems.AndinJapan,whereearlyeducationappearstobe

nonsexist,bothgirlsandboysdoequallywellinreading.

[5]Thedifferentattitudesassociatedwiththeeducationalprocessfor

girlsandboysbeginathome.Onestudy,forexample,showedthat

preschoolers

when

wereaskedtolookatapictureofahouseand

tellhowfarawayfromthehousetheywerepermittedtogo,theboys

indicatedamuchwiderareathanthegirls,whogenerallypointedouta

verylimitedareaclosetothehome.Insteadofbeingencouragedto

developintellectualcuriosityandphysicalskillsthatareusefulin

dealingwiththeoutsideworld,asboysare,girlsarefilledwithfearsof

approved

fromthehometotheclassroom,wheregirlsaregenerallyobservedto

bemoredependentontheteacher,moreconcernedwiththeformand

theworldoutsidethehomeandwiththedesiretobe

offortheir"goodness"andobedienceto

carryover

rules.

[N]

Theselessons

[N]

neatness

oftheirworkthanwithits

content,andmoreanxiousaboutbeing"right"intheiranswersthaninbeingintellectuallyindependent,

analytical,ororiginal.

[N]

Thus,throughtheeducationalprocessthatoccupiesmostofthechild'swakinghours,

societyreinforcesitsestablishedvaluesandturnsouteachsexinitstraditionalandexpectedmold.(722

[N]

words)

U4

Creativityisthekeytoabrighterfuture,sayeducationandbusinessexperts.Hereishowschoolsand

parentscanencouragethisvitalskillinchildren.

[2]IfDickDrewhadlistenedtohisbossin1925,wemightnothaveaproductthatwenowthinkof

practically

Minnesota

as

essential:maskingtape

[N]

andMiningCompany,betterknown

.Drewworkedforthe

Manufacturing

as3M.Atworkhedevelopedasticky-sidesubstancestrong

[N]

enoughtoholdthingstogether.Buthisbosstoldhimnottopursue

[N]

theidea.Finally,usinghisowntime,Drewperfectedthetape,

whichnowisusedeverywherebymanypeople.Andhisformer

companylearnedfromitsmistake:Now3Mencouragespeopleto

spend15percentoftheirworktimejustthinkinganddevelopingnew

ideas.

[3]Itisastrategythatmoreandmorecompaniesare

employingandonethatexpertsaroundthecountrysayweoughtto

[N]

befollowingwithourchildren,bothathomeandatschool.Thefeelingisthatifweteachthemtothink

creatively,theywillbebetterabletofunctionintomorrow'ssociety.

[4]Creativity'sbenefitsreachbeyondmusicandart.Successfulstudentsandadultsaretheoneswho

discoveranumberofwaystoapproachproblems.

[5]Creativityisnotsomethingoneisjustbornwith,norisitnecessarilyacharacteristicofhigh

[N]

intelligence.Justbecauseapersonishighlyintelligentdoesnotmeanthatheusesitcreatively.Creativityis

[N]

thematterofusingtheresourcesonehastoproduceoriginalideasthataregoodforsomething.

[6]Unfortunately,schoolshavenottendedtopromotecreativity.Withstrongemphasisontestscores

and

many

the

development

of

creativity

reading,

for

correctanswers.Theresultisthatchildrencangiveback

writing

and

mathematical

skills,

educatorssacrifice

informationbutcan'trecognizewaystoapplyittonewsituations.Theymayknow

multiplication

their

tables,forexample,buttheyareunabletoapplythemtostoryproblems.

[N]

[7]Insomeschools,however,educatorsarerecognizingtheproblemandaredevelopingnewapproachesto

teachingwhichshouldencouragecreativityintheirstudents.Someteachersarecombiningthebasics

[N]

with

activitieswherethestudentsmustusetheirimagination.Forexample,insteadofsimplyaskingWHEN

ColumbusdiscoveredtheNewWorld,teachersmightaskstudentstothinkaboutwhatwouldhavehappenedif

histriphadt