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 the U.S., has recently come into

fashion.

stem from 源自, 起源于

-- His feeling of hate stem from envy.（n.羡慕, 妒嫉）

-- Her interest in flowers stemmed from her childhood in the country.

stem from 源自, 起源于

= come from 出身于, 由...引起, 是...的结果, 是在...生长大的

= arise from 由...而引起, 由...而产生

= originate from 由某人发起(首创)

Originate  vi.发源, 开始, 发生

-- The quarrel originated in a misunderstanding. 争吵是由于误解而引起的。

-- The film originated from a short story. 这部电影取材于一篇短篇小说。

Originate  vt.使产生, 创始, 创办, 发明, 发起, 引起

-- They originated the plan. 他们首先提出这一计划。

 

come into fashion 流行起来, 开始风行

come into power (开始)掌权, 上台

call into being 使产生, 使出现, 建立, 成立

 

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.

Dread to do = dread doing

 

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.

Miserable  adj.痛苦的, 悲惨的, 可怜

A miserable day = a terrible day

think of  考虑, 设想, 想象

-- When I saw you I thought of my sister

think of doing sth

-- He is thinking of setting a school.

Spend time doing sth.

By通过某种方式

-- I arrive here by train.

 

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.

Chance在表达机会这个概念的时候, 经常采用复数形式。

One’s chances of doing sth are good  某人做某事的可能性很大

-- My chances of passing the examination are good.

-- His chances of being dismissed are good.

remote  adj.遥远的, 偏僻的

adj.极小的, 细微的, 模糊的（= slight adj.轻微的, 微小的）

One’s chances of doing sth are remote  某人做某事的可能性很小

-- His chances of arriving here by bicycle are remote.

 

The man took heart and, sure enough, on New Year's Eve he was able to hobble along to a

party.

take heart  鼓起勇气, 打起精神

-- He took heart when he got the good news.

lose heart  灰心, 泄气

-- If they knew how difficult it was to drill through the hard rock they will lose heart.

 

To compensate for his unpleasant experiences in hospital, the man drank a little more than was good for him.

To = in order to

More than…  超出…范围

-- The cake is more than I can eat.

More than后面可以引导省略主语的比较从句, 从句中常见的形容词有：necessary, good,

Possible, anticipate, expect, feel, suggest, report, require, think.

-- The man drank a little more than was good for him. = The man drank a little more than what was good for him.

-- There were more accidents than (what) was reported.

-- He eats more than (what/it) is good for him.

As后面可以引导省略主语的比较从句

-- He arrived as I expected. = He arrived as (what) was expected.

-- He eats as much as (what/it) is good for him.

-- The man drank as much as (what) was good for him.

比较：

1>-- He eats more than is good for him.  他总是吃的正好。

-- He eats as much as is good for him.  他总是吃的过多。

2>-- The man drank a little more than was good for him.

-- The man drank as much as was good for him.

 

委婉的表达方式：

The man drank a little more than was good for him.

She is quite fat. = She isn’t right fat.（Right  adv.正确的, 合适的, 恰当的）

 

In the process, he enjoyed himself thoroughly and kept telling everybody how much he hated

hospitals.

in the process of…   在...的过程中

In the process = during the party（上文中的party） 27-04

-- Yesterday I went swimming. In the process, I have a very good time.

-- I was looking for your house and got lost in the process.

Keep telling = keep on telling

How much = To what extent

-- How much can I trust him? = To what extend can I trust him?

Extent  n.程度, 范围, 广度, 宽度, 长度

 

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.

When = at that moment

 

Multiple choice questions 多项选择

1>C    the funny side of…  …可笑方面的

fundamentally  adv.基础地, 根本地  be related to…  与…有关系

2>B

3>A  point  n.要点             taken  过去分词做后置定语       illustrate  vt.阐明

4>A    The French 法国人的总称

a French应改为a Frenchman（任意一个法国人）   a man in France 一个在法国的人

5>A  most  adj.最多的, 多数的, 大部分的

adv.最, 最多, 很, 十分, 最, 最大的, 其中大多数, 极其

n.大多数, 大部分

-- most student

-- most of the student

majority  n.（常与of连用）多数；半数以上         the majority of…  大多数…

-- The majority of children in our class have brown eyes. 我们班大多数孩子是棕色眼睛。

Mostly  adv.主要地, 大部分, 通常

6>A        who had the right leg à who had had the right leg（应该用过去完成时）

7>B    no sooner…than…

8>C    by drinking  By通过某种手段 （是重点, 在损坏的部分）

9>D    do one's best = try one's best  尽全力

10>D    console = comfort  vt.安慰, 藉慰

11>C    how much = to what extend

at length（adv.最后, 详细地）= in detail（adv.详细地）

to one's cost  付出了代价才..., 吃亏后才...

-- Wasp’s stings are serious, as I know to my cost.

-- Wasp（n.黄蜂）                        Sting（n.刺, 刺痛, 针刺）

12>B  in the same way  adv.同样地  to the same effect  以相同的意思

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