Unit 20 Humor

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Unit 20 Humor
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Act as a circus clown
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Leading in Who can say something about comedians?
Comedians are people, especially
professional entertainers, who tell jokes or do
amusing things to make people laugh and think.
Look at the pictures . Do you know who these
comedians are? What make them funny to you?
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(No Transcript)
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The comic duo of the 1930s Laurel and Hardy. (
The thin one is called Stan Laurel, while the
stout one is called Oliver Hardy.) They are funny
because they are each others opposites one fat
and one thin one is clever and one is silly etc.
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Mr Bean. Although Mr Rowan Atkinson acts as
different comic characters he is most famous
around the world as Mr Bean. Mr Bean is funny
because he makes funny faces, he acts silly, he
seems to be quite stupid, and the things he does
are strange.
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Mr Rowan Atkinson(Mr Bean)
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Dustin Hoffman
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3 Dustin Hoffman in the film Tootsie (1982). In
this film Hoffman acts the role of a woman, and
many people agree that his performance was so
good that you often cant tell the difference.
But in the film of cause there are all kinds of
funny moments.
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Ma Ji is a well known artist of crosstalk shows
in China. His numerous crosstalk shows always
make his audience roar with laughter.
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!. Do you know any comedians who are
funny? 2.Have you seen any of the comedians or
programs? What do you think of them?
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1. I have seen some films of Laurel and Hardy and I
   think that they are very funny.
2. I find Mr Bean always very funny.
3. I dont think I ever saw this comedian. I am not
   sure if I would like it.
4. I once heard Hou Yaowen on the radio and I had
   to laugh so much that my stomach hurt and I had
   tears in my eyes.

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Other comic duos are for example, Abbott and
Costello, French and Saunders, Wallace Gromit
or Beavis and Butthead. Other comedians acting as
clowns are for example, Charlie Chaplin, Buster
Keaton or Austin Powers.
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Other famous comedians who dressed up as women
are for example, Dame Edna (Australia), Milton
Berle (USA) and Eddy Izzard (UK). Other famous
crosstalk artists are Jiang Kun, Hou Yuewen, Feng
Gong, Tang Jiezhong, etc.
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Read the passage fast and then answer the
following questions 2.What is the text about?
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What is the text about? 1,The title is a bit of
a puzzle to me and there are no other clues to
find out what the text is about. I suppose it
will be about something to laugh about. 2,If
its about laughing or humour, it can be about
jokes or funny storied.
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Read the text again , try to divide the text into
several parts and find out the main idea of each
part

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4

Comedies
Clowns
Comedians
Crosstalk
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Listen to the passage and read it again then
finish the following
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1 How long has the tradition of crosstalk existed
in China?

The tradition of crosstalk has existed in China
for more than 2000 years.
2 Give three examples of techniques that writers
of comedies often use to make people laugh. 1
______________ 2 ______________ 3 ______________
Cross-dressing
stereotypes
Word play
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3 Why are some of Shakespeares comedies not so
funny for us?
Some of Shakespeares plays are not so funny for
us because we dont understand the language and
word play that Shakespeare used.
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4 Can you describe a clown in your own words?
What does a clown look like?
A clown is a funny person, usually dressed up in
clothes of very bright colours, such as red and
yellow. They often wear a big coloured wig(??).
Their face is covered with white make-up, and
their mouth and eyes are made to look very big
using red and other coloured make-up. Clowns
often have a big red nose. All of their clothes,
including their shoes are usually over-sized.
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5 .Is the show of a comedian more like that of a
clown or a comedy? Explain your answer.
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The show of a comedian is more like a comedy than
like a clown. A comedian doesnt wear any of the
funny clothes and make-up of clowns. The humour
of clowns is often very silly. Clowns often dont
speak at all. Their jokes are almost all body
language, mime, and silly things like falling
down. The comedian, on the other hand uses all
the richness of the language to create fun, just
as in comedies. In fact, comedians often act out
little sketches which make us think of acting on
the stage in comedy.
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• Complete the following chart

Laughing matter Comedy Clown Comedian Crosstalk show
feature
Way
function
Theatre play
Act alone or as a pair
Work alone or as a pair
Word play by a pair
Make fun of dressing way Tell an amusing story
Play on words
No words clothes make up way they walk
Body language face no make-up play with
words
Jokes and fun-ny conver-sations Dress -up small
sketches
Help forget problems for a while
Roar with laughter
Make audience laugh
Think about life
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Discussion(group work) 1.Compare Western and
Chinese comedy shows. What do they have in
common? How are they different? 2.How to make
people laugh?
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• Pay attention to the following sentences
• 1.Their talk includes rhythm and rhyming words as
  well as tongue twisters, which often make the
  audience applaud.

??????????????.
He can speak Japanese as well as English.
??????????????.
Jane as well as her parents is taking a holiday
in China.
?????????,?????????.
The result of the experiment was very good,
which we hadnt expected.
????????????,????????????.

He seldom
finishes his work on time, which always makes his
boss very angry.
2.Skilled artists make use of all the richness of
the spoken language to create a rapid flow of fun.
????????????????.
Youd better make better use of your spare time.
???????????????????????.
Our free time should be made full use of to get
ready for the final exam.
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• 3.Today students of English, even if English is
  their mother tongue, often cannot understand his
  jokes.

?????????,??????.
Even if I have to walk all the way, Ill get
there.
4.Perhaps that is the reason why few foreigners
know about this Chinese art form.
??????????????????????.
Please tell me the reason why so many teenagers
love popular songs nowadays.
??????????????
Is there any particular reason why you cant come?
5. What comedians have in common with the players
in a comedy is their way of playing with words.
?????????.
I havent a thing in common with him.
out of the common ????, ???
???????????.
He had noticed nothing out of the common.
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How to make people laugh?

1. Be different.????.
2. Dont take the Mick.????.
3. Laugh at yourself.????.
4. Include people.????.
5. Dont overdo private jokes.????.
6. Dont be funny all the time. ????.
7. Choose your moment carefully.????.
8. Do be unexpected.????.
9. Dont be a jackass.????.
10. Know your audience.????.

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Moral lessons

• 1.Humour has its background of seriousness.
• 2.Life is a comedy to him who thinks and a
  tragedy to him who feels.
  (English proverb)
• 3.The test of real comedian is whether you laugh
  at him before he opens his mouth.

??????????. (Beerbohm ?.????)
?????????,?????????????????,??????.

????????????,????????,???????.
(George
Nathan ??.???)
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Useful expressions
A theatre play , makelaugh, use different
techniques, appear in the stage, be famous for
acting as a woman , a funny play, be stereotypes
of nationalities , do a certain job, make fun of
others, tell an amusing story, act out
stereotypes of people, roar with laughter, sound
funny, speak with a foreign accent, play on words
create fun, laugh loudly, act alone, act as a
pair, make a different kind of fun, be funny for
children, forget ones problem, make the audience
applaud, fully appreciate the jokes of cross talk
artists, know about an art form
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Homework

• Retell the text using about 100 words. (Try to
  use the Attributive Clause.)

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V-ing form used as attribute and object
complement.
Summary
6.She went on working though it was already very
dark. 7.They stopped talking and began to listen
to the teacher attentively. 8.We regret
arriving(having arrived) so late.
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?????????
2????????????????????????,?Touching story /
leading cadres / shining example / coming week /
skilled worker / armed forces / boiled water /
steamed bread H 1. He is a promising young man.
Barking dogs seldom bite. His is a pressing
problem. S2.Soon our respected and beloved
leaders entered the banquet hall.
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? ???????????????????,??????????????,? Who
is the man standing ( that is standing) by the
door? We met a group of students returning
(who were returning) from school. They built
a highway leading ( which leads) into the
mountains.
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(??????,?????????????????????????,?????????????,?
????????????????????????????????????,????????????
????????)
1.The children ran out of the room, laughing and
talking merrily.
3.Given more time, I can do it much better.
4.The man walked along the street, followed by
his pet dog.
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( 4 ).??????
?????????,???????????????????????????????
???,?????????????????????????????????????,???????
??????????????
1.He saw an old man getting on the bus. 2.
They kept the fire burning.
3. I once heard this song sung in Japanese.
4.I dont want the children taken out in
such weather.
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Thank you!