考研英语阅读理解命题思路透析和真题揭秘(55)

If you intend using humor in your talk to make people smile, you must know how to identify shared experiences and problems. Your 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. Depending on whom you are addressing, the problems will be different. If 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.

Here 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. A man arrives in heaven and is being shown around by St. Peter. He sees wonderful accommodations, beautiful gardens, sunny weather, and so on. Everyone 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. "Who is that?" the new arrival asked St. Peter. "On, that's God," came the reply, "but sometimes he thinks he's a doctor."

If 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. With 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. You will be on safer ground if you stick to scapegoats like the Post Office or the telephone system.

If you feel awkward being humorous, you must practice so that it becomes more natural. Include a few casual and apparently off-the-cuff remarks which you can deliver in a relaxed and unforced manner. Often 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.

Look for the humor. It often comes from the unexpected. A twist on a familiar quote "If at first you don't succeed, give up" or a play on words or on a situation. Search for exaggeration and understatements. Look at your talk and pickout a few words or sentences which you can turn about and inject with humor.

如果你想在谈话中用幽默来使人发笑，你就必须知道如何发现与听众享有的共同经历和共同问题。你的幽默一定要与听众有关，能够向他们显示你是他们的一员，或者你了解他们的情况且赞同他们的观点。根据与你谈话对象的不同，问题也应有所不同。如果你在和一群经理谈话，你就可以评论他们秘书的工作方法杂乱无章；相反，如果你在和一群秘书谈话，你就可以评论她们老板的工作方法如何杂乱。

下面举一个例子，是我在一个护士大会上听到的故事。这个故事效果很好，因为所有的听众对医生都有同样的看法。一个人到了天堂，由圣彼得带领他四处参观。他看到了豪华的住宅、美丽的花园、晴朗的天气等等。大家都很安静、礼貌和友善。然而当这位新来的人在排队等候午餐时，突然被一位穿白大褂的人推到一旁。只见这人挤到了队伍的前面，抓起他的食物，噔噔地旁若无人地走到一张餐桌旁吃起来。"这是谁啊？"新来的人问圣彼得。"哦，那是上帝，"他回答说，"但有时他也觉得自己是一名医生。"

如果你与听众们来自同一个群体，你就能够了解你们所共有的经历和问题，你就可对餐厅难以下咽的食物或者总裁在选择领带方面差劲品味加以评头论足。而对于其他听众，你就不能试图贸然地讲这种幽默，因为他们也许不喜欢外人对他们的餐厅或总裁作如此微词。如果你选择去评论邮局或电话局这样的替罪羊，那就比较安全。

如果你在使用幽默时感到很别扭，你应该进行练习以变得更加自然。你可以用轻松的、不做作的方式说一些很随便的、看上去是即兴的话。使听众发笑的往往是你的说话方式，因此要说慢一些，并且记住扬扬眉毛或者做出一种不相信的表情，这些都会向人们显示你正在说笑话。

平时要留意幽默，它常常是在出其不意的时候出现。它可以是对一句常言的歪曲，比如"你要是一开始不成功，就放弃"，或者是戏谑语言和情景。留意夸大其词和轻描淡写的话。考虑一下你的谈话，选出一些词汇和句子来，将它们颠倒秩序反复揣摩，并注入一些幽默。