Unit 3

A taste of English Humour

Using language

高一人教新课标版必修四

所谓 pun, 通常是指利用一个单词的两个含义 , 或者利用两个特定的单词 , 达到“一语双关”的目的。如 :

英语中有趣的双关语“ pun”

① He is not a grave man until he is a

grave man.

其中的 grave 有两个含义 , 一个是“严肃的” ( 形容词 ), 一个是“坟墓” ( 名词 ) ，

因此这句话的意思是： 他不是一个严肃的人 , 除非他躺到坟墓里

才能严肃起来。

②They pray for you today and prey on yo

u tomorrow.

其中的 pray ( 祈祷 ) 和 prey( 捕食 ), 发音

相同 , 外形相似。

因此这句话的意思是：

他们今天为你祈祷 , 明天就会加害于你。

Read the two puns and enjoy playing on words. A bicycle can’t stand on its own because

it is two-tired. A small boy went to the counter to pay

for his lunch but he was a little short.

How to explain the two puns? 1) Two-tired, when spoken, can have two meanings: a. with two tires; b. too tired. 2) Short, when spoken, can have two meanings: a. small in height; b. not having enough money.

Words preview

amuse

pancake

explanation

detective

mountainous

whisper

vt. 使发笑 ; 使愉快n. 烙饼 ; 薄饼n. 解释 ; 讲解 ; 说明n. 侦探adj. 多山的 ; 山一般的n. 耳语 ; 低语vt. & vi. 低语 ; 小声说

vast

mess

react

porridge

drunk

adj. 巨大的 ; 辽阔的n. 脏或乱的状态vi. 做出反应 ; 回应n. 粥 ; 麦片粥adj. 醉的

Words preview

English jokes

There are thousands of jokes which

use “play on words” to amuse us.

Now read some of these customer

and waiter jokes and match the joke

with the explanation on P22.

1 C: What’s that fly doing in my soup? W: Swimming. I think! 2 C: What’s that? W: It’s bean soup. C: I don’t want to know what it’s been. I want to know what it is now. 3 C: Waiter. Will the pancakes be long? W: No, sir. Round.

B

A

C

Explanation

A. The first person is asking for

information about time. The second

person treats it as a question about

shape.

B. The first person is angry about

something and wants to say “Why is

this here?”

The second person treats it as a

request for information and gives an

answer to the question.

C. The answer to the question

contains a word which, when

spoken, can have two meanings.

Tips

Sherlock Holmes is a character created

by the English writer Sir Arthur Conan

Doyle. Sherlock Holmes became the prototype

( 原型 ) for the modern mastermind detective.

Doyle introduced Holmes in 1887 in the short

story A Study in Scarlet. Doctor Watson is

Sherlock’s best friend and partner.

Role play: Read the funny story on page 22.

Read a short, funny story on Page 22

about the famous detective Sherlock

Holmes and his friend Doctor Watson.

Then change the story into a short

dialogue. Act it in groups of three —

Holmes, Watson and a narrator.

Role-play

A teacher asked a student to write 55.

Student asked: How?

Teacher: Write 5 and beside it another 5!

The student wrote 5 and stopped.

Teacher: What are you waiting for?

Student: I don’t know which side to

write the other 5!

Joke 1

Joke 2

A man goes to the doctor and says, “Doctor, wherever I touch, it hurts.” The doctor asks, “What do you mean?” The man says, “When I touch my shoulder, it really hurts. If I touch my knee - OUCH! When I touch my forehead, it really, really hurts.” The doctor says, “I know what’s wrong with you – you’ve broken your finger!”

Patient: Doctor, I’ve lost my memory.

Doctor: When did this happen?

Patient: When did what happen?

Joke 3

Garcia: Thank you doctor. My fever

is gone.

Doctor: Don’t thank me. Thank God.

Garcia: Then I will pay the fees to God.

Joke 4

2 Listen to Part 1 and write down the main idea.

Listening: You are going to listen to a funny story about jam.

Mary made some jam but left some on the

kitchen table for a few days as she had to go

to look after her sick mother. Some days later,

John, knowing nothing about the jam, came

home and threw it into the kitchen yard.

1. What was Mary going to do with the cooked plums in the pan?2. What did John think Mary should have done with the mess in the pan?3. What do you think Mary is going to say when she finds out what has happened?4. How do you think John will react to her?

3 Listen to Part 1 again and answer the following questions:

1. What was Mary going to do with the cooked plums in the pan?

She was going to put them in the fridge later when they had cooled down.

2. What did John think Mary should have done with the mess in the pan?

He thought she should have thrown it out for the chickens to eat.

4. Before you listen to Part 2,

try to put these sentences

below in order. Then listen

again and check if you were

right.

___ Mary got angry with John.

___ Mary saw the chickens behaving strangely.

___ John was sorry.

___ The chickens enjoyed the jam.

___ John said he thought the jam was porridge.

___ Mary looked at the red mess on the ground.

___ John said the chickens were drunk.

___ Mary came home.1

2

3

4

8

7

5

6

“ You ___________ my jam,” she shouted.

“ Oh, ______ what it was,” he said.

“ I’m ______ but I thought it was ________

which had gone bad in the hot weather. The

chickens have ________ the jam, but it’s

made them _______.”

enjoyed

porridgesorry

drunk

that’s

threw away

5 Fill in the blanks while listening to Part 2 a second time.

Mary Smith looked at the beautiful ri

pe plums. They would make lovely jam.

When she had finished the cooking, she

filled all her empty jam jars and left the

rest of the jam in the pan. She would pu

t it in the fridge when it was cooler. But

just then the telephone rang,

Part 1Listening text

her mother was in hospital after a caraccident. Mary picked up her bag and ran out of the house. Some days later, her husband, John, came home from a business trip. He hadbeen travelling all day and felt like having a drink and a piece of cake. Ashe came into the kitchen he saw a panwith a dark red mess inside it.

He lifted it up and smelled it. It

smelled bad. Mary must have forgotten to

clean this pan, he thought. So he poured

all the jam into the chicken yard and

cleaned the pan. Then feeling

comfortable,

he began to eat a piece of cake.

When Mary returned, she noticed the

chickens behaving strangely. They were

running around the yard as if they were

sick. She saw the dark red mess on the

ground and went closer. When she saw a

plum stone she went into the kitchen. Her

husband was reading a newspaper at the

table. Angrily Mary rushed up to him.

Part 2

“You threw away my jam,” she

shouted. “Oh, that’s what it was,” he

said. “ I’m sorry but I thought it was

porridge which had gone bad in the hot

weather.” “ Good heavens!” said Mary.

“That must be the jam I left in the pan,

but why didn’t you threw it in the

dustbin?” John laughed.

“It was a mistake. However, the chickens

have enjoyed the jam, expect that it has

made them drunk. What are we going t

o do with these drunken chickens?”

Discuss with your partner whether

you think the story you listened to is

funny. Give your reasons. Use these

words and expressions below to help

you.

Speaking and writing

How wonderful!I’m pleased we both like…I felt happy because…What fun!It surprises me that…I (don’t) laugh at that kind of thingbecause…It is (not) very amusing/funny that…I (don’t) enjoy this very much because…

S1: What fun! I enjoyed that story.

I always laugh at that kind of thing.

S2: Me too. I’m pleased we both

like the same kind of funny stories.

Sample dialogue:

S1: The punchline was good. You

were wondering what would happen.

So I’m happy that it all turned out

well in the end.

S2: It surprises me that John didn’t

see the plum stone if Mary did.

S1: That’s because Mary did the

cooking, but John didn’t look at the

jam carefully. He just thought it was

a mess and threw it away.

S2: I think it’s very amusing and always

try to read stories like that. That

make me smile.

S1: OK. Let me tell you this funny

story then. It’s about a hedge

cutter which was made in

China but sold in England …

1) Use a logical order: explain the situation, what happened and then give the punchline.2) Read it through when you have finished checking for mistakes.3) Read it to your partner and ask for advice.4) Rewrite your story and put it into a class collection of funny stories.

Writing

Sample writing:Stages in the story

1.Mr. Hills buys a hedge cutter made in

China.

2. It breaks and he tries to mend it himself.

3. The instruction booklet says it should

not be touched “without permission”.

4. He decides to get a new one so no one

will ever know.

A TRUE STORY OF MR HILLS Mr. Hills in London bought a hedge

cutter made in China. It was very small

and very cheap and it worked very well.

At first he was very pleased with it.

It made his hedges look smart and neat.

Then one day it broke down. There was

nothing he could do to make it work.

He took it apart and put it together

again but still it would not work. Next

he took out the booklet of instructions

to see if they had any advice for him.

Imagine his amazement when he saw

these words written in the booklet. “No

one is to touch or try to repair this

hedge cutter without permission.”

What was he to do? Should he have

written to the manufacturers in Beijing

before he had his hedge cutter mended?

Mr. Hills thought long and hard.

Finally he went back to the shop and

bought another hedge cutter. He put his

old one in the dustbin. He thought no

one would ever know what he had done.

一、单词拼写1. _____________ n. 皮肤 ; 外壳2. _____________ adj. 残酷的 ; 令人痛苦的3. _____________ n. & adj. 底部 ; 底部的 4. _____________ vt. 使惊讶 5. _____________ n. 一口 ; 满口 6. _____________ vt. 使欢乐 ; 款待 7. _____________ adv. 特别地 8. _____________ adj. 无家可归的 9. _____________ n. 富有 ; 运气 10. ____________ v.& n. 煮沸 ; 沸腾boil

skin

cruel

bottomastonishmouthful

entertainparticularly

homeless

fortune

11. ____________ prep. & adv. 遍及 ; 始终　　12. ____________ adj. 幸运的 ; 吉利的13. ____________ vt.& vi. 摇摆 ; 旋转14. ____________ n. 失败 ; 失败者15. ____________ n. 暴风雪16. ____________ n. & adj. 导演 ; 径直的 17. ____________ adj. 杰出的 ; 显著的 18. ____________ adj. 磨破的 ; 穿旧的； 19. ____________ adj. 巨大的 ; 辽阔的20. ____________ n. 感性 ; 理性

throughout

fortunate

swingfailure

snowstorm

direct

outstanding

worn-out

vast

sense

二、单词运用1. Today the Chinese teacher began the class

with an amusing _______ show.

2. I kept a diary at times when there was

something ___________ to keep down.

3. The class were cheered up by her

_____________ performance.

4. We like to stay with him, for he’s a man

with a pretty _______ of humour.

5. The woman sat there, __________ (chew)

a piece of gum.

slide

particular

outstanding

sensechewing

6. He will never forget that ________

experience of his.

7. She ___________ it to me so as not to be

heard by others.

8. It will do you good to have plenty of

________(boil) water every day.

9. We really had pity on the poor _________

girl and took her to our house.

10. Cold-blooded animal will sleep __________

the winter without eating anything.

throughout

cruel

whispered

boiled

homeless

三、词语派生1. As a result of their impatience, that plan

ended in _________ (fail).

2. ____________ (fortune), we two were selected

for the Olympic torch bearers in Guangdong.

3. Besides the point, the accident happened for

some other _________ (direct) reasons.

4. You are expected to spend an _____________

(entertain) evening in this place of public

_______________ (entertain).

failure

Fortunately

indirect

entertainment

entertaining

5. The government is trying to stop the

strike in a _____________ (violent) way.

6. I wondered all the time why mother

had never thrown away those clothes

already __________ (wear) out.

non-violent

worn 　

7. I’m so full I can’t have another __________

(mouth).

8. She ________ (joy) playing the piano every

day, for it is a great _______ (enjoy) to her.

9. He was _________ (sense) of the trouble he

had caused.

10. Mobil phones may not work so well in

_____________ (mountain) areas.

mouthful

enjoy

sensible

joy

mountainous

四、词组互译1. 对……满足 ( 意 ) ________________

2. 在整个亚洲 __________________

3. 战胜困难 ____________________

4. 挑出 ; 辩别出 ____________

5. 一条丧家狗 ________________

6. 撞上 ; 撞见 ________________

7. 突出的成就 _______________________

8. 幽默感 ___________________sense of humour

be content with

throughout Asia

overcome difficulties

pick out

a homeless dog

knock into

outstanding achievements

9. badly off _______________

10. in particular _____________

11. cut off _____________

12. star in _________

13. in search of ____________

14. be born in poverty ___________

15. be set in ______________

16. go camping __________

穷的 ; 缺少的特别 ; 尤其是

切断 ; 断绝主演

寻找 ; 寻求

出身贫寒以……为背景

野营

五、词组运用 词组填空 根据句子提供的语境 , 从第四大题中选一个适当的词组并用其适用的形式填空。1. She can’t be so popular at all; I don’t even

know what movies she has __________.

2. Before ________________, you must get

everything needed ready.

3. To be honest, I enjoy reading the stories and

novels written by the big man ______________.in particular

starred in

going camping

4. 完成这样巨大的工程 , 我们常要克服某些 艰难困苦。 In doing so great a project, we had to

__________________________ at times.

5. 在人潮的广场上，我好容易才发现他。 In the crowed square, I had a hard time

___________ him _______.

overcome some difficulties

picking up

6. 这部电影是以二十世纪 60年代美国黑人的 社会状况为背景写的。 The film ___________ the social conditions

of the black of America in the 1960s.

从上述短语中选一个适当的短语翻译下列句子。7. 浏览刚完成的那本书 , 她自感满意。

was set in

She read through her newly-finished book and was content with herself.

8. 他四周看 , 在找什么。

9. 顾着思考问题 , 他差点撞上路边的停车。

10. 据说这部电影当时有一部分由于某种原因 被剪切了。

It is said that one part of the film had

to be cut off for some reason.

He looked around in search of something.

Lost in thought, he nearly knocked intoa car parked aside.

1. Don’t leave the water _______ while

you brush your teeth.

A. run B. running

C. being run D. to run

2. Tell Mary that there’s someone ____ for

her at the door.

　 A. waiting B. waited

C. waits D. to wait

六、单项选择

B

A

3. A phone call sent him _______ to the

hospital.

　 A. hurry B. hurrying

C. to hurry D. hurried

4. Do you know the boy _______ under

the big tree?

A. lay B. lain C. laying D. lying

B

D

5. There are lots of places of interest

_______ in our city.

  A. needs repairing

B. needing repaired

  C. needed repairing

D. needing to be repaired

D

6. The drunken husband knocked

against the table and sent the bowls

_______ in all directions before he

was sent _______ by his wife.

  A. flying; to sleep

B. flying; sleeping

C. to fly; to sleeping

D. to fly; to sleep

A

7. As is known to us all, traveling is

_____, but we often feel _____ when

we are back from travels.

  A. interesting; tired

B. interested; tiring

C. interesting; tiring

D. interested; tired

A

8. The woman found it no good _____ her daughter too much money. A. giving B. being given C. given D. gave9. As the stone was too heavy to move, I left it _____ on the ground.  A. laying B. lay C. lying D. lain10. John’s bad habit is _____ without thorough understanding.  A. read B. being read C. to be read D. reading

A

C

D

Homework

Choose one topic and do your writing.

1) The play Sherlock Holmes and

Doctor Watson

2) Do you think the jokes/story/play you

have read/watched funny? Give your

reasons.