1、Unit 4 HUMOUR第四单元 幽默Lesson 1 Whats So Funny?第一课 有趣的小故事 Story A故事AA famous art collector was walking through the city when he noticed a dirty cat lapping milk from a saucer in the doorway of a store. He did a double take. 一个著名的艺术品收藏家在穿过城市时看见一只脏猫在一家商店门口舔饮浅碟中的牛奶。他惊讶地又看了一眼。He noticed that the saucer was
2、 an antique and very valuable, so he walked casually into the store and innocently offered to buy the cat for 20 dollars. 收藏家注意到浅碟是件古董，很值钱，于是他漫不经心地走进店里，假装不知情的样子，提出要花20美元买那只猫。The store owner replied, “Im sorry, but the cat isnt for sale.”收藏家注意到浅碟是件古董，很值钱，于是他漫不经心地走进店里，假装不知情的样子，提出要花20美元买那只猫。The collect
3、or said, “Please, I need a hungry cat with a good appetite around the house to catch mice. Ill pay you 200 dollars for that cat.”收藏家说：“拜托了，我正需要一只又饿、胃口又好的猫帮我抓屋里的老鼠呢，我可以出200美元买那只猫。”The owner said “sold” and handed over the cat. 店主说了声“成交”，就把猫给了他。The collector continued, “Hey, for the 200 dollars I wond
4、er if you could throw in that old saucer. The cats used to it and itll save me from having to get a dish.”收藏家接着说：“嘿，200 美元的话能不能把那个破碟子也送给我。毕竟这猫已经习惯了用它，这样也省得我再去买猫食盆了。”And the owner said, “Sorry my friend, but thats my lucky saucer. So far this week Ive sold 68 cats.”店主说：“对不起，朋友，那可是我的幸运碟。到现在为止，这周我已经卖出去
5、68 只猫了。”Story B故事BSherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a camping trip. After a good dinner and a bottle of wine, they retired for the night, and went to sleep. 夏洛克福尔摩斯和华生医生去野营。他们吃了一顿丰盛的晚餐，喝了瓶酒，就准备休息，去睡觉了。Some hours later, Holmes woke up and asked his faithful friend, “Watson, look up at the sky an
6、d tell me what you see.”几小时后，福尔摩斯醒了，问他忠实的朋友：“华生，抬头看看天空，告诉我你看到了什么。”“I see millions and millions of stars, Holmes,” replied Watson. “福尔摩斯，我看到无数的星星，”华生回答。“And what do you deduce from that?” “那你从中推断出什么？”Watson thought for a minute. 华生想了一会儿。“Well, according to the studies on astronomy, it tells me that t
7、here are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. According to the positions of the stars, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. According to the scientific measurement of time, I deduce that the time is probably a quarter past three. According to the current atmosphere, I forecast that
8、we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you, Holmes?” “嗯，根据天文学研究推断，现在天空中有数百万的星系，可能还有数十亿颗行星。根据星星的位置判断，现在土星在狮子座。根据科学计时测算，我推断现在大概是三点一刻。根据目前的大气条件，我预测明天天气会很好。福尔摩斯，你推断出了什么？”Holmes was silent for a moment. “Watson,” he said, “someone has stolen our tent!”福尔摩斯沉默了一会儿。“华生，”他说，“有人偷了我们的帐篷！”Stor
9、y C故事CA middle-aged man was feeling very down. Everything had been going wrong for him. He had had problems at work and his wife had left him for another man. So, after he had been feeling depressed for over a month, he decided to go to the doctor. He had to wait for what seemed like ages in the doc
10、tors surgery. The bleeding man next to him was looking at his watch nervously; awoman was coughing and sneezing badly; and a baby was screaming. Finally, after he had been waiting for about half an hour, he was called in for his consultation. The doctor was writing a note at her desk when he came in
11、. “Sorry, Im just finishing something. Im afraid weve been very busy this morning.” She then turned to the man. “So, whats the problem?” she asked. 一个中年男子觉得非常沮丧。最近他诸事不顺。他在工作上遇到了问题，妻子又跟别的男人跑了。在沮丧了一个多月后，他决定去看医生。他在诊室里等着，像是等了几个世纪。旁边的男人在流血，紧张地看着手表；一个女人使劲咳嗽、打喷嚏；还有个婴儿在哭闹。等了半小时后，终于叫到他了。他进去时医生正在办公桌上写便条。“抱歉，我
12、刚忙完别的事，今天上午很忙。”之后她转向中年人问道，“你怎么了？”“Well, Ive been having a bit of a crisis, you know, lots of problems,” replied the man. “And Ive been doing a lot of work.”“是这样的，我最近遭遇了一点危机，嗯，是出现了很多问题，”那人回答道，“而且我工作一直很忙。” “Mmm, youre looking very pale.” The doctor started to examine him. “Well, everything is working
13、OK,” she announced afterwards. “You have slightly high blood pressure and youre breathing quite heavily, but otherwise everythings fine.”“嗯，你脸色很苍白。”医生开始给他检查。“不过一切正常，”她检查后说道。“除了血压有点高，呼吸有些沉重，其他方面都正常。”“So what can I do?” asked the man. “Im going on a trip soon. I will be working in the United States fo
14、r three months. This time next week, Ill be arriving in New York.”“那我该怎么办？”那人问道。“我很快就要出差了，要在美国连续工作三个月。下星期的这个时候，我就去纽约了。” The doctor thought for a while. “I think what you need is a good laugh. That would do you a lot of good. A circus is performing in town. Why dont you go to see it? I hear theres an
15、 amazing clown wholl really make you laugh. His names Grock.”医生想了一会儿。“我觉得你需要开怀大笑，笑出来对你很有好处。城里刚好有马戏团表演，你怎么不去看看呢？我听说马戏团里有个很棒的小丑，叫格罗克，他肯定能逗笑你。”“I am Grock,” replied the man sadly. “可我就是格罗克，”那人悲伤地回答。Lesson 3 My Favourite Comedian第三课 我最喜欢的喜剧演员 TEXT 1 Mr Bean憨豆先生Mr Bean is an internationally recognised co
16、medy character in films and TV series. He has a reputation for constantly encountering awkward situations, which greatly amuses audiences of all nationalities and cultures. His humour is always made clear through a series of simple and funny acts that rely purely on body language that is universal.憨
17、豆先生是一个国际知名的影视喜剧人物。他的著名之处在于总是遇到尴尬的情境，使来自不同国家、不同文化背景的观众都觉得非常好笑。憨豆先生的幽默总是通过一连串简单、可笑的动作清晰地表达出来，完全依靠肢体语言这一全世界都能理解的方式。One of my favourite episodes was Mr Bean in a fancy restaurant. After being seated at his table, Mr Bean takes out a card, writes a few words on it, puts it in an envelope and places it on
18、 the table. After a moment, he looks back at the envelope but this time he looks surprised, as if he did not know it was there. He opens it to find a birthday card and very happily puts it on the table for everyone to see.我喜欢的一集是憨豆先生在一家高档餐厅用餐的故事。在餐厅里安排就座后，憨豆先生拿出一张卡片，在上面写了几个字，塞进信封，放在桌子上。过了一会儿，他再看那信封，
19、露出惊讶的表情，好像完全不知道它在那里。打开信封后，发现是张生日贺卡，他便高兴地把贺卡放在桌上向大家炫耀起来。When he looks at the menu, an astonished look quickly appears on his face. He takes all the money out of his wallet, counts it and puts it in a saucer. He then looks from the menu to the money with concern until he finds one thing that makes him
20、 smile. Then he orders a dish called “steak tartare”. When the dish arrives, he is shocked to discover that “steak tartare” is actually rawhamburger. He makes an attempt to eat it, but it is clear from the look on his face as he is chewing that he finds the taste truly awful. He cannot hide his feel
21、ings, except when the waiters ask if everything is all right. When this happens, he smiles and nods, indicating that everything is fine. When the waiters are not looking, however, he busies himself hiding the raw meat anywhere he can reachthe sugar bowl, the tiny flower vase, inside a bread roll and
22、 under a plate. He becomes so desperate in the end that he even hides some inside the purse of a woman sitting near him and throws some down the trousers of the restaurants violinist!看菜单时，憨豆先生脸上立刻露出震惊的表情。他把钱包里所有的钱都拿出来，数了数，放进碟子里。他担心地一会儿看看菜单，一会儿看看钱，最终找到了一种食物，脸上露出了微笑。然后他点了一道“鞑靼牛肉”。可上菜的时候，憨豆先生惊讶地发现“鞑靼牛肉
23、”其实就是生肉馅。他尝了尝，从他那咀嚼的表情就能看出，这东西一点都不好吃。他无法掩饰自己的感觉，除了在服务员问他是否一切满意时。服务员问他的时候，他笑着点点头，装作一切都好的样子。然而，当服务员没有注意的时候，他却忙着把生肉藏到任何地方糖碗、小花瓶、小面包卷里和盘子下面。最后他无计可施，居然把一部分生肉藏在旁边女士的钱包里，塞进餐厅小提琴手的裤子里！I like to watch Mr Bean on TV but I wouldnt want to meet someone like him in real life, and I certainly wouldnt want to have
24、 dinner with him!我喜欢看电视里的憨豆先生，却不希望在现实生活中遇到像他这样的人，更不想和他共进晚餐！TEXT 2 The Contemporary Chaplin当代卓别林Rowan Atkinson is an English actor, comedian and screenwriter. In Britain, Mr Atkinson is mostly famous for many successful TV shows but internationally we know him best as the awkward, clumsy, but always
25、amusing Mr Bean. If you think that Rowan Atkinson is anything like his famous creation, then you are in for a surprise. On the contrary, he is nothing like Mr Bean. 罗温艾金森，英国喜剧演员、编剧。艾金森先生在英国的名气主要源于他参演了很多著名影视剧。但在国际上，我们所熟悉的他是那个尴尬、笨拙，总能把人逗乐的憨豆先生。如果你认为罗温艾金森和他扮演的憨豆先生角色一样，那你一定会感到惊讶。相反，他本人实际上一点也不像憨豆先生。Rowan
26、 was born on 6 January, 1955. He grew up on a farm with his parents and three older brothers. His father was very strict and did not believe in the value of television.罗温出生于1955年1月6日，随父母在农场长大，家中有三个哥哥。他的父亲非常严厉，不相信电视的价值。Rowan had a very successful academic career. At the age of 13, he was awarded a sc
27、holarship to a boarding school. Later, he studied at Newcastle University where he attained the highest marks in his year. At Oxford, he obtained his masters degree in electrical engineering. This may explain why he loves fast cars, of which he has many.罗温的学生生涯非常成功。他13岁就获得了一所寄宿学校的奖学金，之后就读于纽卡斯尔大学，并以专
28、业第一名的优异成绩毕业。随后，他又取得牛津大学电机工程硕士学位。这也许是他为什么那么喜欢跑车，而且收藏了很多跑车的原因吧。When Rowan was young, he had a stutter and to make his speech clearer, he began to speak very carefully. This may be why some of his characters have unusual ways of speaking.罗温小时候有口吃的毛病，为了讲话更清楚，他说话格外仔细。这也是他所塑造的一些角色讲话方式与众不同的原因。As early as p
29、rimary school, Rowan had already shown a talent for acting, but it was only later at university that he decided to become an actor. A key event occurred one day in 1976 when he was playing around and pulling a face in the mirror. “I discovered my face,” he said later.早在小学时，罗温就表现出了表演天赋，但直到大学毕业，他才决定当一
30、名演员。1976 年的一天发生了一件关键的事情，闲玩之中他对着镜子做鬼脸。后来他说，“那天，我发现了自己的另一副面孔。”John Lloyd, who worked as a producer for BBC Television, says that one rarely meets someone with such genius, and that when he worked with Atkinson he became convinced that Rowan would be more famous than Charlie Chaplin. 英国广播公司电视台的制片人约翰劳埃德
31、说，遇到这样的天才很难得，与罗温的合作使他相信罗温会比查理卓别林更出名。Unit 5 EDUCATION第五单元 教育 Lesson 1 Enlightening a Mind第一课 启迪心灵Helen Keller was an exceptionally special girl. By the time she was seven years old, she still couldnt speak, read or write and needed to have everything done for her. This was because she couldnt see or
32、hear. With these severe restrictions to her communication, Helens behaviour was often unbearable. She was sometimes troublesome, stubborn and angry, and had a tendency to break things when no one understood her.海伦凯勒是一个非常特殊的女孩。她七岁时，仍不会说话，不能读书也不会写字，一切都需要别人照顾。这是因为她看不见也听不见。这些严重的障碍限制了海伦的正常交流，也让她的行为常常令人难以
33、忍受。海伦有时很烦人、很固执，而且很易怒。如果没有人能理解她的意思，她就会摔东西。Helens parents got a superb teacher recommended to them, a woman named Anne Sullivan. Anne was a teacher and former student at a school for the blind in Boston. Shed had eyesight problems early in life as well so she could relate to Helens difficulties.海伦的父母经
34、人推荐，聘请了一位名叫安妮莎莉文的优秀老师。安妮曾是波士顿一所盲人学校的老师，也曾在那儿上过学。她小时候也视力有障碍，所以更能理解海伦所面临的困境。Annes technique to teach Helen language was simple and straightforward. Anne spelt words by writing on Helens hand so that Helen could get a mental picture of the words. She started with the word “doll”. She would let Helen pl
35、ay with the doll, and then spell the letters “D-O-L-L” on her hand. When they initially did this, Helen thought it was a game. She wrote about her excitement later in her book, The Story of My Life:安妮教海伦学习语言的方法简单明了。她先在海伦手上拼写单词，使海伦联想到单词的画面。安妮给海伦拼写的第一个词是“doll”。她先让海伦和洋娃娃玩耍，然后在海伦的手上拼写“D-O-L-L”。刚开始海伦以为这是
36、在玩游戏。后来在我的人生故事一书中，海伦描述了自己的兴奋之情：“Running downstairs to my mother, I held up my hand and made the letters for doll. I did not know that I was spelling a word or even that words existed; I was simply making my fingers go in monkey-like imitation.”“我跑下楼去见我母亲，举起手来，也给她拼写字母组成doll。可我那时并不知道自己在拼写单词，甚至压根不知道词汇的
37、存在。我仅仅是亦步亦趋地用手指模仿老师。”When they were at the well one day, Anne put one of Helens hands under the stream of water. As the water flowed over Helens hand, Anne spelt out “W-A-T-E-R” into Helens other hand. As Anne wrote on Helens hand, Helen suddenly realised that the movement of the fingers meant the c
38、ool liquid flowing over her hand. This precious knowledge gave her hope and joy. Finally, she got the world of words opened up to her.一天，她们在井边，安妮把海伦的一只手放在水流下。水缓缓流过海伦的手掌，安妮在她的另一只手上拼写“W-A-T-E-R”。安妮在海伦手上写的时候，海伦突然意识到，手指的动作代表的是流过自己手掌的清凉的液体。这宝贵的知识给她带来希望和快乐。终于，她打开了语言世界的大门。Now that Helen grasped the key to
39、language, she was very eager to learn more and use it as much as she could. Children who can see and hear learn language easily, but for Helen, it was a gradual and sometimes painful process. However, because Helen was so enthusiastic about learning, the results were amazing.由于海伦理解了语言的关键，她非常渴望学习更多语言
40、，并且尽可能运用它。正常的孩子能听、能看，学起语言来很容易。但对海伦来说，学习语言是个渐进的过程，有时会很痛苦。然而，因为海伦对学习极高的热情，学习成果令人吃惊。As Helens knowledge and vocabulary expanded, she asked more and more questions. This soon led her to discover more complex words and changed her thinking process. Trying to learn the word “love” was an experience that s
41、he remembered well. This is how she described it in her book:随着海伦知识和词汇量的不断扩大，她提出的问题也越来越多。这使她学会了更复杂的单词，从而改变了思维的过程。她很清楚地记得，学习“love”这个单词的难忘经历。在书中她这样描述道：“I remember the morning that I first asked the meaning of the word love. This was before I knew many words. I had found a few early violets in the gard
42、en and brought them to my teacher . Miss Sullivan put her arm gently round me and wrote on my hand, I love Helen. What is love? I asked. She drew me closer to her and said, It is here, pointing to my heart . Her words puzzled me very much because I did not then understand anything unless I touched i
43、t.”“我记得有一天早上，我第一次问love这个词的含义。那时我的词汇量还很有限。我在花园里发现了早开的紫罗兰，摘下一些带给老师莎莉文老师温柔地搂着我，在我的手上写着：我爱海伦。什么是爱？我问道。她把我拉到身边，指着我的心脏说，爱在这里。她的话令我非常困惑，因为以往我只有触碰到实际物体，才能理解它的意思。”Although the meaning of love was still not apparent to Helen, she kept on trying to understand it. “I smelt the violets in her hand and asked, hal
44、f in words, half in signs, a question which meant, Is love the sweetness of flowers? No, said my teacher.尽管对海伦来说，爱的意义还不明确，但她一直试着理解。“我闻了闻她手里的紫罗兰，半拼写半比划地问了个问题，意思大概是爱是花朵的香味吗？不，我的老师回答道。”When Helen and Anne were outside one day, Helen felt the warmth of the suns rays. She pointed up and asked if that was
45、 love. When her teacher said that it wasnt, she was confused and disappointed. “I thought it strange that my teacher could not show me love.”一天和老师在室外，海伦感受到了阳光的温暖。她指了指太阳，问老师那是不是爱，老师说不是，海伦感到更困惑了，而且有些失望。“我觉得很奇怪，因为我的老师不能给我表示什么是爱。”The word “think” was also a difficult one for Helen because it is such an
46、abstract concept. However, one day as she was working on a simple task, she had a breakthrough. She was making necklaces with the help of Anne when she noticed that she had made some mistakes. Because she was uncertain how to fix them, she stopped to think carefully. As she did this, Anne touched He
47、lens forehead and wrote the word “think” on her hand. “In a flash I knew that the word was the name of the process that was going on in my head.”“think”这个词对海伦来说也很难理解，因为它很抽象。然而有一天，在做一项简单的任务时，她取得了突破。她正在安妮的帮助下做项链，这时她发现自己犯了一些错。海伦不确定该如何解决，便停下来认真思考。在她思考的时候，安妮点了点海伦的额头，在她的手上写“think”这个词。“瞬间我就明白了，我头脑中进行的活动就是这
48、个词的意思。”It was the first time Helen had understood such a complex worda word for something she couldnt touch. At that moment, her mind returned to the word “love”. As she thought about its meaning again, the sun came out. She pointed to the sun and asked her teacher again if that was love. Anne answered Helen by explaining that love was like the sun and clouds in a way.那是海伦第一次明白复杂词语的意思，她触摸不到的抽象词语。这时，海伦又想起了“love”。她再次思考“love”是什么意思，恰巧这时太阳出来了。海伦指着太阳又问老师那是不是爱。安妮解释道，爱在某种程度上就像太阳和云彩。“You cannot touch the c
