1、Using language (I) Word play or wordplay is a literary technique and a form of wit in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Word play is quite common in oral cultures as a method of reinforcing meaning. Word play
2、 tongue twister (绕口令绕口令) jokes pun (双关语双关语) riddles 谜语谜语 Tongue twister: an expression that is difficult to articulate clearly 1.Can you can a can as a canner can can a can? 2.Six sick hicks nick six slick bricks with picks and sticks. 3. I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice- cream! 4. There
3、was a fisherman named Fisher who fished for some fish in a fissure. Till a fish with a grin, pulled the fisherman in. Now theyre fishing the fissure for Fisher 5. How many cans can a canner can if a canner can can cans? A canner can can as many cans as a canner can if a canner can can cans. 6. I tho
4、ught a thought. But the thought I thought wasnt the thought I thought I thought. 7. She sells seashells by the seashore. The shells she sells are surely seashells. So if she sells shells on the seashore, Im sure she sells seashore shells. Pun is an amusing use of a word or phrase that has two meanin
5、gs, or of words with the same sound but different meanings. Policeman: You cant park here. Driver: Why not? Policeman: Read the sign. Driver: I did. It says “Fine for parking!” So I parked. “And how many hours a day did you do lessons?” said Alice, in a hurry to change the subject. “Ten hours the fi
6、rst day,” said the Mock Turtle, “nine the next, and so on.” “What a curious plan!” exclaimed Alice. “Thats the reason theyre called lessons,” the Gryphon remarked, “because they lessen from day to day.” 1. No sooner spoken than broken. What is it? 2. The man who invented it doesnt want it. The man w
7、ho bought it doesnt need it. The man who needs it doesnt know it. What is it? Riddle: a difficult and often amusing question to which one must guess the answer (Silence) (A coffin) a funny poem - limerick There was an old man with a beard Who said it is just as I feared. Four insects and then, Two b
8、irds and a hen Have all made their homes in my beard. Do you think theyre funny? Is there an equivalent in Chinese humour? Make up similar ones. Listen to three jokes. Which one do you think is the funniest? Can you make a similar one? Listen to a short story, underline the dialogue and answer the q
9、uestions. 1. How did Watson answer Holmes question? 2. What happened actually? 2. What happened actually? Someone has stolen their tent. 1. How did Watson answer Holmes question? -I think of how short life is and how long the universe lasted. -I think of how small I am and how vast the sky is. -I th
10、ink of how cold the universe is and how warm people can be in their beds. After reading the funny story, what kinds of persons do you think they are? Sherlock Holmes: Doctor Watson: CarelessnessCarelessness may cause many funny stories in our daily life. Can you give an example? careful careless Mar
11、y was so disgusted at her husbands cigarette smoking that she complained to him one day. “I hope that all the cigarette factories will catch fire someday.” “Dont worry, dear. All the cigarettes will be on fire sooner or later,” he said with a smile. An English Joke Make a dialogue between Sherlock H
12、olmes and Doctor Watson. Suggested dialogue Narrator: Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson went camping in a mountainous area. They were lying in the open air under the stars. Sherlock Holmes looks up at the stars. Sherlock Holmes (whispering): Watson, when you look at that beautiful sky, what do you t
13、hink of? Watson: I think how short life is and how long the universe has lasted. Sherlock Holmes: No, no, Watson. What do you really think of? Watson: I think of how small I am and how vast the sky is. Sherlock Holmes: Try again. Watson: I think of how cold the universe is and how warm people can be
14、 in their beds. Sherlock Holmes: Watson, you fool! You should be thinking that someone has stolen our tent! April Fools Day is a day to play jokes on others. No one knows how this holiday began but people think it first started in France. What do people usually do on April Fools Day? Did you play an
15、y funny tricks on your friends last time? Tell your story. Read the text and answer the questions. 1.Who made the April Fools joke, the noodle harvest? 2. Why did many people believe the report? The Panorama TV programme, BBC. Because the Panorama TV programme is serious, the programme itself was pr
16、esented in a very serious way and there were many details given in the story to make it believable. More ideas put forward on TV or in newspapers during April Fools Day. 1. Pigeons follow roads and road signs when they want to find their way home. 2. The earliest football has been found in a grave d
17、ated back to 1,000 years ago. 3. Earliest human paintings on cave walls are all modern fakes. 4. Advanced computers can “talk” to each other without the aid of humans. What is a logical order? Logical order First Then Next Finally / At last Write down your story in a logic order. For each part of yo
18、ur story try to find the most interesting words you can to describe how you felt or what was happening. Then write out your story using these interesting words. Read through your story. Then show it to your partner. Let him / her suggest some new and exciting words. Write out the story and put it into a class collection of stories. Write a story according to the picture.
