节目资讯
刊物:空中英語教室
日期:2012-02-13
难易度:Medium
关键字:catch, misuse, pun, gasp


























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(Music).
Hello, everybody.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to study English with us.
My name is Steve.
And my name is Kaylah.
Now because I'm a native English speaker, I can't say for sure, but from what
I'm told, English is not an easy language to learn.
Right. There are lots of grammar rules and exceptions to those rules.
There are difficult pronunciations and thousands of vocabulary words to be
memorized.
Yes. So I guess what I'm saying is if English isn't your favorite subject in
school, we don't blame you.
Now having said that, when you are studying English, it really would help to
have a good sense of humor.
That's right.
English may not always be fun to learn, but it is a funny language.
And by "funny," we mean strange.
OK, let's learn about Funny English on page 28.
(Music).
Funny English.
When learning English, you need a good sense of humor.
English is a funny language.
Learning it is not always fun.
But like any language, it's often good for a laugh.
If you're going to catch the humor, though, you need to understand why something
is funny.
Maybe it's a word that has two different meanings.
Or perhaps it's a misuse of the grammar that adds to the humor.
If you don't get the joke, you won't share in the laughter.
And nobody likes to feel left out.
(Music).
Hello, everyone.
Thank you for joining us.
My name is Ryan.
Well, today we're talking about Funny English, Ryan.
I'm excited because a lot of times when we study English, we just think it's
about memorization and vocabulary.
But there are some funny parts to English.
Especially if you mess English up, it can be very funny.
So when you're learning English, you should have a good sense of humor.
Now Ryan, what's a sense of humor?
OK. Well, a sense is when you have the ability to notice something.
And so if you have a sense of humor, it means that you can notice things that
are funny.
That's right. When we say you have a good sense of humor, that means you can
laugh at things.
You're not just quiet all the time, you do get the jokes and enjoy them as well.
And you should because learning English is definitely a funny experience.
Yes, it is. And you should be able to laugh at yourself, we hope.
Now English is a funny language.
That's right.
You know, learning it is not always fun.
And that's OK; learning a language is always difficult, but there are a lot of
funny parts to it.
Yes, it's often good for a laugh, just like most languages.
If you're going to catch the humor, though, you need to understand why it's
funny.
OK. When we're talking about "catching" something, usually we think about maybe
a ball.
"You catch a ball." That means it is thrown to you and you receive it with your
hands.
But Ryan, you can't receive with your hands a joke.
Not really, no, but you can still "catch" it.
And that is referring to noticing something that is funny or realizing that it
is funny.
Then you understand that it is funny as well.
Now you need to catch these jokes.
But to do that, you need to have a good basic understanding of English.
OK. So here are some ways that English can be very funny.
Maybe it's a word that has two different meanings.
Or perhaps it's a misuse of the grammar that adds to the humor.
Now when we say something is "misued," that means it is not used correctly.
Yeah. It's not used in the way it was intended to be used.
Now you can misuse grammar and that can add to the humor and make things funny.
But right now we're going to visit Liz with Grammar on the Go.
Hi, friends. How are you doing today?
My name is Liz, and it's time for Grammar on the Go.
Our article today is about Funny English.
We read, "... perhaps it's a misuse of the grammar that adds to the humor."
That's our Grammar Tip sentence for today.
Notice the phrase, adds to.
Normally when we use the word "add," we are putting something together with
something else, like:
Add two to five and you will get seven.
Now in today's sentence, "adds to" means increases in.
So this misuse of grammar increases the humor.
In other words, things are even funnier because of this misuse of grammar.
So when you want to talk about how something increases a certain quality, try
using "add" or "adds to." For example,
let's say Henry was supposed to attend a birthday party.
Unfortunately, he arrived late.
His present was also very ugly.
And that just made it more embarrassing for him.
So we can say:
Henry was very late to the birthday party, and his ugly present just added to
his embarrassment.
Or let's suppose Jimmy is preparing a romantic dinner for his wife.
Not only did he cook a fine meal, but he also filled the entire room with roses
to make the atmosphere even more romantic. So we can say:
The roses that Jimmy placed all over the room for his wife just added to the
romantic atmosphere.
If you'd like to see some more example sentences, they're available in today's
Grammar Tip section in your magazine.
That's it for today.
This is Liz with Grammar on the Go, signing off.
Bye-bye.
Thank you, Liz.
Now friends, if you're going to misuse grammar to make a joke, to make something
funny, first you need to understand good grammar.
So make sure you practice and use Liz's Grammar Tips.
They're wonderful tips that we should all be using.
OK. Now when you are learning a language, sometimes people will say something
and laugh, and you won't understand.
You won't be able to share in the laughter from the joke.
That's right.
And that's always a little bit awkward.
Now I know that happens to me sometimes.
Even in English, there are jokes that I don't understand even though I'm a
native speaker.
And sometimes you feel maybe a little left out.
And nobody likes to feel left out of a joke.
Yeah, you definitely don't want to feel "left out." And that means that you are
not included with other people.
And so if other people have heard a joke and they're all sharing a laughter they
think it's really funny, you can feel a little bit not included, a little left
out.
That's right.
Now Ryan, have you ever tried to learn a language?
Yes, I have. I'm currently trying to learn Chinese.
OK. Well, when you are studying Chinese, do you understand all of the humor?
Of course not, no!
Actually there are many times when I say something in Chinese, and people laugh
at me.
I didn't realize what it was I said.
Now when you are out with friends... I know I too am trying to learn Chinese,
sometimes I'm out with people and a joke is made, and I don't get it.
And you do feel a little bit left out.
It's very easy to feel left out.
Actually Kaylah, I have an example.
When I first came to Asia, I've wanted to go to a restaurant and order some
food.
And I asked them if they had any (Chinese), which in Chinese means sleep.
And so everyone started laughing at me, and I felt very left out.
That's right.
It's very uncomfortable when you make a mistake.
But as you can see, Ryan is laughing at himself.
He sees the mistake and the humor in it.
And that's exactly what you need to do with your English.
You need to understand that you're not going to get it perfect the first try.
And that's OK.
Exactly. You need to have a good sense of humor, be able to laugh at yourself.
Laugh at things that you see happening around you.
And that will help you to understand the joke and not feel left out.
That's right. Humor is a wonderful thing.
We all need it in our lives.
And learning English is a great way to learn a whole new set of jokes and of
humors.
OK. Now let's go to the Chat Room.
And then we're going to take a break.
What's so funny, Ken?
Oh. I'm just reading this comic strip in today's paper.
It's so fun.
It's so fun?
Ah, you mean it's so funny.
Oh yeah, it's so funny.
I always get those two words mixed up.
Well, the comic made you laugh, so it's funny.
But we describe something entertaining or enjoyable as "fun," right?
That's right.
It was fun watching the basketball game last night.
I had a good time.
So I was having a good time while I was reading the comic.
That was fun.
Yes, it was.
And you're right to say it was fun if you're describing the experience of
reading the comic.
But the comic itself was funny.
It made you laugh.
Oh, I see.
So should I say someone is a funny guy or a fun guy?
Well, that depends.
If you say John is a fun guy, then you have a good time when you're with John.
But if you say John is a funny guy, then John makes you laugh a lot.
What about something "tasting funny"?
The other day I heard someone in the Jungle Cafe talk about a new bread that
tasted funny.
Now that's a different definition of funny, which refers to something strange or
different than usual.
The other day I caught a guy who tried to steal a book because he acted funny.
So he acted strange, and that caught your attention.
Yep. Now you understand.
Thanks for the explanation.
You bet.
And say, Ken, when you're done with the paper, can I take a look at that funny
comic?
I need a good laugh today.
Sure thing.