大学英语4 U2课文翻译
大学英语阅读教程4,U2参考翻译
100英里每小时，只能侧翻到沟里当我还是个孩子的时候，我就想方设法能快速把自己弹射到千里之外，越快越好。
当你将钥匙插入车中，开始提速；当你听到汽车发出的像正在靠近的暴风雨的轰隆声和感受到震动的方向盘全都是来源于你的控制，你会感觉到你可以逃离一切，就像你可以把你的整个人生变成后视镜上一块无足轻重的斑点一样。
在1976年，我将要去杰克逊维尔高中读书的夏天，我拥有了弹射之母。
这是一辆1969年通用汽车生产的敞篷车，“她”拥有350型8缸发动机和像我手臂一样长的荷利牌四腔化油器。
下坡的时候“她”耗油量为6英里每加仑，而且当你启动“她”的时候那声音就像世界末日来临一般。
她车身很长、矮而生猛，有一个很劲的橘色的犬牙花纹回旋加速器和一个八单位穿孔的磁带放音配置，而且当你坐着“她”驶过松树林时视野是极快的。
而我只拥有一盘磁带，那就是飞鹰乐队精选集。
我两个暑期非常努力地在最低时薪下工作，为的就是能赚够钱买“她”，但还是向我叔叔爱德华借钱，叔叔只用了1200美元就买下它，主要是因为他支付了数百美元的账单。
“孩子，你开车的时候要小心点”叔叔说，“否则它随时会置你于死地。
”我向他保证，好的，我会很慢地开，像老人行动一样慢。
我告诉我自己，我喜欢那辆车，因为“她”是那么漂亮，速度是那么快；还因为我喜欢和金发飘飘的"她"在一排排松树间轰隆隆地飞驰而过，而这个女孩还不知道她比我更擅长在风中奔驰呢。
事实是，我喜欢“她”，因为“她”是我的均衡器。
“她”教会我成长，至少在我眼里，“她”让我更进一步地看到自己想要成为怎样的人。
在高中，我既不是那种十分受欢迎的人也不是那种努力迎合别人的人。
我和受欢迎的孩子一起被邀请去聚会，我和漂亮的女孩约会。
但是那常常与我想要成为的人有一段距离。
那辆车，让我在某种程度上接近我想要成为的人。
在哈迪斯快餐连锁店，人们围过来参观“她”。
我只让一个人驾驶过“她”，那就是学校里最漂亮的姑娘，帕特里斯·卡莉，但她也仅仅只是驾驶了一公里。
21世纪大学英语第四册第二单元课文翻译
A我们需要的感激A ?J ?克罗宁一个晴朗的下午，我在纽约上了一辆出租车。
从司机的表情和他猛拉排挡的样子中，我可以看出他很不高兴。
我问他是怎么回事。
“我完全有理由生气，”他怒气冲冲地说。
“今天上午我的一个乘客把钱包忘在我车里了。
里面有近300块钱。
我花了一个多小时想方设法找那个家伙。
最后我在他的宾馆里找到了他。
他拿了钱包，一声不吭地瞪着眼看着我，好像我本来打算要偷他的钱包似的。
”“他没有给你酬金？”我大声问。
“一个子儿也没有。
但我要的不是钱……”他咕哝着，然后突然大声说，“只要那个家伙说句什么……”因为他诚实的助人行为没有得到感激，那位出租车司机一整天都闷闷不乐，而且我知道以后他在做类似的好事之前会仔细考虑一下了。
这种对感激的需要是我们都能感受到的，而拒绝表示感谢则会大大扼杀善良与合作的精神。
第二次世界大战期间，辛辛那提的一位母亲收到他参军的儿子一封来信，信中提到诺曼底一个村庄中的一位妇女在他受伤饥饿时将他带到家中，帮他躲过了德国人的搜捕。
不幸的是，后来那男孩在阿登高地的进攻战中阵亡了。
然而，这位母亲却受到一种不可抗拒的愿望的驱使。
她积蓄了两年，穿过大西洋，找到了她儿子提到的那个村庄。
经过多次打听之后，她找到了那位曾经保护过她儿子的妇女——一位贫穷农夫的妻子——将一个包裹硬塞进她手里。
那是她儿子在毕业典礼上获得的一块金表，是那个男孩曾经拥有过的唯一真正有价值的东西。
这位母亲表示感激的举动深深触动了人们的心灵，在那个村庄内外成为传奇般的故事。
它比出色的演讲更能让人培养起对美国人的好感。
感激是对每一个无论大小的善行优雅地接受并表示欣赏的艺术。
我们大多数人受到款待，接受礼物和明显的好处时都不会忘记表示我们的愉悦之情，但即使在这种情况下我们也还能够完善我们表示感激的方式，让它尽可能的个人化和真诚。
最近，我和妻子在意大利南部旅游时，我给康涅狄格州的一位朋友寄去了几瓶令我们喜欢的当地佳酿。
那是件小小的礼物，然而令我们惊讶的是，我们收到的不是一封传统的感谢信而是一张电唱机唱片。
(完整版)应用型大学英语第四册unit2参考译文
Text: A white heron 白鹭1 The forest was full of shadows as a little girl hurried through it one summer evening in June. It was already eight o’clock and Sylvia wondered if her grandmother would be angry with her for being so late.2 Every evening Sylvia left her grandmother’s house at five thirty to bring their cow home. It was Sylvia’s job to bring the animal home to be milked. When the cow heard Sylvia’s voice calling her, she would hide among the bushes.1 六月的一个黄昏，森林里树影婆娑，一个小女孩正在其中匆匆穿行。
已经是晚上八点了，西尔维娅想，这么晚回家，外婆会不会生气呢？2 每天傍晚五点半，西尔维娅就离开外婆家去把母牛牵回家。
她的活就是把这头牲口赶回家挤奶。
母牛听到西尔维娅叫她的声音时，老是躲到灌木丛中去。
3 This evening it had taken Sylvia longer than usual to find her cow. The child hurried the cow through the dark forest, toward her grandmother’s home. As the cow stopped at a small stream to drink, Sylvia put her bare feet in the cold, fresh water of the stream.4 She had never before been alone in the forest as late as this. Sylvia felt as if she were a part of the gray shadows and the silver leaves that moved in the evening breeze.3 这天晚上，西尔维娅花了比平时更长的时间才找到母牛。
新世纪大学英语综合教程4unit2课文逐段翻译
Unit 2Text A技术与幸福Technology and Happiness詹姆斯·萨洛维奇PrefaceIn the present era, all of us are enthusiastically pursuing technological advancement and take it for granted that the development of technology will make us happier. However, little evidence can be found to prove the correlation between technology and happiness once material and technological advances reach a certain level. The text below may provide you with some insights into this issue.20世纪的美国人、欧洲人和东亚人都享受到了过去历代人都无法想象的物质和技术进步带来的乐趣。
譬如，在美国，从1950年到2000年国民生产总值翻了3倍。
人们的寿命大幅度提高。
二战后生产力的迅速发展使商品变得价廉物美。
诸如乘飞机旅游和打长途电话等曾经是奢侈的事情成了生活不可或缺的一部分。
In the 20th century, Americans, Europeans, and East Asians enjoyed material and technological advances that were unimaginable in previous eras. In the United States, for instance, gross domestic product per capita tripled from 1950 to 2000. Life expectancy soared. The boom in productivity after World War II made goods better and cheaper at the same time . Things that were once luxuries, such as jet travel and long-distance phone calls, became necessities. And even though Americans seemed to work extraordinarily hard, their pursuit of entertainment turned media and leisure into multibillion-dollar industries.那么，根据大多数标准衡量，你会说，现在的美国人比上个世纪中叶富裕多了。
应用型大学英语第四册unit2 参考译文
Text: A white heron 白鹭1 The forest was full of shadows as a little girl hurried through it one summer evening in June. It was already eight o’clock and Sylvia wondered if her grandmother would be angry with her for being so late.2 Every evening Sylvia left her grandmother’s house at five thirty to bring their cow home. It was Sylvia’s job to bring the animal home to be milked. When the cow heard Sylvia’s voice calling her, she would hide among the bushes.1 六月的一个黄昏，森林里树影婆娑，一个小女孩正在其中匆匆穿行。
已经是晚上八点了，西尔维娅想，这么晚回家，外婆会不会生气呢？2 每天傍晚五点半，西尔维娅就离开外婆家去把母牛牵回家。
她的活就是把这头牲口赶回家挤奶。
母牛听到西尔维娅叫她的声音时，老是躲到灌木丛中去。
3 This evening it had taken Sylvia longer than usual to find her cow. The child hurried the cow through the dark forest, toward her grandmother’s home. As the cow stopped at a small stream to drink, Sylvia put her bare feet in the cold, fresh water of the stream.4 She had never before been alone in the forest as late as this. Sylvia felt as if she were a part of the gray shadows and the silver leaves that moved in the evening breeze.3 这天晚上，西尔维娅花了比平时更长的时间才找到母牛。
大学英语4 U2课文翻译
我当体育编辑，最早是为蒙彼利埃（俄亥俄州）的《企业导报》工作，当时我很少收到体育迷的来信。
因此，一天早晨放在我桌上的一封来信把我吸引住了。
打开来信，我看到了下面的话：“关于老虎队的评述很不错，再接再厉。
”签名是体育编辑堂·沃尔夫。
当时我只有十几岁（为每一栏写一英寸文字，稿酬总计达15美分），因此他的话是鼓舞人心了。
我把这封信一直放在书桌的抽屉里，后来它的边角都卷起来了。
每当我怀疑自己不适当作家的料时，重温一下堂的便笺，就又会树起信心来。
后来，我逐渐对堂有所了解，知道给各行各业的人写快捷而鼓舞人心的便笺是他养成的习惯。
他告诉我说：“当我使别人充满信心时，自己也感觉好极了。
”因此毫不奇怪，他的朋友圈子就像附近的伊利湖那么大。
去年他去世了，享年75岁。
电话与掉函像潮水般涌向报社，都来自于曾经的到过他鼓励（文字）的人们。
多年来，我努力效仿堂以及我的其他朋友，他们关心别人，常写一些鼓舞人心的话语，因为我觉得，他们这样做是很有意义的。
在这样一个惯于冷漠、无动于衷的世界上，这种便笺给人们带来了温暖和安慰。
我们都时不时地需要鼓励，大家知道几行赞扬的话会改变一个人的一天，甚至一生。
那么，那些激励人心的便笺的作者为什么寥若晨星呢？我猜很多人回避写，是因为他们太看重人们的看法。
他们担心会被误解，怕别人觉得他们自作多情或者言不由衷。
还有，写也要花时间，远不如打电话方便。
当然打电话的缺点是：“说过的话留不住。
”而一张便笺使我们的良好意愿显得更加珍惜。
便笺是白纸黑字记录在案的东西，而且我们写下的字可以反复阅读，细细品味并珍藏起来。
21世纪大学英语读写教程(四)unit2课文原文及翻译
We Need GratitudeA.J.CroninOn a fine afternoon in New York, I got into a taxi. From the driver's expression and the way he slammed in his gears, I could tell that he was upset. I asked him what was the trouble. "I've got good reason to be sore," he growled. "One of my fares left a wallet in my cab this morning. Nearly three hundred bucks in it. I spent more than an hour trying to trace the guy. Finally I found him at his hotel. He took the wallet without a word and glared at me as though I'd meant to steal it.""Not a cent. But it wasn't the dough I wanted..." he fumbled, then exploded, "If the guy had only said something..."Because his helpful, honest act had not been appreciated, that cabdriver's day was poisoned, and I knew he would think twice before rendering a similar service. The need for gratitude is something we all feel, and denial of it can do much to harm the spirit of kindness and cooperation.During World War II a mother in Cincinnati received a letter from her son in the army in which he spoke of a woman in a village in Normandy who had taken him into her home when he was wounded and hungry, and hidden him from the Germans. Later on, unhappily, the boy was killed in the Ardennes offensive. Yet the mother was moved by an irresistible intention. She saved up for two years, crossed the Atlantic and located the village referred to by her son. After many inquiries, she found the woman who had sheltered her son—the wife of an impoverished farmer—and pressed a package into her hand. It was the gold wristwatch her son had received on his graduation, the only object of real value the boy had ever possessed. The mother's act of gratitude so touched people's hearts that it has become something of a legend in and around the village. It has done more than fine speeches to foster good feeling toward Americans.Gratitude is the art of receiving gracefully, of showing appreciation for every kindness, great and small. Most of us do not fail to show our pleasure when we receive hospitality, gifts and obvious benefits, but even here we can perfect our manner of showing gratitude by making it as personal and sincere as possible. Recently, when touring in southern Italy with my wife, I sent to a friend in Connecticut several bottles of a local wine which had taken our fancy. It was a trifling gift, yet to our surprise, instead of the conventional letter of thanks, we receive a phonograph record. When we played it, we heard our friend's voice speaking after dinner, describing how he and his guests had enjoyed the wine and thanking us for our thoughtfulness. It was pleasant to have this unusual proof that our gift had been appreciated.Gratitude is sometimes more than a personal affair. My son, studyingmedicine at McGill University, told me of a patient brought into hospital in Montreal whose life was saved by a blood transfusion. When he was well again he asked: "Isn't there any way I can discover the name of the donor and thank him?" He was told that names of donors are never revealed. A few weeks after his discharge he came back to give a pint of his own blood. Since then he has returned again and again for the same purpose. When a surgeon commented on this splendid record of anonymous service, he answered simply: "Someone I never knew did it for me. I'm just saying 'thanks'".It is a comforting thought that gratitude can be not merely a passing sentiment but a renewal which can, in some instances, persist for a lifetime. A husband who recalls appreciatively some generous or unselfish act on his wife's part, or a wife who never forgets the gifts her husband has given her, does much to keep the domestic wheels spinning smoothly. W.H. Hudson, British author and naturalist, has written: "One evening I brought home a friend to share our usual evening meal. Afterward he said to me:‘you are fortunate to have a wife who, despite ill health and children to look after, cooks such excellent meals.' That tribute opened my eyes and taught me to show gratitude for my wife's day-to-day heroism, which I had hitherto taken for granted."It is, above all, in the little things that the grace of gratitude should be most employed. The boy who delivers our paper, the milkman, the mailman, the barber, the waitress at a restaurant, the elevator operator —all oblige us in one way or another. By showing our gratitude we make routine relationships human and render monotonous tasks more agreeable.A patient of mine in London who worked as a bus conductor once confided to me, "I get fed up with my job sometimes. People grumble, bother you, haven't got the right change for their tickets. But there's one lady on my bus morning and evening, and she always thanks me in a particularly friendly way when I take her ticket. I like to think she's speaking for all the passengers. It helps me to keep smiling."Arnold Bennett had a publisher who boasted about the extraordinary efficiency of his secretary. One day Bennett said to her, "Your employer claims that you are extremely efficient. What is your secret?" "It's not my secret," the secretary replied. "It's his." Each time she performed a service, no matter how small, he never failed to acknowledge it. Because of that she took infinite pains with her work.Some persons refrain from expressing their gratitude because they feel it will not be welcome. A patient of mine, a few weeks after his discharge from the hospital, came back to thank his nurse. "I didn't come back sooner," he explained, "because I imagined you must be bored to death with people thanking you.""On the contrary," she replied, "I am delighted you came. Few realize how much we need encouragement and how much we are helped by those whogive it."Gratitude is something of which none of us can give too much. For on the smiles, the thanks we give, our little gestures of appreciation, our neighbors build up their philosophy of life.一个晴朗的下午，我在纽约上了一辆出租车。
21世纪大学英语读写教程(四)unit2课文原文及翻译
We Need GratitudeA.J.CroninOn a fine afternoon in New York, I got into a taxi. From the driver's expression and the way he slammed in his gears, I could tell that he was upset. I asked him what was the trouble. "I've got good reason to be sore," he growled. "One of my fares left a wallet in my cab this morning. Nearly three hundred bucks in it. I spent more than an hour trying to trace the guy. Finally I found him at his hotel. He took the wallet without a word and glared at me as though I'd meant to steal it.""Not a cent. But it wasn't the dough I wanted..." he fumbled, then exploded, "If the guy had only said something..."Because his helpful, honest act had not been appreciated, that cabdriver's day was poisoned, and I knew he would think twice before rendering a similar service. The need for gratitude is something we all feel, and denial of it can do much to harm the spirit of kindness and cooperation.During World War II a mother in Cincinnati received a letter from her son in the army in which he spoke of a woman in a village in Normandy who had taken him into her home when he was wounded and hungry, and hidden him from the Germans. Later on, unhappily, the boy was killed in the Ardennes offensive. Yet the mother was moved by an irresistible intention. She saved up for two years, crossed the Atlantic and located the village referred to by her son. After many inquiries, she found the woman who had sheltered her son—the wife of an impoverished farmer—and pressed a package into her hand. It was the gold wristwatch her son had received on his graduation, the only object of real value the boy had ever possessed. The mother's act of gratitude so touched people's hearts that it has become something of a legend in and around the village. It has done more than fine speeches to foster good feeling toward Americans.Gratitude is the art of receiving gracefully, of showing appreciation for every kindness, great and small. Most of us do not fail to show our pleasure when we receive hospitality, gifts and obvious benefits, but even here we can perfect our manner of showing gratitude by making it as personal and sincere as possible. Recently, when touring in southern Italy with my wife, I sent to a friend in Connecticut several bottles of a local wine which had taken our fancy. It was a trifling gift, yet to our surprise, instead of the conventional letter of thanks, we receive a phonograph record. When we played it, we heard our friend's voice speaking after dinner, describing how he and his guests had enjoyed the wine and thanking us for our thoughtfulness. It was pleasant to have this unusual proof that our gift had been appreciated.Gratitude is sometimes more than a personal affair. My son, studyingmedicine at McGill University, told me of a patient brought into hospital in Montreal whose life was saved by a blood transfusion. When he was well again he asked: "Isn't there any way I can discover the name of the donor and thank him?" He was told that names of donors are never revealed. A few weeks after his discharge he came back to give a pint of his own blood. Since then he has returned again and again for the same purpose. When a surgeon commented on this splendid record of anonymous service, he answered simply: "Someone I never knew did it for me. I'm just saying 'thanks'".It is a comforting thought that gratitude can be not merely a passing sentiment but a renewal which can, in some instances, persist for a lifetime. A husband who recalls appreciatively some generous or unselfish act on his wife's part, or a wife who never forgets the gifts her husband has given her, does much to keep the domestic wheels spinning smoothly. W.H. Hudson, British author and naturalist, has written: "One evening I brought home a friend to share our usual evening meal. Afterward he said to me:‘you are fortunate to have a wife who, despite ill health and children to look after, cooks such excellent meals.' That tribute opened my eyes and taught me to show gratitude for my wife's day-to-day heroism, which I had hitherto taken for granted."It is, above all, in the little things that the grace of gratitude should be most employed. The boy who delivers our paper, the milkman, the mailman, the barber, the waitress at a restaurant, the elevator operator —all oblige us in one way or another. By showing our gratitude we make routine relationships human and render monotonous tasks more agreeable.A patient of mine in London who worked as a bus conductor once confided to me, "I get fed up with my job sometimes. People grumble, bother you, haven't got the right change for their tickets. But there's one lady on my bus morning and evening, and she always thanks me in a particularly friendly way when I take her ticket. I like to think she's speaking for all the passengers. It helps me to keep smiling."Arnold Bennett had a publisher who boasted about the extraordinary efficiency of his secretary. One day Bennett said to her, "Your employer claims that you are extremely efficient. What is your secret?" "It's not my secret," the secretary replied. "It's his." Each time she performed a service, no matter how small, he never failed to acknowledge it. Because of that she took infinite pains with her work.Some persons refrain from expressing their gratitude because they feel it will not be welcome. A patient of mine, a few weeks after his discharge from the hospital, came back to thank his nurse. "I didn't come back sooner," he explained, "because I imagined you must be bored to death with people thanking you.""On the contrary," she replied, "I am delighted you came. Few realize how much we need encouragement and how much we are helped by those whogive it."Gratitude is something of which none of us can give too much. For on the smiles, the thanks we give, our little gestures of appreciation, our neighbors build up their philosophy of life.一个晴朗的下午，我在纽约上了一辆出租车。
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听了一个有趣的故事会发笑。
很开心，古今中外都一样。
这一现象同语言本身一样悠久。
那么，到底是什么东西会使一个故事或笑话让人感到滑稽可笑呢？
我是第一次辨识出幽默便喜欢上的人，因为我因此我曾试图跟学生议论和探讨幽默。
这些学生文化差异很大，有来自拉丁美洲的，也有来自中国的。
我还认真思考过一些滑稽有趣的故事。
这么做完全处于自己的喜好。
为什么听完我讲完一个笑话后，班上有些同学会笑的前仰后合，而其他学生看上去就像刚听我读了天气预报一样呢？显然，有些人对幽默比别人更敏感。
而且，我们也发现有的人很善于讲笑话，而有的人小说一点有趣的事却要费好大的劲。
我们都听人说过这样的话：“我喜欢笑话，但我讲的不好，也总是记不住。
”有些人比别人更有音乐、数学之类的才能一样。
一个真正风趣的人在任何场合都有笑话可讲，而且讲了一个笑话，就会从他记忆里引出一连串的笑话。
一个缺乏幽默的人不可能成为一群人中最受欢迎的。
一个真正有幽默的人不仅受人喜爱，而且在任何聚会上也往往是人们注意的焦点，这么说是有道理的。
甚至有些动物也有幽默感。
我岳母从前经常来我们家，并能住上很长的一段时间。
通常她不喜欢狗，但却很喜欢布利茨恩——我们杨过的一条不拉多母犬，而且，她们的这种好感是相互的。
布利茨恩在很小的时候就常常戏弄外祖母，当外祖母坐在起居室里她最喜欢的那张舒适的椅子上时，布利茨恩就故意把她卧室里的一只拖鞋叼到起居室，并在外祖母刚好够不到的地方蹦来跳去，一直逗得外祖母忍不住站起来去拿那只拖鞋。
外祖母从椅子上一起老，布利茨恩就迅速跳上那椅子，从它那闪亮的棕色眼睛里掠过一丝拉布拉多试的微笑，无疑是在说：“啊哈，你又上了我的当。
”
典型的笑话或幽默故事有明显的三部分构成。
第一部分是铺垫（即背景），接下来是主干部分（即故事情节），随后是妙语（即一个出人意料或令人惊讶的结尾）。
如果这个妙语含有一定的幽默成分，这个笑话便会更有趣。
通常笑话都包含这三部分，而且每部分都必须交代清楚。
如果讲故事或说话的人使听众都熟悉的手势和语言，则有助于增强效果。
我们可以对幽默这种娱乐形式进行分析，从而发现是什么使一个有趣的故事活笑话令人发笑。
举例来说，最常见的幽默有一下几种，包括了从最显而易见的幽默到比较微妙含蓄的幽默。
“滑稽剧”是最明显的幽默。
它语言简单、直截了当，常常以取笑他人为乐。
说笑打闹这种形式过去是，现在仍然是滑稽说小演员和小丑的惯用技巧。
它为不同年龄、不同文化背景的人所喜爱。
几乎本世纪的每个讲英语的滑稽说笑演员都曾以这样或那样的方式说过下面的这则笑话。
一位男士问另一位男士：“昨晚我看到的那位和你在一起的夫人是谁？”那位男士回答到：“那可不是什么夫人，那是我的老婆。
”也就是说她不是一个高雅的女人。
这个笑话并没有因为经常讲而变的不再那么好笑。
由于这是一个经典笑话，观众都知道要说什么，而且因为大家对这个笑话很熟悉而更加珍爱它。
中国相声是一个特殊的滑稽剧，相声中两名中国喜剧演员幽默地谈论诸如官僚主义者，家庭问题或其他一些有关个人的话题。
相声随处都能听到，无论是在乡村的小舞台上，还是在北京最大的剧院里，亦或在广播、电视上。
它显然是中国人家喻户晓的一种传统的幽默形式。
“文字游戏”不像滑稽剧那样浅显，它是因为语言的误用或误解而引人发笑。
我特别喜欢的一个例子是三位年长的绅士在英国乘火车旅行的故事。
当火车慢慢停下来时，第一位绅士问道：“这是Wembley(温布利)吗？”“不，”第二位绅士说：“是Thursday（星期四）。
”“我也是，”第三位说道，“让我们下车去喝杯啤酒吧。
”我们知道上了年纪的人往往耳背，因此会把Wembley（温布利）听成了Wednesday（星期三），把Thursday（星期四）听成了thirsty （渴了），这样一来就为第三位老人的妙语做好了铺垫。
著名的中国漫画家和幽默家丁聪便是一位文字游戏大师。
在他的一幅幽默漫画中，一位老师说：“你为什么一字不改地抄别人的作业？”那位年轻的学生回答道：“我没有一字不改地抄。
我把作业上的名字改成自己的了。
”在丁聪的另一幅经典的漫画里，一位生气的父亲问道：“告诉我，1加2等于几？”儿子说：“我不知道。
”这位不耐烦的父亲接着说道：“比方说，你、你妈妈和我，我们加起来一共是几个，傻瓜？”儿子得意地回答道：“是三个傻瓜。
”这些故事无论是漫画还是笑话，是由演滑稽剧的喜剧演员说还是由搭档的相声演员讲，都为各地人们所喜爱。
2因为他们贴近现实生活，而且里面那些出人意料的妙语十分有趣。
双关语是一种更微妙的文字游戏。
它使用的技巧是利用发音的相似的词或同一个词的不同意思。
有些批评家认为双关语是最低级的幽默，但我不同意这种观点。
双关语与其他形式的幽默相比需要更细微、更巧妙的语言技巧；然而，简单的双关语甚至很小的孩子也能利用。
例如，谜语或脑筋急转弯常使用双关语做铺垫、制造故事情节，而且更多地是用在妙语部分。
双关语是我们最早懂得的幽默，记得大约在五岁时我听到了下面这个谜语。
一个人问：“什么东西整个儿是黑的、白的和红的？”另外一个人通常猜不出来，于是我问道：“我不猜了，是什么呀？”出谜语的人回到：“是报纸。
”如果你知道在英语中red（红色）和read（读）的读音是一样但意思完全不同，答案就很明显了。
DOUBLE ENTENDRES（法语中的“一语双关”）是双关语的特殊形式，其中的词或短语有双重意思。
两个意思往往很不同，一个比较恰当，另一个往往比较粗俗——但并不总是这样。
我喜欢那个关于一位中学教师和校长因看见学生在学校操场上接吻而感到担心的故事。
故事并不过火。
那位教师说：“我和校长已经决定停止在学校操场上接吻。
”听到笑声，她意识到她没有把意思表达清楚，于是补充说：“我的意思是不能在我们的鼻子底下发生接吻这样的事了。
当然，这个解释并没有纠正她的第一句话，反而使得这个笑话的双重含义变得更加好笑。
一些专业的幽默家认为如今的幽默大多缺乏智慧，不够技巧。
他们不喜欢在幽默中过多使用有色情意味或粗俗的语言，而且觉得大多数幽默家缺乏创造性，的确，现在有些幽默令人震惊，但我认为这不是幽默的过错。
幽默本身是活泼健康的，它还会继续生存下去，只因为每天都有有趣的事情发生。
一些有幽默的人会看到、听到这些有趣的事情，并把它们编成妙趣横生、令人开心的笑话和故事。