“笑話”這玩意兒……

英語的笑話和我們中文笑話一樣，種類繁多，無奇不有；當然是掌握詞匯越多，了解當地文化越深就越能領略英語笑話的幽默之處。剛入門的話，我們可以從簡單的文字游戲開始，如本文中介紹的幾個笑話都是在玩雙關語的，大家可以借此感受并積累一下這方面的語感。不看中文譯本里的“譯者注”，你能聽懂幾個呢？測試一下自己吧。

Jokes come in all shapes and sizes.

According to the dictionary， a joke is “something that makes you laugh.” This is a very short definition for something that can make you laugh， cry， feel angry， or sad， scream or shout. They can be about anything in the universe， from jobs to relationships， from 1)nationalities to animals. They can also make you think very hard or laugh immediately.

From the 2)one-liner， e.g. The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits (Einstein)， to jokes about computers: I use my cat’s name as my computer password. Unfortunately I have to change the password every month so now my cat’s called cccx9igpol9.

A very common type of joke in English is a 3)pun or a play on words. This can be based around different meanings for the same spelling (4)homographic):

He’s the senior teacher. He’s over 70! (How many different meanings of senior are there?)

It can also be based around different meanings for the same sound (5)homophonic):

Why didn’t the perfume arrive? Because it wasn’t scent.

A pun can also be used in a 6)shaggy dog story. This is a very long joke that usually finishes with a 7)punchline (the 8)climax of a joke) that uses a play on words. Some people argue that a shaggy dog story is just a long joke:

A giant panda escaped from the zoo in London. Eventually， he became hungry and walked into a restaurant， where he found a seat at an empty table. The waiter took the panda’s order. In due course the panda’s meal arrives and he eats.

After he finishes his dinner he stands up， calmly pulls out a gun from where he had it hidden， and fires into the air. Then he turns around and walks towards the door.

Naturally， the waiter is horrified. He stops the panda and demands an explanation， at the very least.

The panda says to him: “What do I look like to you?”

The waiter answers: “Well， a giant panda， of course.” “That’s right，” says the panda. “Look it up.” And he walks out.

The waiter calls the police. When they arrive the waiter relates the whole story to them， including the panda’s comment about looking it up. So the 9)sergeant sends a young officer out to get an 10)encyclopaedia.

He eventually returns with the Encyclopaedia Britannica， 11)Volume P. The 12)detective looks up “panda，” and there’s the answer: “Giant panda， lives in China， eats shoots and leaves.”

How to tell a good joke?

There are a few things to remember when you tell a joke.

First， remember who you’re telling the joke to. Choose a subject that your audience can appreciate. Be careful not to 13)offend people 14)by mistake.

Never announce a joke—“I know a very funny joke”—or tell anyone you know a story that will make them laugh. It will never be as funny as you want it to be.

The timing of a joke is also very important. Don’t rush towards the punchline; the joke should build up a little tension…and a little more…and then pause…and then a strong punchline.

Try this one (how many different meanings of change can you think of?):

Change is 15)inevitable. . .except from a drinks’ machine.

Finally， 16)topical jokes (jokes about events now) are funnier than jokes about events in the past.

In the end， it’s up to you what you find funny. And even if you can’t tell jokes very well， you can still enjoy them.

笑話是有不同的形式和長短的。

依照字典里的解釋，玩笑是“讓你開懷大笑的事物”。對于這種能讓你哭，讓你笑，讓你生氣，或悲傷，又或尖叫或大喊大叫的東西，這就是它的非常簡短的定義。笑話可以是關于大千世界中的任何東西，從工作到感情關系，從民族到動物，話題無所不包。它還可以發人深思，又或者是引人立馬爆笑。

比方說，有單句的俏皮話——“天才與白癡的差別在于，天才有所不能”（愛因斯坦語），也有關于電腦的笑料：我用我愛貓的名字來做我電腦的密碼；但不幸的是，我每個月都要更換密碼，所以，現在我的貓就叫做“cccx9igpo19”。

英語中常見的一類笑話是關于雙關語或者說文字游戲的。這可以是基于拼寫相同但詞義不同的詞或字（同形異義字），例：

他是位年長的/資深的/高年級的老師。他已經年過七十啦！（“senior”有多少種不同的詞義呢？）

玩笑還可以圍繞同音但不同義的詞或字（同音詞）展開。好比：

香水咋還沒到呢？因為它不香（sent，同音詞，指送出；因為它還沒有送出——譯者注）咯！

雙關語還可能被運用到較長的幽默故事當中。……