互換字母樂趣大

⊙ By Marsha Henderson

互換字母樂趣大

⊙ By Marsha Henderson

Exchanging Letters

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Exchanging letters: a type of joke in which the first letters of similar sounding words in the answer are exchanged.

A Good Old British Joke一個絕妙的古老英國笑話

As you know, the British love wordplay, and there are many jokes beginning with the question, “What’s the difference?” between two completely different things. The answers sound almost the same, but we exchange the first letters.

What’s the difference between a tired teacher and an angry dog?

One of them marks badly, while the other barks madly.

When Someone Famously Makes Mistakes…如果有人犯了錯而成了著名事件……

A spoonerism[首音互換], in which the speaker exchanges the first letters of two words, is very similar. Sometimes, they’re funny mistakes and sometimes made on purpose. You might say that everything an untruthful person says is just a lack of pies—a pack of lies.

Spoonerisms got their name from William Archibald Spooner (1844–1930), of Oxford University, who made these mistakes a lot. One of his most famous is “Three cheers for our queer old dean!” He was talking about Queen Victoria, not a respected member of the university staff!

A Famous British Character一個有名的英國角色

Another type of wordplay is called a malapropism[可笑的用詞錯誤]. A malapropism is a funny mistake made when the speaker uses one word instead of another which sounds similar, e.g. “He’s a wolf in cheap clothing!’(He’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing.) It’s named after a character called Mrs. Malapropfrom Richard Sheridan’s play, The Rivals (1775), but her name comes from the French mal à propos, which means “badly put.”

When Someone Famous Makes Mistakes…如果一個名人犯了錯……

A fairly recent type of letter changing mistake is the bushism[布什話語]—named after the former American president, George W. Bush. It’s like a modern malapropism, so you can mix up any words, syllables or letters in a funny way. Bush famously said that when somebody wrote his government’s history, it would be done in an authoritarian[專制的]way. He meant it would be done in an authoritative[權威的]way.

When Ordinary People Make Mistakes如果普通人犯了錯

People laugh at Bush, but he’s not unusual in making these kinds of mistakes. We all do it, all the time, and if you laugh when you do it, listeners will think it’s a clever joke, not a mistake.

Activity 1

Choose the best answer according to the text.

1. The answers to “What’s the difference?”

jokes sound…

a. unlike each other.

b. quite similar to each other.

c. very similar to each other.

2. Spoonerisms are…

a. sometimes mistakes.

b. always mistakes.

c. often written in joke books.

3. Spoonerisms were named after…

a. the mental activity of “spooning” letters from word to word.

b. a man who wrote a lot of these jokes.

c. a man who made a lot of these mistakes.

4. Malapropisms can change…

a. syllables and first letters.

b. syllables and words.

c. first letters only.

5. Bushisms are…

a. similar to “What’s the difference?” jokes, spoonerisms, and malapropisms.

b. similar to spoonerisms and malapropisms.

c. a completely new type of mistake.

Activity 2

Change the adjectives[形容詞]into adverbs and adverbial phrases to answer the questions.

Examples:

How does the teacher mark? (bad)—badly

How did the president mix up his words? (funny)—in a funny way

How’s he going to cut that paper? (straight)—straight

1. How are you feeling now? (very good)

2. How does her family usually eat? (healthy)

3. How did the shop assistant smile at me? (very silly)

4. How did the president give his speech? (fast)

5. How often do you read the newspaper?

(daily)

Answers Activity 1

1. c; 2. a; 3. c; 4. b; 5. b Activity 2

1. very well; 2. healthily; 3. in a very silly way; 4. fast; 5. daily