Listen and consider : Developing understanding of the concept of humour

🔊 The teacher reads for you

Some jokes make the whole class laugh; others fall flat as soon as they cross a border. On the radio, an American humourist explains what our sense of humour depends on, what comedy teaches us — and which kind of humour he is not proud of. What is humour, and is every laugh good for us?

🎓في نهاية هذا الدرس ستكون قادرا على:

فهم مقابلة إذاعية مع فكاهيّ أمريكيّ عن الفكاهة، واستخراج أفكارها الرئيسية بترتيب ورودها
التمييز بين ما قيل في المسموع وما لم يُقل فيه ⁦(true · false · not mentioned)⁩
شرح فضائل الكوميديا كما يراها المتحدّث: الدروس الأخلاقية، والصحّة، والحياة في المجتمع، ثمّ حدود الفكاهة
إبداء الموافقة على رأي أو معارضته مع التعليل، بالإنجليزية شفهيّا

🔑يفترض هذا الدرس أنّك تتقن:

عبارات إبداء الرأي والموافقة والمعارضة ⁦(I think · I agree · I disagree)⁩
أفعال النصح والإلزام ⁦should · ought to · must · have to⁩
كلمات أساسية: ⁦joke · comedy · funny · laugh⁩

Before you listen

قبل الاستماع: أجب عن الأسئلة، ثمّ اضغط زرّ الاستماع أعلى الصفحة. لا تفتح النصّ إلّا بعد أن تجيب.

1. Name a comedian you find funny. Is it because of their comic gestures or their verbal jokes? 2. What is comedy? Do you think that comedy teaches us lessons? If yes, how does it do that? 3. In what ways are performances by foreign comedians similar to or different from those by Algerian comedians? 4. Are there any situations you don't like laughing at? Why? ⭐ On this page the recording is read aloud by the listening button, at the top. Listen once without opening anything — exactly as you would in class.

The recording

نصّ المسموع. ⛔ لا تفتحه قبل أن تستمع وتجيب.

A radio interview — John Doe, an American humourist, answers a journalist's questions about humour Journalist: John Doe, it is often said that the fun in joking largely depends on where we have been brought up. What do you have to say about this as a humourist? John Doe: That's right. The sense of humour is mysteriously linked with national characteristics. An American, for instance, might find it hard to laugh at a Russian joke. Similarly, a Russian might fail to see anything amusing in a joke which would make an Englishman laugh to tears. Journalist: Am I correct then in saying that people around the world can't share a funny joke? John Doe: Absolutely not. Most funny stories are based on typical comic situations. So in spite of national differences some funny situations provoke the same reaction. For example, no matter where you live, you would find it difficult not to laugh at, say, Charlie Chaplin's films. Journalist: Let's talk about the virtues of comedy. Woody Allen once said that it was hard to be taken seriously as a humourist, that humourists (I quote) 'should be seated at the children's table' (end of quote). John Doe: I don't think the 'children's table' is all that right. That kind of talk ignores the moral standard, I mean the moral laws behind comedy. Comedy does not just give us a gratuitous laugh. If you look at it closely, comedy teaches us moral laws: I mean what we must and mustn't do in society. Perhaps just because we don't want to be taught lessons, we say that humourists are there for children only and not for adults. Journalist: Are there any other virtues that can be drawn from comedy? John Doe: Yes; some health specialists say that we should have a laugh from time to time. They consider laughter as the best medicine for getting rid of stress. As far as I am concerned, I regard it as one of the necessities of life in society. So I say, just as people have to get their cup of tea in the morning or in the afternoon, so they have to get a hearty laugh once a day at least. Journalist: Another question, if you don't mind. John Doe: Yes, please go ahead. Journalist: Would you say the same positive things about comedies based on tragic situations like violent death and serious accidents? John Doe: That type of humour is called 'sick humour'. Indeed, we ought to be more careful about the type of humour we enjoy. Just as we don't have to eat unhealthy food, so we don't have to join in a laugh if we know that it can make us sick. Journalist: Your last word, John Doe. John Doe: Well, let me tell the public that I'm not proud of self-centred humourists. I mean those humourists who feed us with 'sick humour'. If 'healthy' humour helps us brighten and lengthen our lives, 'sick humour' darkens and shortens them. Adapted from the Reader's Digest, 2002

First listening — the order of the ideas

الاستماع الأوّل: رتّب الأفكار الخمس بحسب ورودها في المقابلة.

Task 1 — Statements A-E are not in the order in which they occur in the interview. Listen and re-order them.

A. Humour is recommended because of its good effects on our health and social behaviour. B. Comedy teaches us moral laws. C. Humour is closely linked with national characteristics. D. It is advisable to avoid 'sick humour'. E. It's up to us to avoid watching comedies which contain 'sick humour'.

Task 1 — the order, with the words that give it

ترتيب الأفكار كما وردت في المقابلة، مع الكلمات التي تدلّ عليها.

C — « The sense of humour is mysteriously linked with national characteristics. »
B — « comedy teaches us moral laws: I mean what we must and mustn't do in society ».
A — « They consider laughter as the best medicine for getting rid of stress… one of the necessities of life in society ».
D — « we ought to be more careful about the type of humour we enjoy ».
E — « we don't have to join in a laugh if we know that it can make us sick ».

D and E follow each other in the same answer, and the modals tell them apart: ought to gives advice — it is advisable; don't have to says there is no obligation — it is up to us.

Second listening — true, false or not mentioned?

الاستماع الثاني: قرّر لكلّ جملة هل هي صحيحة ⁦(T)⁩ أو خاطئة ⁦(F)⁩ أو غير مذكورة ⁦(NM)⁩ في المقابلة.

Task 2 — True (T), false (F) or not mentioned (NM)? The first one is done for you.

A. John Doe is an American humourist. — T B. According to John Doe, an American might find it hard to laugh at a Russian joke. C. John Doe agrees with Woody Allen that humourists should be seated at the children's table. D. Some health specialists consider laughter as the best medicine for getting rid of stress. E. John Doe has acted in comedies about serious accidents. F. According to John Doe, 'sick humour' brightens and lengthens our lives.

Task 2 — the answers, with the words that prove them

الإجابات، مع الكلمات التي تثبتها من المسموع.

B — T. « An American, for instance, might find it hard to laugh at a Russian joke. »
C — F. « I don't think the 'children's table' is all that right »: for him, comedy teaches us moral laws.
D — T. « They consider laughter as the best medicine for getting rid of stress. »
E — NM. John Doe speaks about comedies based on tragic situations, never about comedies he has acted in.
F — F. It is the opposite: « If 'healthy' humour helps us brighten and lengthen our lives, 'sick humour' darkens and shortens them. »

Not mentioned is the trap of this task: a sentence can sound true and still not be in the recording. Before you tick T, find the words that say it.

Speaking — agree or disagree?

التعبير الشفهيّ: هل توافق على الآراء الواردة في الجمل ⁦A-E⁩ أم تعارضها؟ علّل رأيك.

Task 3 — Discuss the opinions expressed in statements A-E. Say whether you agree or disagree with them, and why.

I agree with statement …… because …… I don't agree with statement …… because …… As for statement ……, I think ……

Task 3 — a model answer

جواب نموذجيّ: رأي شخصيّ مع تعليل لكلّ جملة.

I agree with statement C. A joke often plays on the customs or the language of a country, so it does not always make foreigners laugh — and yet everybody laughs at Charlie Chaplin's films. I also agree with B. When a comedy makes us laugh at a liar or a greedy character, it shows us what we mustn't do in society. As for A, I think laughter is good for us: after a hard day, a good laugh helps me forget my stress. I partly disagree with E. Choosing what we watch is up to us, but a joke about a serious accident can hurt people who have lived one — humourists have to think about them too.

The concept of humour

مفهوم الفكاهة: ما يقوله الفكاهيّ في المقابلة عن مصدرها وفضائلها وحدودها.

For John Doe, the sense of humour is mysteriously linked with national characteristics: an American might find it hard to laugh at a Russian joke. Yet most funny stories are based on typical comic situations, so some of them provoke the same reaction everywhere — no matter where you live, it is difficult not to laugh at Charlie Chaplin's films. Comedy is not just a gratuitous laugh: it teaches us moral laws, what we must and mustn't do in society. It is also good for us: some health specialists consider laughter as the best medicine for getting rid of stress, and John Doe regards it as one of the necessities of life in society — a hearty laugh once a day at least. But not all humour is healthy. Comedies based on tragic situations, like violent death and serious accidents, are sick humour. We ought to be careful about the humour we enjoy: healthy humour helps us brighten and lengthen our lives; sick humour darkens and shortens them.

Why does John Doe compare a laugh to a cup of tea — and sick humour to unhealthy food?

لماذا يشبّه المتحدّث الضحك بفنجان الشاي، والفكاهة المريضة بالطعام غير الصحّيّ؟

Because for him a laugh is a daily need: just as people have to get their cup of tea in the morning or in the afternoon, they have to get a hearty laugh once a day at least. And sick humour works like unhealthy food: just as we don't have to eat unhealthy food, we don't have to join in a laugh if we know that it can make us sick. Both comparisons say the same thing — humour feeds us, so we must choose it as carefully as our food.

Do this alone, out loud. In four sentences, explain the concept of humour as John Doe sees it: what it depends on, what comedy teaches, why laughter is good for us, and which humour to avoid. Record yourself on your phone, listen back once, and check one thing: did you give a reason for each idea?

تحدّث وحدك بصوت مرتفع في أربع جمل عن مفهوم الفكاهة كما يراه المتحدّث، ثمّ سجّل صوتك واستمع إليه مرّة واحدة.

The written exam plays no recording: what this lesson brings to it is the vocabulary to read and write about humour — a sense of humour, a joke, a comic situation, comedy, a humourist, laughter, sick humour — and ideas for a paragraph on the virtues of laughter. Have ready the three virtues of comedy given by John Doe: it teaches moral laws; it is good for our health, the best medicine for getting rid of stress; it is a necessity of life in society. The frequent mistake: « a laughter » — laughter is uncountable; say « laughter » or « a laugh ».

What I keep — For John Doe, the sense of humour is linked with national characteristics, yet typical comic situations — Charlie Chaplin's films — make everybody laugh. Comedy is not just a gratuitous laugh: it teaches us moral laws, what we must and mustn't do in society. Laughter is good for our health — the best medicine for getting rid of stress — and a necessity of life in society. But sick humour, which laughs at violent death and serious accidents, is to be avoided: healthy humour brightens and lengthens our lives, sick humour darkens and shortens them.

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