Whether we find a joke funny or not
largely depends on where we have been
brought up. The sense of humour is
mysteriously bound up with national
characteristics. A Frenchman, for in-
stance, might find it hard to laugh at a
Russian joke. In the same way, a Russian
might fail to see anything amusing in a
joke which would make an Englishman
laugh to tears.
Most funny stories are based on comic
situations. In spite of national differences,
certain funny situations have a universal
appeal. No matter where you live, you
would find it difficult not to laugh at, say,
Charlie Chaplin's early films. However, a
new type of humour, which stems largely from America,
has recently come into
fashion. It is cal1ed' sick humour '.
Comedians base their jokes on tragic situations
like violent death or serious accidents.
Many people find this sort of joke dis-
tasteful. The following example of 'sick humour'
will enable you to judge for
yourself.
A man who had broken his right leg was taken
to hospital a few weeks before
Christmas. From the moment he arrived there,
he kept on pestering his doctor
to tell him when he would be able to go home.
He dreaded having to spend
Christmas in hospital.
Though the doctor did his best, the patient's recovery
was slow.
On Christmas day, the man still had his right leg in plaster.
He spent
a miserable day in bed thinking of all the fun he was missing.
The following day,
however, the doctor consoled him by telling him that his
chances of being able
to leave hospital in time for New Year celebrations were good.
The man took
heart and, sure enough, on New Year's Eve he was able to hobble
along to a
party. To compensate for his unpleasant experiences in hospital,
the man drank
a little more than was good for him. In the process,
he enjoyed himself thoroughly
and kept telling everybody how much he hated hospitals.
He was stilI mumbling
something about hospitals at the end of the party when
he slipped on a piece of
ice and broke his left leg.
大家感觉一则笑话是不是好笑，非常大程度取决于大家是在什么地方长大的。幽默感与民族有着神秘莫测的联系。譬如，法国人听完一则俄国笑话可能非常难发笑。同样的道理，一则可以令英国人笑出泪来的笑话，俄国人听了可能感觉没什么可笑之处。
大多数让人发笑的故事都是依据喜剧情节撰写的。尽管民族不同，有的滑稽的情节却可以产生常见的成效。譬如说，不管你生活在哪儿，你看查理.卓别林的早期电影非常难不发笑。然而，近来一种新式幽默时尚了起来，这种幽默主要来自美国。它被叫作“病态幽默”。喜剧演员依据悲剧情节诸如暴死，重大事故等来编造笑话。很多人觉得这种笑话是低级庸俗的。下面是个“病态幽默”的实例，你可据此自己作出判断。
圣诞前几周，某人摔断了右腿被送进医院。从他进医院那一刻时，他就缠住大夫，让大夫告诉他什么时间能回家。他十分害怕在医院过圣诞节。尽管大夫竭力医治，但患者恢复缓慢。圣诞那天，他的右腿还上着石膏，他在床上郁郁不乐地躺了一天，想着他错过的种种欢乐。然而，第二天，大夫安慰他说，出院欢度新年的可能性还是非常大的，那人听后振作了精神。果然，除夕时他可以一瘸一拐地去参加晚会了。为了补偿住院这一段不愉快的历程，那人喝得稍很多了一点。在晚会上他尽情娱乐，一再告诉大伙他是多么讨厌医院。晚会结束时，他嘴里还在嘟哝着医院的事，忽然踩到一块冰上滑倒了，摔断了左腿。