Humour

1 Translate the key words.

Key words: burst out laughing, cackle, chuckle, fall about laughing, giggle, pull someone’s leg, tell a joke, be sarcastic, to be prone to something, to buck up someone up, to do something good, to feel bad about something, to give someone a hard time, heart sinks, to talk sense, to take someone’s mind off things, to walk out on someone, self-pity, silent misery, terrible irony

2 Write in which situations you might hear these words (burst out laughing, cackle, chuckle, fall about laughing, giggle)

e.g. Someone might burst out laughing when they have heard a funny joke.

3 Answer the questions below (each answer - not less than 40 words):

  1. Have you ever giggled when everybody else was serious? When?
  2. Do any of your friends make you laugh a lot?
  3. Has anyone ever pulled your leg? What happened? How did you feel?
  4. Do you know anyone who is often sarcastic?

Reading.

Read the text and translate the underlined words.

Eleven

All my life I’ve hated Sundays, but this Sunday is a corker. There are loads of things I could do; I’ve got tapes to make and videos to watch and phone calls to return. But I don’t want to do any of them. I get back to the flat at one; by two, things have got so bad that I decide to go home—home home, Mum and Dad home. It was waking up in the middle of the night and wondering where I belonged that did it: I don’t belong at home, and I don’t want to belong at home, but at least home is somewhere I know. … My parents are OK, if you like that sort of thing, which I don’t. My dad is a bit dim but something of a know-all, which is a pretty fatal combination; you can tell from his silly, fussy beard that he’s going to be the sort who doesn’t talk much sense and won’t listen to any reason. My mum is just a mum, which is an unforgivable thing to say in any circumstance, except this one. She worries, she gives me a hard time about the shop, she gives me a hard time about my childlessness. I wish I wanted to see them more, but I don’t, and when I’ve got nothing else to feel bad about, I feel bad about that.They’ll be pleased to see me this afternoon, although my heart sinks when I see thatGenevieve is on TV this afternoon. … When I get there, the joke’s on me: they’re not in. I’ve come a million stops on the Metropolitan Line on a Sunday afternoon, I’ve waited eight years for a bus,Genevieve is on the television, and they’re not here. They didn’t even call to let me know they wouldn’t be here, not that I called to let them know I was coming. If I was at all prone to self-pity, which I am, I would feel bad about the terrible irony of finding your parents out when, finally, you need them.

But just as I’m about to head back to the bus stop, my mum opens the window of the house opposite and yells at me.

“Rob! Robert! Come in!”

I’ve never met the people across the road, but it soon becomes obvious that I’m in a minority of one: the house is packed.

“What’s the occasion?”

“Wine tasting.”

“Not Dad’s homemade?”

“No. Proper wine. This afternoon, it’s Australian. We all chip in and a man comes and explains it all.”

“I didn’t know you were interested in wine.”

“Oh, yes. And your dad loves it.”

The room is full of people I don’t recognize. I’ve missed the part where the guy talks and hands outsamples. I wasn’t expecting this. I came for an afternoon of silent misery, not wild partying; the one thing I wanted from the afternoon was incontrovertible proof that my life may be grim and empty, but not as grim and empty as life in Watford. Wrong again. Life in Watford is grim, yes; but grim and full. What right do parents have to go to parties on Sunday afternoons for no reason at all?

“Genevieve is on the telly this afternoon, Mum.”

“I know. We’re taping it.”

“When did you get a VCR?”

“Months ago.”

“You never told me.”

“You never asked.”

“Is that what I’m supposed to do every week? Ask you whether you’ve bought any consumer durables?”

We go home and watch the rest of Genevieve.

My dad comes back maybe an hour later. He’s drunk.

“We’re all going to the pictures,” he says.

This is too much.

“You don’t approve of the pictures, Dad.”

“I don’t approve of the rubbish you go to watch. I approve of nice well-made films. British films.”

“What’s on?” my mum asks him.

“Howard’s End. It’s the follow-up to A Room with a View.”

“Oh, lovely,” my mum says. “Is anyone else going from across the road?”

“Only Yvonne and Brian. But get a move on. It starts in half an hour.”

“I’d better be going back,” I say. I have exchanged hardly a word with either of them all afternoon.

“You’re going nowhere,” my dad says. “You’re coming with us. My treat.”

“It’s not the money, Dad.It’s the time. I’m working tomorrow.”

“Don’t be so feeble, man. You’ll still be in bed by eleven. It’ll do you good. Buck you up. Take your mind off things.” This is the first reference to the fact that I have things off which my mind needs taking.

And, anyway, he’s wrong. Going to the pictures aged thirty-five with your mum and dad and their insane friends does not take your mind off things, I discover. It very much puts your mind on things.

4 Choose and underline the best answera, b, c or d.

1 Rob decides to visit his parents because

a)He enjoys spending Sundays there.

b)He hasn’t got anything else to do.

c)He wants to go back and live with them.

d)Everything is familiar in their home.

2 Which sentence about rob’s parents is not true?

a)Something about his father’s looks suggests what kind of person he is.

b)His mother is rather ordinary.

c)He worries because his parents miss him.

d)His parents like to watch their favourite films on TV.

3 How does Rob feel when he finds out his parents are not at home?

a)furious b) amused c) let down d) very sad

4 Rob’s real intention in coming to his parents’ was to make sure that

a)He was more miserable than them.

b)Their social life was not as wild as his.

c)They were as sociable as before.

d)Their life was even worse than his.

5 Match the words from the text that go together.

1 talk, 2 head, 3 empty, 4 hard, 5 feel

a time, b sense, c back, d life, e bad

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

6 Write your own seven sentences using these collocations.

Get back, hit back, move in, clean out, throw out, express thanks, express an opinion, express horror, rain heavily, sleep heavily, empty space, empty gesture, hard time.

7 Describe the situation you have been in when you expected one thing to happen, but instead, something completely different happened. What happened and how did you feel? (150 words).

8 Use the collocations in the box to complete the sentences (translate them).

turn pale / slept heavily / out of order / express an opinion / rain heavily / out of breath /
a dry climate / express thanks / turn cold / a dry sense of humour / out of control

0We can’t use this telephone because it’s out of order.

1When I asked her what she thought she didn’t __.

2We were very tired after the race so we __.

3She was__ because she’d just run up the stairs.

4The climate will __ as winter starts.

5The farmers hope it will__ tonight because the fields are so dry.

6Algeria has __ for most of the year.

7Did she __ when you told her the bad news?

8I like Samantha. She’s got __ which makes me laugh.

9Go and tell the children to be quiet. They’re __.

10I would like to __ to all those people who have helped with this project.

9Complete the sentences with appropriate words. Use only one word in each gap. The first letter of each word is provided.

0What I said was not really funny, but all the girls started _____giggling_____.

1In the first words of his speech, the President e______his concern about the people made homeless by floods.

2Kate b______out laughing when she saw Tom trying to imitate a monkey.

3It took me a while to calm Jane down but finally she started to talk s______.

4Nobody was answering the bell so I left a message and headed b______to the station.

5The steps were so slippery that I had to c______to the handrail.

6Did I t______you the joke about the frog going on holiday?

7Joe’s life in kindergarten wasn’t easy because some older boys were giving him ah______time.

8When my grandmother was sixty, she felt much too young to be put out to g______. She wanted to carry on working.

9Tom’s voice started to t______as if he wanted to cry.

Grammar: Past Perfect Continuous

Study the rules and do the exercises online. Check yourself.

Mixed Past Tenses

Do the exercises online. Check yourself.

Test 1 – ex.3

Test 2- ex.2, ex. 3

1 Underline the correct alternative in each sentence.

0She looked worn out as if she had travelled/had been travelling all night.

1Tears were streaming down his face because he had cut/had been cutting onions.

2I refused to go out with him when I heard he had asked/had been asking Mary out before me.

3We had finished/had been finishing the third game of chess when they finally came.

4I didn’t have to water the flowers in the garden as it had rained/had been raining all morning.

5After our teacher had explained/had been explaining the problem, he went on to give us the homework assignment.

6Ann passed her exam with flying colours because she had studied/had been studying very hard for two weeks.

2 Write the verbs in brackets in the Past Perfect Simple or Past Perfect Continuous.

0She looked tired because she had been running (run) for two hours.

1I couldn’t open the suitcase because I __ (lose) the key.

2She had a good tan because she __ (sit) in the sun all morning.

3Paula couldn’t use her debit card because she __ (forget) her PIN number.

4We __ (wait) for over an hour before the repair truck arrived.

5When the policeman asked for my ID card, I said I __ (leave) it in my hotel.

6Their boots were dirty because they ___ (play) football all morning.

7I couldn’t stop the car because the brakes __ (fail).

8The garden was all white because it __ (snow) heavily all night.

9She started to cry when I told her her dog __ (die).

10I got to work late because I__ (wake up) late that morning.

3 Write two explanations for each situation, one in the Past perfect, and one in the Past Perfect Continuous.

e.g. Sharon put on five kilos. Sharon had been eating too many sweets. She had dropped her keep-fit classes.

1. Steve was feeling down.

2. Jack’s shirt was torn.

3. Ann failed her final exam.

4. Emily and Tessa were very excited.

4 Put the verbs in brackets into the Past Simple, the Past Continuous, the Past Perfect or the Past Perfect Continuous.

I (0) _____found____ (find) this story while I (1) ______(read) Spotlight the other day: ‘In 1986, a Canadian man (2) ______(rise) from the sofa where he (3) ______(fall) asleep, (4) ______(drive) 14 miles, (5) ______(kill) his mother-in-law and seriously (6) ______(injure) his father-in-law. He was charged with murder but acquitted when a court (7) ______(accept) his lawyer’s argument – and his physician’s evidence – that he (8) ______(sleepwalk).’

(Adapted from Spotlight)

Tenses: Revision

5Write which types of activity the sentences describe.

a)temporary activityb) permanent activity

c)finished activityd) unfinished activity

e)single eventf) repeated or prolonged event

0Mike is always making jokes. f

1He’s painting my bathroom. __

2He was born in Colombia. __

3She never stops talking! __

4Her parents live in Portugal. __

5I’ve had four cups of tea! __

6Then she dropped the bag. __

7Linda was writing a business letter. __

8She sings like a bird. __

9I’ve finished the first part. __

10He’s broken the wine glass! __

6Complete the sentences using used to or would. Give two options when it is possible (used to/would)

0I used to be very enthusiastic. I would/used to arrive at the office at 7 o’clock every morning.

1Every spring they __ organise a flower show the village.

2They ___ live in that little cottage on the hill.

3Every time it rained, we ____ take our chairs into the house.

4My grandmother ____ have black hair.

5This village ____ be in Russia but now it’s in Ukraine.

6How much ____ you pay for a cinema ticket in 1942?

7She ___ be called Linda Green until she married Mr Brown.

8My parents ___ carry me home in their arms.

9He ___ be very good at maths but now he’s hopeless!

10My uncle ___ have lots of hair on his head.

Multi-part verbs

1 Answer the quiz and translate the underlined words.

Can you think of a comedian who

  • goes in for imitating famous people?
  • puts on different voices?
  • gets into trouble and then gets out of it?
  • makes out that he/she is not very bright?
  • dresses up as different people?
  • makes up good original sketches and jokes?
  • has got on because he is so witty?
  • really cracks you up?
  • really turns you off?
  • you used to like but you’ve gone off him/her?

2 Match the multi-part verbs with their definitions and translate them.

a) to invent, b) to claim or pretend, c) to stop paying attention or taking interest, d) to choose, enjoy something, e) to adopt, e.g. a different voice or accent, f) to stop doing something, g) to wear someone else’s clothes, h) to stop liking something, i) to break out into laughter

give up
crack up
turn off
make up
go off
dress up
make out
put on
go in for

3 Correct the mistakes in these multi-part verbs.

0She used to dress in up as a clown.

1Sally loves doing accents. She goes in to __ imitating real people, usually her relatives.

2My older brother always gets onto __ trouble with his teachers.

3My uncle used to make out __ exciting stories about his time as a policeman.

4Danny told a joke about a monkey and the audience cracked about __.

5Kathy is very ambitious and I’m sure she will get off __.

6Johnny is a good actor. He can put off__ many different accents.

7She used to like the Pet Shop Boys but she’s gone away __ them now.

8He used to be very thin but he’s put in __ 5 kilos in the past year.

9He used to be very funny but I am turned in __ by his jokes about foreigners.

10He fell up __ and hurt his head.

4. Discuss these questions (each answer – no less than 40 words). Use multi-part verbs.

  1. In which situations do people use humour in your country?
  2. What do people tell jokes about in your country?
  3. Do people where you live tell jokes about other nationalities or religions? Is it fair?
  4. Why have famous comedians like Charlie Chaplin and Mr. Bean been successful internationally?

5 Write a presentation about your favourite comedy actor or actress. (200 words)

Think of 3-4 reasons why you like him/her.

  • What kind of films did he/she appear in?
  • What people does he/she usually play?
  • Describe his/her appearance.
  • What makes him/her funny?
  • What makes him/her different from other actors?
  • What his/her roles do you like? Why?

Reading.

Read the text and translate the underlined words.

Why don’t we all laugh at the same things?

Experts say that several obvious differences in people affect what they find humorous. The most significant seems to be age.

A

Infants and children are constantly discovering the world around them. (1 _____ ). What’s funny to a toddler consists of short and simple concepts. Along with the ridiculous and the surprising, children – much to their parents’ disappointment – also appreciate jokes where cruelty is present and what we refer to as ‘toilet humour’. Psychologists claim that to children, dealing with bodily functions is simply another way of exploring their fascinating new environment.

B

The pre-teen and teenage years are, almost universally, tense and rebellious. Lots of adolescents and teens laugh at jokes that focus on sex, food, authority figures etc. (2 _____ ). So young people often use humour as a tool to protect themselves or to feel superior.

C

As we mature, both our physical bodies and our attitudes towards life and the world grow and change. Since there is a certain amount of intelligence involved in ‘getting’ a joke, our sense of humour becomes more developed as we learn more. By the time we have matured, we have experienced much of life, including tragedy and success. (3 _____ ). We laugh at other people and ourselves in shared common embarrassments. The adult sense of humour is usually characterised as more subtle, more tolerant and less judgmental about the differences in people. The things we find funny as a result of our age or developmental stage seem to be related to the stressful experiences we go through during this time. Basically, we laugh at the issues that stress us out.

D

Another factor that affects what we find funny is the culture or community from which we come. Have you ever laughed at a joke and realised that if you were from anywhere else in the world, it just wouldn’t be funny? (4 _____ ). There are economic, political and social issues that are easy to laugh about, but only the people living in that culture may understand it. For example, a joke from a small country might not have universal appeal because it would be so little understood. The big, influential, much-observed United States might be the exception to this rule. Thanks to media andmovies, most people around the world know what is going on here. So jokes about a situation in the United States can be enjoyed pretty much across the globe.