学词汇有奇招(1)(5)
2017-08-12 03:11
导读：Here,humoriscreatedbytheambiguity,whichisproducedbyhomophoneorhomograph.There’reseveralexampleshelpingustolearnvocabularyhappily. (1)FormulaforWater 老师:水的 化学 分子式是什么? 比尔:H
Here,humoriscreatedbytheambiguity,whichisproducedbyhomophoneorhomograph.There’reseveralexampleshelpingustolearnvocabularyhappily.
(1)FormulaforWater
老师:水的
化学分子式是什么?
比尔:HIJKLMNO.
老师:你在说什么?
比尔:你昨天不是说“HtoO”吗?[13]
Inthisconversation,theambiguityliesinthepronunciationof“to”.Itsoundsthesameastheword“two”.Herewhattheteachersaysmustbe“HTwoO”accordingtotheformula—H2O.Butthestudentmistakes“two”for“to”.Fromthehumorousconversation,middleschoolstudentswilleasilymemorizethetwowords.
(2)“Ihadaroundofgolfwithmywifethismorning.”
“Whichwon?”
Thehusbanddidn’tanswer.
“Whichwon?”askedthefriendasecondtime.
“Whichone?”thunderedthehusband:“HowmanywivesdoyouthinkIhave?DoyoutakemeforaTurk?”[14]
Thehumorinthisconversationiscreatedonthebasisofambiguitybetween“won”and“one”.“Won”and“one”soundscompletelythesame,soitbringsaboutthehusband’smisunderstanding.ItisnowonderthatheasksaquestioninreplythatifhisfriendtakeshimforaTurkwhoadvocatespolygamy.
Suchsimilarhumormayhappenwhensomebodyistelephoning.Pleasereadthenextconversation.
(3)“WhatIsYourName?
A:Whoiscalling?
B:Watt.
A:Whatisyourname,please?
B:Watt’smyname.
A:That’swhatItoldyou.What’syourname?
B:That’swhatItoldyou.Watt’smyname.
…”[15]
Afterreadingthisconversation,wecan’thelpburstingintolaughter.Theman,calledWatt,isoutofluck.Hehastoldhisname—Watt,butinvain.Theotherpersonstillmistakes“Watt’smyname”for“What’smyname”justbecauseofthesimilarpronunciation.Atlast,bothhavetoringoffthetelephoneangrily.Here,welearnthetwowords“What”and“Watt”withoutanydifficulty.
3.1.2Humorcausedbythepolysemicwords
ThiskindofambiguitycausedbypolysemicwordorpunisthemostcommoninEnglishconversation.Especially,theuseofpunissointerestingthatwecan’thelplaughing.
Belowisaconversationbetweenateacherandastudent.
（转载自http://zw.ＮＳＥaＣ.com科教作文网）
(4)“A：Doyouknowwhathappenstoliarswhentheydie?
（你知道说谎的人死的时候会怎样吗）
B：Yes,sir.Theyliestill.
（我知道。他们依然撒谎。）”[16]
Inthisconversation,“lie”and“still”aretwodifferenthomographs.Soinordertomasterwhatthehumorlies,wehavetoreadbetweenthelines.“Lie”hastwomeanings,thatis,“躺”and“撒谎”.Similarly,“still”—anotherpun,means“静静地”and“仍然”.Therefore,superficially,“liestill”means“静静地躺着”;actually，itreferstotheliars’commonfeature—tellingtheuntruthallthetime,thatis,“仍然撒谎”.Justasthesayinggoes,theleopardcanneverchangeitsspots.Here,studentswillhaveagoodcommandofthosetwopunseasily.
Verbalhumorsometimesalsotakesplacebetweentheprofessorandstudents.
(5)“Beer
TheProfessorrappedhisdeskandshouted:‘Gentlemen,Order!’
Theentireclassyelled:‘Beer!’”[17]
Here,“order”isapolysemicword.Itnotonlyrefersto“keepsilent”,butalsorefersto“requestsomeonetobring(food,drink,etc.)inahotel,restaurant,etc.”whatonearthdoesitmean?Itdependsonthecontext.Whenlecturing,theprofessorshouted,“order”inordertoaskthestudentstokeepquiet,butthestudentspurposelymisinterpretedtheprofessor’swordsandyelled“Beer!”Thentheprofessorfounditbothfunnyandannoying.
