father was basically the only one to raise you . What on earth did he do that you became such a special person ?‖Ernie sat quietly and reflected for a few moments . Then he said ,‖From my earliest memories as a child until I left home at 18,Al came into my room every night , gave me a kiss and said ,‘I love you ,son. ?‖
Tears came to my eyes as I realized what a fool I had been to judge Al as a failure. He had not left any material possessions behind .But he had been a kind loving father ,and he left behind one of the finest ,most giving men I have ever known .
Section Ⅱ Listening Comprehension Part Ⅰ Dialogues Dialogue 1
Host : Hi , and welcome to Talk About It. I‘m Carmen Fiallo,
and today‘s topic is humor .Our guest is Dr. James Sanders , a sociologist who studies humor . He‘s just written a new book , American Humor , about jokes in the United States. Good morning ,Dr Sanders.
Sanders: Hi ,nice to be here.
Host: Now, I have to laugh . You study jokes? That‘s not
really a serious area of study ,is it ?
Sanders:
Oh,
but
I
take
my
work
very
seriously .Actually ,humor tells us a lot about society and how we think . Host : Can you give us an example ?
Sanders: Well ,we often make jokes about things we‘re
uncomfortable with ,like jokes about death or marriage problems .They help us deal with our feeling about issues . But mostly, humor is a way for people to socialize . Host : How so ?
Sanders ：People enjoy the feeling of laughter .It feels good
and we like to make other people laugh .It‘s a way for people to connect-a way to bond with each other .
Host: So, let‘s do some human bonding here. Let us
know-what tricks your funny bone ? What makes you laugh ? Give us a call with your favorite joke –Hello, Andrew,you‘re on Talk about It .
Andrew: Hi. I want to tell you my favorite joke . Host: Andrew, How old are you ? Andrew: Ummm ,Nine ?
Host : O.K, great !What‘s the joke ?
Andrew :Why‘d the farmer put bells on his bows ? Host :I give up .
Andrew: Because their horns don‘t work . Host :Great one ,Andrew .Thanks for calling .
Sanders: This is a great example of one of the most common types of jokes :a pun .We love this type of joke because we love to play with words .Puns can be found in any language, and they are one of the earliest types of humor as well .We see puns in the writings of Shakespeare and in ancient writing from Greece and China.
Host :Fascinating. O.K, let‘s go to another call. Hi ,Joan ,you‘re on Talk About lt.
Joan: Hi, Carmen .
Host :Do you have a joke for us ?
Joan :Sure ,but first ,I want you to know that I‘m a lawyer .
Host :So you‘re going to tell us a lawyer joke ? Joan: Right .Because I know ,everyone loves lawyers. Host :O.K.
Joan: O.K.---A man goes to see a famous lawyer. The
man asks, ‖How much do you charge ?‖ The lawyer
answers, ―I charge $200 to answer three questions
.‖
The
man
says
,‖Isn‘t
that
expensive ?‖‖Yes, it is ,‖ replies the lawyer .‖Now, what‘s your third question?‖
Host：Thanks,
Joan
,----lawyer
jokes
.Dr.
Sanders ,what can you tell us about them ?
Sanders : Well , they belong in the category of jokes about a particular group of people or a profession .So you have jokes about lawyers or teachers and so on .Usually the jokes make fun of the group in some way , Host :I see ----
Sanders :Now , you have to be careful when you tell this type of joke because many people find them offensive ,especially if they‘re about an ethnic or religious group .
Host : But I noticed that Joan told us she‘s a lawyer before she told the joke ,Isn‘t it sometimes O.K. to tell a joke about a group you belong to ?
Sanders :Yes , that‘s true .People often make jokes about their own group as a way of showing group solidarity ,or just to make fun of themselves .But the same jokes are offensive when they are told by someone outside the
group .
Host :I see .O.K ,let‘s go to another call .
Dialogue 2
Wendi : Alright ,we‘ve been watching some comedy lately .I wanna know who your favorite comic is ?
Ken : My favorite comic ? It‘s a draw between Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock .
Wendi : Is Chris Rock really like , is he still doing something ?
Ken : No, he really hasn‘t done anything recently , but still like , yeah ,he‘s pretty ,a pretty funny guy . Wendi :He is totally funny . Ken :He‘s hard to stop .
Wendi: When is the last time he was totally working a lot , though ?
Ken :It‘s gotta be maybe five years ago . Wendi: Yeah, it‘s been a while .
Ken :Yeah. Now he‘s like …I don‘t even know what he does anyone .Maybe he‘s an actor now . Wendi: He‘s flipping burgers . Ken :Yeah, he has to feed his family.