Wendi: Yeah ,what about Dave Chappelle ? What‘s his deal ? He‘s kind of ---- Ken :Dave Chappelle ? Wendi :He‘s still working ?
Ken : Yeah ,Maybe . He was really popular a couple of years ago when he was doing the Chappelle Show ,a couple of his stand-ups came out ,but…. Wendi: Is that finished ? Ken :He…which ?
Wendi :The Chappelle Show .
Ken: It‘s taking a break or something . What I heard was that he went crazy and he like checked himself into an insane asylum .
Wendi :For serious .For real.
Ken :Like all the pressure from work was getting to him and stuff .Like he just wanted break . Wendi: That‘s so amazing .
Ken :Or he ran off to Africa or something .
Wendi: You know what , that is just so incredible because ,it‘s like you know ,that whole grass is greener concept .It‘s like , you think if you‘re a comedian and you‘re making people laugh all day and you‘re on stage and you‘re
laughing too that you‘re probably having fun but at the end of the day ,I guess work‘s work .
Ken :Yeah, work‘s work and he was doing ,like he mentioned in Stand-UP he was working maybe 16 ,18,20 hours a day . Wendi :Really !
Ken: Yeah ,so even like hard to study … Wendi: What was he doing for 20 hours a day ?
Ken: Uh ,like just doing his show .Like I guess it takes a lot of preparation and … Wendi: That‘s crazy .
Ken: Even with all the help in the world ,I guess he‘s still ,you know ,you have to make it quality ,so it takes time and effort . Wendi: Yeah .
Ken: So ,even if it is comedy , it might not be fun twenty hours a day .
Wendi: I guess that‘s like the funny thing, you just think of someone‘s a comedian, it just all comes naturally .It‘s like it all just comes spur of the moment ,but I guess the real thing is that a lot of work goes into it.
Ken: Yeah, I think so. Like to be creative on a consistent basis is probably isn‘t the easiest thing in the world .
Wendi: Yeah .I think so . It sure is for me anyways. Wendi: Are you a Seinfeild fan ? Ken :Seinfeild …
Wendi: Not really .I‘m reading your body language . Ken :No, I did watch a few episodes ,here and there ,when it was on TV and I was bored ,but… Wendi: You‘re not a big fan ?
Ken :Like I started watching it after the show ended like you know when everybody was watching the season finale ,like I had never really regularly watched the show and I didn‘t even catch the season finale ,but so ,my friends were like ,‖Did you watch it ?Did you watch it ?‖and I‘m like ,‖No.‖ Wendi: I think it‘s brilliant .I think it‘s incredibly brilliant . Wendi: I think it‘s brilliant .I think it‘s incredibly brilliant . Wendi: I think it‘s brilliant .I think it‘s incredibly brilliant. Ken :Yeah ,it‘s a good show. Wendi: yeah . Part Ⅱ Passages
Passage Ⅰ Evolution of Humor
Humor is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement .Many theories exist about what humor is and what social function
it serves . People of most ages and cultures respond to humor .The majority of people are able to be amused ,to laugh or smile at something funny ,and thus they are considered to have a ―sense of humor ―
As with any form of art , the same goes for humor ,acceptance depends on social demographics and varies from person to person .Throughout history comedy has been used as a form of entertainment all over the world ,whether in the courts of the Western kings or the villages of the Far East .Both a social etiquette and a certain intelligence can be displayed through forms of wit and sarcasm .18th-century German author Georg Lichtenberg said that ―the more you know humor ,the more you become demanding in fineness ‖.
Alastair Clarke explains :‘‘The theory is an evolutionary and cognitive explanation of how and why any individual finds anything funny. Effectively it explains that humor occurs when the brain recognizes a pattern that suprises it ,and that recognition of this sort is rewarded with the experience of the humorous response , an element of which is broadcast as laughter.‖The theory further identifies the importance of pattern recognition in human evolution :‖An
ability to recognize patterns instantly and unconsciously has proved a fundamental weapon in the cognitive arsenal of human beings. The humorous reward has encouraged the development of such faculties ,leading to the unique perceptual and intellectual abilities of our species .‖
Passage3 British Sitcom
A British sitcom is a situation comedy produced in the United Kingdom . Like sitcoms in most other countries, they tend to be based around a family ,workplace or other institution where a group of contrasting characters are brought together each episode . A common factor is the exploration of social mores ,often with a mix of satire or pathos ,in contrast to the sometimes uplifting sentiments of many classic American sitcoms. British comedies are typically produced in series of six episodes each . More recently , the portmanteau term ‖Britcom‖ has been used by American commentators to distinguish the British idiom of
situation
comedy
from its
other
(particularly
American )counterparts .Apart from the comparatively short series length of British sitcoms, there are few characteristics that can be identified to be singular to British