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英语的笑话和我们中文笑话一样，种类繁多，无奇不有；当然是掌握词汇越多，了解当地文化越深就越能领略英语笑话的幽默之处。刚入门的话，我们可以从简单的文字游戏开始，如本文中介绍的几个笑话都是在玩双关语的，大家可以借此感受并积累一下这方面的语感。不看中文译本里的“译者注”，你能听懂几个呢？测试一下自己吧。
Jokes come in all shapes and sizes.
According to the dictionary, a joke is “something that makes you laugh.” This is a very short definition for something that can make you laugh, cry, feel angry, or sad, scream or shout. They can be about anything in the universe, from jobs to relationships, from 1)nationalities to animals. They can also make you think very hard or laugh immediately.
From the 2)one-liner, e.g. The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits (Einstein), to jokes about computers: I use my cat’s name as my computer password. Unfortunately I have to change the password every month so now my cat’s called cccx9igpol9.
A very common type of joke in English is a 3)pun or a play on words. This can be based around different meanings for the same spelling (4)homographic):
He’s the senior teacher. He’s over 70! (How many different meanings of senior are there?)
It can also be based around different meanings for the same sound (5)homophonic):
Why didn’t the perfume arrive? Because it wasn’t scent.
A pun can also be used in a 6)shaggy dog story. This is a very long joke that usually finishes with a 7)punchline (the 8)climax of a joke) that uses a play on words. Some people argue that a shaggy dog story is just a long joke:
A giant panda escaped from the zoo in London. Eventually, he became hungry and walked into a restaurant, where he found a seat at an empty table. The waiter took the panda’s order. In due course the panda’s meal arrives and he eats.
After he finishes his dinner he stands up, calmly pulls out a gun from where he had it hidden, and fires into the air. Then he turns around and walks towards the door.
Naturally, the waiter is horrified. He stops the panda and demands an explanation, at the very least.
The panda says to him: “What do I look like to you?”
The waiter answers: “Well, a giant panda, of course.” “That’s right,” says the panda. “Look it up.” And he walks out.
The waiter calls the police. When they arrive the waiter relates the whole story to them, including the panda’s comment about looking it up. So the 9)sergeant sends a young officer out to get an 10)encyclopaedia.
He eventually returns with the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11)Volume P. The 12)detective looks up “panda,” and there’s the answer: “Giant panda, lives in China, eats shoots and leaves.”
How to tell a good joke?
There are a few things to remember when you tell a joke.
First, remember who you’re telling the joke to. Choose a subject that your audience can appreciate. Be careful not to 13)offend people 14)by mistake.
Never announce a joke—“I know a very funny joke”—or tell anyone you know a story that will make them laugh. It will never be as funny as you want it to be.
The timing of a joke is also very important. Don’t rush towards the punchline; the joke should build up a little tension…and a little more…and then pause…and then a strong punchline.
Try this one (how many different meanings of change can you think of?):
Change is 15)inevitable. . .except from a drinks’ machine.
Finally, 16)topical jokes (jokes about events now) are funnier than jokes about events in the past.
In the end, it’s up to you what you find funny. And even if you can’t tell jokes very well, you can still enjoy them.
笑话是有不同的形式和长短的。
依照字典里的解释，玩笑是“让你开怀大笑的事物”。对于这种能让你哭，让你笑，让你生气，或悲伤，又或尖叫或大喊大叫的东西，这就是它的非常简短的定义。笑话可以是关于大千世界中的任何东西，从工作到感情关系，从民族到动物，话题无所不包。它还可以发人深思，又或者是引人立马爆笑。
比方说，有单句的俏皮话——“天才与白痴的差别在于，天才有所不能”（爱因斯坦语），也有关于电脑的笑料：我用我爱猫的名字来做我电脑的密码；但不幸的是，我每个月都要更换密码，所以，现在我的猫就叫做“cccx9igpo19”。
英语中常见的一类笑话是关于双关语或者说文字游戏的。这可以是基于拼写相同但词义不同的词或字（同形异义字），例：
他是位年长的/资深的/高年级的老师。他已经年过七十啦！（“senior”有多少种不同的词义呢？）
玩笑还可以围绕同音但不同义的词或字（同音词）展开。好比：
香水咋还没到呢？因为它不香（sent，同音词，指送出；因为它还没有送出——译者注）咯！
双关语还可能被运用到较长的幽默故事当中。这种故事往往以一语双关的妙句收尾（这就是笑话的高潮部分了）。有人说，冗长的幽默故事不过是长篇的笑话而已。举例说：
一只大熊猫从伦敦的动物园逃了出来。终于，他饿了，于是走进一家餐馆，找了张空桌子坐了下来。服务员为熊猫点了餐。熊猫的食物被依次送了上来，他就着吃将起来。
吃完了以后，他站了起来，很平静地把藏着的枪抽出来，接着对天鸣枪。然后，他回转身，朝门口走去。
很自然地，服务员被吓坏了。他拦住了熊猫，让他至少要解释一下缘由。
熊猫对他说：“你觉得我看起来像什么？”
“嗯，当然是……大熊猫……”服务员回答说。“那就对了，”熊猫说，“去查一下。”说完，他步出了餐馆。
服务员报了警。警方到场以后，服务员把事情的前前后后都向他们交待了一遍，连熊猫最后那“查一下”的言论也说了。因此，警长派出一位年轻的警官去找百科全书。
最后，这位警官带回来了《大英百科全书》的第P卷。警长查找“panda”的解释，在里面找到了答案：“大熊猫，居住于中国，吃嫩芽和树叶。（eats, shoots and leaves，吃，开枪，然后离开——译者注）”。
那怎么样才能说好一个笑话呢？
说笑话的时候，有几个要素是你要注意的。
首先，要牢牢记住，你是在跟谁讲笑话。选择你的听众能够听懂领会的话题。要小心谨慎，别歪打正着地冒犯了他人。
永远不要标榜你的笑话说——“我知道一个非常有意思的笑话”，或者告诉别人你知道一个能让他们捧腹大笑的故事。最终，“笑”果永远达不到你的预期。
讲笑话的节奏同样非常重要。不要急着引出妙语，讲笑话应该要不断地营造紧张感，先来一点……再加一点……然后稍顿一下……最后来个强有力的妙语。
试试讲这个笑话吧（你能想到关于change的多少种解释？）：
改变是在所难免的（找零钱是很难的。——译者注）……饮料自动售贩机除外。
最后，时事笑话（关于时事的笑话）要比“旧闻”笑话更搞笑有趣。
最最后，什么是有趣，还是取决于你。即使你不擅长说笑话，你还是可以享受受笑话的乐趣。
翻译：Terry
Jokes come in all shapes and sizes.
According to the dictionary, a joke is “something that makes you laugh.” This is a very short definition for something that can make you laugh, cry, feel angry, or sad, scream or shout. They can be about anything in the universe, from jobs to relationships, from 1)nationalities to animals. They can also make you think very hard or laugh immediately.
From the 2)one-liner, e.g. The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits (Einstein), to jokes about computers: I use my cat’s name as my computer password. Unfortunately I have to change the password every month so now my cat’s called cccx9igpol9.
A very common type of joke in English is a 3)pun or a play on words. This can be based around different meanings for the same spelling (4)homographic):
He’s the senior teacher. He’s over 70! (How many different meanings of senior are there?)
It can also be based around different meanings for the same sound (5)homophonic):
Why didn’t the perfume arrive? Because it wasn’t scent.
A pun can also be used in a 6)shaggy dog story. This is a very long joke that usually finishes with a 7)punchline (the 8)climax of a joke) that uses a play on words. Some people argue that a shaggy dog story is just a long joke:
A giant panda escaped from the zoo in London. Eventually, he became hungry and walked into a restaurant, where he found a seat at an empty table. The waiter took the panda’s order. In due course the panda’s meal arrives and he eats.
After he finishes his dinner he stands up, calmly pulls out a gun from where he had it hidden, and fires into the air. Then he turns around and walks towards the door.
Naturally, the waiter is horrified. He stops the panda and demands an explanation, at the very least.
The panda says to him: “What do I look like to you?”
The waiter answers: “Well, a giant panda, of course.” “That’s right,” says the panda. “Look it up.” And he walks out.
The waiter calls the police. When they arrive the waiter relates the whole story to them, including the panda’s comment about looking it up. So the 9)sergeant sends a young officer out to get an 10)encyclopaedia.
He eventually returns with the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11)Volume P. The 12)detective looks up “panda,” and there’s the answer: “Giant panda, lives in China, eats shoots and leaves.”
How to tell a good joke?
There are a few things to remember when you tell a joke.
First, remember who you’re telling the joke to. Choose a subject that your audience can appreciate. Be careful not to 13)offend people 14)by mistake.
Never announce a joke—“I know a very funny joke”—or tell anyone you know a story that will make them laugh. It will never be as funny as you want it to be.
The timing of a joke is also very important. Don’t rush towards the punchline; the joke should build up a little tension…and a little more…and then pause…and then a strong punchline.
Try this one (how many different meanings of change can you think of?):
Change is 15)inevitable. . .except from a drinks’ machine.
Finally, 16)topical jokes (jokes about events now) are funnier than jokes about events in the past.
In the end, it’s up to you what you find funny. And even if you can’t tell jokes very well, you can still enjoy them.
笑话是有不同的形式和长短的。
依照字典里的解释，玩笑是“让你开怀大笑的事物”。对于这种能让你哭，让你笑，让你生气，或悲伤，又或尖叫或大喊大叫的东西，这就是它的非常简短的定义。笑话可以是关于大千世界中的任何东西，从工作到感情关系，从民族到动物，话题无所不包。它还可以发人深思，又或者是引人立马爆笑。
比方说，有单句的俏皮话——“天才与白痴的差别在于，天才有所不能”（爱因斯坦语），也有关于电脑的笑料：我用我爱猫的名字来做我电脑的密码；但不幸的是，我每个月都要更换密码，所以，现在我的猫就叫做“cccx9igpo19”。
英语中常见的一类笑话是关于双关语或者说文字游戏的。这可以是基于拼写相同但词义不同的词或字（同形异义字），例：
他是位年长的/资深的/高年级的老师。他已经年过七十啦！（“senior”有多少种不同的词义呢？）
玩笑还可以围绕同音但不同义的词或字（同音词）展开。好比：
香水咋还没到呢？因为它不香（sent，同音词，指送出；因为它还没有送出——译者注）咯！
双关语还可能被运用到较长的幽默故事当中。这种故事往往以一语双关的妙句收尾（这就是笑话的高潮部分了）。有人说，冗长的幽默故事不过是长篇的笑话而已。举例说：
一只大熊猫从伦敦的动物园逃了出来。终于，他饿了，于是走进一家餐馆，找了张空桌子坐了下来。服务员为熊猫点了餐。熊猫的食物被依次送了上来，他就着吃将起来。
吃完了以后，他站了起来，很平静地把藏着的枪抽出来，接着对天鸣枪。然后，他回转身，朝门口走去。
很自然地，服务员被吓坏了。他拦住了熊猫，让他至少要解释一下缘由。
熊猫对他说：“你觉得我看起来像什么？”
“嗯，当然是……大熊猫……”服务员回答说。“那就对了，”熊猫说，“去查一下。”说完，他步出了餐馆。
服务员报了警。警方到场以后，服务员把事情的前前后后都向他们交待了一遍，连熊猫最后那“查一下”的言论也说了。因此，警长派出一位年轻的警官去找百科全书。
最后，这位警官带回来了《大英百科全书》的第P卷。警长查找“panda”的解释，在里面找到了答案：“大熊猫，居住于中国，吃嫩芽和树叶。（eats, shoots and leaves，吃，开枪，然后离开——译者注）”。
那怎么样才能说好一个笑话呢？
说笑话的时候，有几个要素是你要注意的。
首先，要牢牢记住，你是在跟谁讲笑话。选择你的听众能够听懂领会的话题。要小心谨慎，别歪打正着地冒犯了他人。
永远不要标榜你的笑话说——“我知道一个非常有意思的笑话”，或者告诉别人你知道一个能让他们捧腹大笑的故事。最终，“笑”果永远达不到你的预期。
讲笑话的节奏同样非常重要。不要急着引出妙语，讲笑话应该要不断地营造紧张感，先来一点……再加一点……然后稍顿一下……最后来个强有力的妙语。
试试讲这个笑话吧（你能想到关于change的多少种解释？）：
改变是在所难免的（找零钱是很难的。——译者注）……饮料自动售贩机除外。
最后，时事笑话（关于时事的笑话）要比“旧闻”笑话更搞笑有趣。
最最后，什么是有趣，还是取决于你。即使你不擅长说笑话，你还是可以享受受笑话的乐趣。
翻译：Terry