新概念三29課 Funny or Not? 里的冷笑話你笑了嗎？笑話究竟為什么引人發笑？怎樣變得善于搞笑？來看看下面的建議吧：
Misleading and surprise: Verbal jokes use this element to the greatest level possible. Basically, this technique relies on cognitive processing errors, turning assumptions upside down, and word confusion. For example: "What happens to liars when they die?" Answer - "They lie still." This joke works because you have to interpret the joke in two ways.
誤導、出其不意：口頭笑話把這一招用的淋漓盡致。它基于認知誤差、假設顛覆和文字混淆。比如：“騙子們死了會是什么樣？”“他們依舊說謊（靜靜的躺著）。”這個笑話之所以好笑是因為它有兩種解釋。
Timing: Apt timing is as important as surprise, because if you give the brain too much time to work out a situation or joke, the funny moment will pass by. This is probably why jokes people have heard before don't work, as recognition dulls humor because the brain is already primed by experience.
把握時機：時機把握和“出其不意”同樣重要，因為大腦如果有很多時間對一個情景或者笑話做出反應，有趣的瞬間就會溜走。這也就是以前聽過的笑話不會好笑的原因吧。再認知會讓幽默打折，因為大腦已經有所準備了。
Serious: Much humor derives from very serious events and situations in our daily lives.
嚴肅：很多幽默都來自日常生活中的很嚴肅的事件和情景。
Think silly: This is about taking serious stuff and being not-so-serious with it. Try to find the funnier, lighthearted side of what you're observing and think like a kid.
裝傻：這是說你要“舉重若輕”，對嚴肅的事情保持不那么嚴肅的態度。試著像孩子一樣思考，發現事物有趣、好玩的一面。
Status change: Changing a person's status, or the status of something long held to be true, can be very funny. For example, having a CEO of a company ask the receptionist for advice on how to run the company.
顛覆：改變一個人的地位，或者顛覆一件長久以來被認為是正確的東西會很有“笑果”。比如，讓CEO去向前臺征詢治理公司的建議。
Know your audience: Have a reasonable idea of what those around you find funny. When you're in a group of people you don't know, for example, just listen to what subjects they're talking about and what's making them laugh. Generally the better you know someone, the easier it will be to make them laugh.
了解受眾：要知道你身邊的人覺得什么好笑。如果你在一群陌生人中，就聽聽他們都在聊什么，都在笑什么。總的來說，你越是了解人們，就越容易娛樂他們。
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（來源：滬江英語 編輯：張若瓊）
