Page 171 - SpringBoard_ELD_Grade8_Flipbook

aCTIVITy 1.3
continued
my notes
Interpret the Text Using Close Reading
Got Laughs?
26 What we laugh at changes as we age. Here are some examples.
Audience
Often Likes
Young children
Slapstick, or silly physical humor
Elementary-school Children
Puns, simple jokes that play off the sound rather than the meaning of a word, such as “Lettuce all go to the salad bar”
Teens
Jokes about topics that authority figures would consider rebellious, a way to use humor to deal with nerve-racking subjects
Adults, particularly well-educated ones
Satire, which makes fun of the weaknesses of people and society
27 Generally, children laugh more than adults. One study found that adults laugh 20 times a day, while children laugh 200 times!
The Secrets of Humor
28 Certain comedic devices turn up again and again in jokes, comic strips, and filmed entertainment—because they succeed.
29 “There were tricks,” said Hiestand of his days writing for The Tonight Show hosted by Johnny Carson, “things you would see, certain things always got laughs.” One of the most popular is often called the rule of threes. That is a pattern in which two nonfunny elements are followed by a third that is funny (yet still makes sense within the context). Many jokes start off with a list of three, such as “A rabbi, a lawyer, and a duck walk into a bar.” As the joke unfolds, the rabbi says something straightforward, then the lawyer does as well, but the duck finishes with something witty or absurd.
30 Three guys were stranded on an island. An antique lamp washed ashore. When the guys touched it, a genie came out. “I’ll grant each of you one wish,” the genie said. The first guy said, “I want to go home,” then disappeared. The second guy said, “I also want to go home,” and he too disappeared. The third man suddenly looked sad. He said, “I want my two friends back to keep me company.”
31 Certain concepts seem to be more amusing than others. If you tell any joke involving an animal, and it doesn’t matter which one you use, think Donald and Daffy. In the LaughLab experiment, scientists determined that the funniest animal is the duck. (It’s not arbitrary that a duck was used in the rule-of-threes joke.)
Do Tell—But Do It Right
32 There are also known techniques for telling jokes well.
• Keep it short—Don’t include any details that are not necessary to bring you to the punch line. In the genie joke, there was no need to specify it was a tropical island or to name the castaways. The quicker you tell a joke, the funnier it will be.
• Be specific—Some comedians swear that a joke is funnier if you say “Aquafresh” instead of “toothpaste.” The attention to detail makes the story seem more real.
148 SpringBoard® English Language Development grade 8
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