Whether we find a joke funny or not
largely depends on where we have been
brought up. The sense of humour is
mysteriously bound up with national
characteristics. A Frenchman, for in-
stance, might find it hard to laugh at a
Russian joke. In the same way, a Russian
might fail to see anything amusing in a
joke which would make an Englishman
laugh to tears.

Most funny stories are based on comic
situations. In spite of national differences,
certain funny situations have a universal
appeal. No matter where you live, you
would find it difficult not to laugh at, say,
Charlie Chaplin's early films. However, a
new type of humour, which stems largely from America,
has recently come into
fashion. It is cal1ed' sick humour '.
Comedians base their jokes on tragic situations
like violent death or serious accidents.
Many people find this sort of joke dis-
tasteful. The following example of 'sick humour'
will enable you to judge for
yourself.

A man who had broken his right leg was taken
to hospital a few weeks before
Christmas. From the moment he arrived there,
he kept on pestering his doctor
to tell him when he would be able to go home.
He dreaded having to spend
Christmas in hospital.
Though the doctor did his best, the patient's recovery
was slow.
On Christmas day, the man still had his right leg in plaster.
He spent
a miserable day in bed thinking of all the fun he was missing.
The following day,
however, the doctor consoled him by telling him that his
chances of being able
to leave hospital in time for New Year celebrations were good.
The man took
heart and, sure enough, on New Year's Eve he was able to hobble
along to a
party. To compensate for his unpleasant experiences in hospital,
the man drank
a little more than was good for him. In the process,
he enjoyed himself thoroughly
and kept telling everybody how much he hated hospitals.
He was stilI mumbling
something about hospitals at the end of the party when
he slipped on a piece of
ice and broke his left leg.

大家感覺一則笑話是不是好笑，非常大程度取決于大家是在什么地方長大的。幽默感與民族有著神秘莫測的聯系。譬如，法國人聽完一則俄國笑話可能非常難發笑。同樣的道理，一則可以令英國人笑出淚來的笑話，俄國人聽了可能感覺沒什么可笑之處。
大多數讓人發笑的故事都是依據喜劇情節撰寫的。盡管民族不同，有的滑稽的情節卻可以產生常見的成效。譬如說，不管你生活在哪兒，你看查理.卓別林的早期電影非常難不發笑。然而，近來一種新式幽默時尚了起來，這種幽默主要來自美國。它被叫作“病態幽默”。喜劇演員依據悲劇情節諸如暴死，重大事故等來編造笑話。很多人覺得這種笑話是低級庸俗的。下面是個“病態幽默”的實例，你可據此自己作出判斷。
圣誕前幾周，某人摔斷了右腿被送進醫院。從他進醫院那一刻時，他就纏住大夫，讓大夫告訴他什么時間能回家。他十分害怕在醫院過圣誕節。盡管大夫竭力醫治，但患者恢復緩慢。圣誕那天，他的右腿還上著石膏，他在床上郁郁不樂地躺了一天，想著他錯過的種種歡樂。然而，第二天，大夫安慰他說，出院歡度新年的可能性還是非常大的，那人聽后振作了精神。果然，除夕時他可以一瘸一拐地去參加晚會了。為了補償住院這一段不愉快的歷程，那人喝得稍很多了一點。在晚會上他盡情娛樂，一再告訴大伙他是多么討厭醫院。晚會結束時，他嘴里還在嘟噥著醫院的事，忽然踩到一塊冰上滑倒了，摔斷了左腿。