我们是否觉得一个笑话好笑，在很大程度上取决于我们是在哪里长大的。
Whether we find a joke funny or not largely depends on where we have been brought up.
幽默感与民族特性之间有着难以解释的密切联系。
The sense of humour is mysteriously bound up with national characteristics.
例如，一个法国人可能会觉得很难对一个俄国笑话发笑。
A Frenchman, for instance, might find it hard to laugh at a Russian joke.
同理，一个俄国人也可能看不出一个能让英国人笑到流泪的笑话有什么可笑之处。
In the same way, a Russian might fail to see anything amusing in a joke which would make an Englishman laugh to tears.
大多数笑话都以喜剧性的情境为基础。
Most funny stories are based on comic situations.
尽管存在民族差异，某些有趣的情境仍具有普世吸引力。
In spite of national differences, certain funny situations have a universal appeal.
无论你住在哪里，你都会发现自己很难不被卓别林的早期电影逗笑——比如说。
No matter where you live, you would find it difficult not to laugh at, say, Charlie Chaplin's early films.
然而，一种主要源自美国的新型幽默，最近已开始流行起来。
However, a new type of humour, which stems largely from U.S., has recently come into fashion.
它被称为"病态幽默"。喜剧演员把他们的笑话建立在悲剧性情境上，例如暴力死亡或严重事故。
It is called 'sick humour'. Comedians base their jokes on tragic situations like violent death or serious accidents.
许多人觉得这类笑话令人厌恶。
Many people find this sort of joke distasteful.
下面这个"病态幽默"的例子将让你自己来判断。
The following example of 'sick humour' will enable you to judge for yourself.
一个摔断了右腿的男人在圣诞节前几周被送进了医院。
A man who had broken his right leg was taken to hospital a few weeks before Christmas.
从他到达医院的那一刻起，他就不停地缠着医生，要医生告诉他什么时候能回家。
From the moment he arrived there, he kept on pestering his doctor to tell him when he would be able to go home.
他害怕不得不在医院里过圣诞节。
He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital.
尽管医生已经尽力了，但病人的康复仍然缓慢。
Though the doctor did his best, the patient's recovery was slow.
圣诞节那天，那个男人的右腿仍然打着石膏。
On Christmas day, the man still had his right leg in plaster.
他躺在床上，度过了痛苦的一天，心里想着自己错过的所有乐趣。
He spent a miserable day in bed thinking of all the fun he was missing.
然而，第二天，医生安慰他说，他有很大的机会能及时赶上新年庆祝活动，在新年前出院。
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.
那个男人振作起来，果然，在除夕那天，他能一瘸一拐地去参加一个派对了。
The man took heart and sure enough, on New Year's Eve he was able to hobble along to a party.
为了弥补他在医院里那段不愉快的经历，那个男人喝了比对他身体有益的量多了一点点——也就是喝多了。
To compensate for his unpleasant experiences in hospital, the man drank a little more than was good for him.
在这个过程中，他玩得酣畅淋漓，并不停地告诉所有人他有多讨厌医院。
In the process, he enjoyed himself thoroughly and kept telling everybody how much he hated hospitals.
派对结束时，他还在喃喃地抱怨着医院，就在这时，他在一块冰上滑倒，摔断了左腿。
He was still mumbling something about hospitals at the end of the party when he slipped on a piece of ice and broke his left leg.