四级：倒置型幽默结构

倒置型幽默结构作者：艾临 发布时间：2007-4-2

   快乐时的记忆总是持久的,通过幽默学习英语已经成为一种时尚和潮流。幽默是人类智慧偶然擦亮的火花,有人把幽默感视为一种\"仰之弥高\"的天赋。倒置型幽默结构是我们经常看到的一种幽默方式。倒置型幽默结构包括倒构、倒序、倒比、倒引、倒位。

一、倒构即倒换结构,指对某个或某些关键词语,在不改变词面的前提下,暗中更改其内涵,在下文中形成新的、甚至相反的语意。
【例】
   When Hitler’s troops attacked and occupied Paris, Picasso was holding an art exhibition there. There was a painting called Guernica, which described a fishing village leveled into debris by German troops. A head of Gestapo(盖世太保,纳粹德国的秘密警察)appreciated respectfully for a long while this abstract painting, then asked Picasso confusedly, \"Is this your masterpiece?\"icasso said, \"No, this is your masterpiece.\"
参考译文:
   希特勒的军队攻占巴黎时,毕加索正在那儿举办画展。其中有一幅画叫《格尔尼卡》,描绘的是被德军夷为平地的一个渔庄。一个盖世太保头目在这幅抽象画前恭敬地看了半天,迷惑地问:\"这是你的杰作吗？\"毕加索说:\"不,这是你们的杰作。
   \"A kindergarten teacher in Hong Kong was teaching children how to read. The teacher wrote\"me\"on the blackboard, then said to the children, \"This is me.\"The children could not make such a turn and said, \"Oh, that’s you.\"The teacher continued to write \"you\"on the blackboard and said, \"This is just you.\"The children seemingly understood and said, \"That is just me.\"
参考译文:
   香港幼儿园的老师教小朋友识字,老师在黑板上写了个\"我\"字,然后对小朋友们说:\"这是我\"。小家伙们都转不过弯来,说:\"哦,那是你。\"老师又在黑板上写了个\"你\"字,说:\"这才是你呢。\"小家伙们似乎若有所悟,说:\"那才是我呀。
   \"German poet Goethe met with an opponent face to face on a narrow path. That person pulled a long face and said, \"I never have the habit of making a way for a stupid pig.\"Goethe walked swiftly to one side and said, \"I have!\"
参考译文:
   德国诗人歌德和一个对手狭路相逢,那人板着脸说:\"我从来没有给蠢猪让路的习惯。\"歌德把身子一闪,说:\"我有！\"

二、倒序指字数和所用字基本不变,只将词语颠倒顺序,挪作他用。
【例】
   A father said to his son, \"The order of our generation is as follows: attending school, working, earning money first, and then being in love, getting married, having a child, finally learning how to dance, drinking wine and playing cards.\"The son said, \"Our generation does the same things.\"The father said, \"But you reverse the order.\"
参考译文:
   父亲对儿子说:\"我们这代人的三部曲是——先求学、工作、挣钱,再恋爱、结婚、生孩子,最后才学会了跳舞、喝酒、打牌。\"儿子说:\"我们这代人也是这三部曲。\"父亲说:\"但是你们全给弄颠倒了。\"

三、倒比指把不可逆的\"A像B\"故意颠倒成\"B像A\",就出现一种诙谐效果。
【例】
   Mr. Green liked dolling up his dog and often put it in clothes with gripping fluorescence bars in the evening. He walked his dog one day. After he had eaten some mutton cubes roasted on the skewer and drunk some beer in an open-air bar on the wayside, he stood pissing into the moat boorishly. Suddenly his dog spoke up, \"These days, some dogs are more and more like men, while some men are more and more like dogs!\"
参考译文:
   格林先生喜欢打扮他的狗,晚上经常给狗穿上惹眼的带荧光条的衣服。一天他外出遛狗。他在路边的大排挡吃了些羊肉串并喝了点啤酒,然后旁若无人地在护城河边站着小便。这时他的狗突然说话了:\"这年头,有的狗越来越像人了,而有的人却越来越像狗了！\"

四、倒引指否定性地引用对方言语,达到以其人之道还治其人之身的目的。
【例】
   It was said that the sophist Euclid who borrowed money but did not repay it was beaten by the creditor. Hence, he took the creditor to court. The judge asked both parties to allege their reasons. Euclid said, \"It was Past Me who borrowed money from him, so he shouldn’t have demanded payment of a debt from Present Me.\"The creditor said, \"It was Past Me who beat him, so he shouldn’t have sued Present Me in the court of law.\"
参考译文:
   据传,诡辩家欧几里得借钱不还,被债主揍了。于是他把债主告上了法庭。法官要求双方陈述理由。欧几里得说:\"借钱的是过去的我,他不能向现在的我要账。\"债主说:\"揍他的是过去的我,他不能向现在的我告状。
   \"After I distributed the corrected essays, a postgraduate student raised his hand. Pointing to a word I had circled in his essay, he said, \"I can’t tell what you wrote about it in the margin.\"After intense scrutiny, I finally deciphered my criticism: illegible.
参考译文:
   我发回批改过的论文后,一个研究生举起了手。指着我在他文章上的批语,他问道:\"我认不出你在页边上写的是什么。\"经过仔细研究,最后我终于辨认出来:\"字迹不清！\"

五、倒位指颠倒事物的逻辑关系,本末倒置,反客为主。
【例】
   An Indian asked a sorcerer, \"Will it be especially cold this winter?\"\"It will,\"the sorcerer said. \"You’d better store up enough fire-wood.\"Having been asked this for several weeks on end, the sorcerer had a guilty conscience, so he secretly telephoned the meteorological station. An expert of the meteorological station said, \"This winter will be very cold. Look, those Indians are desperately accumulating firewood.\"
参考译文:
   一个印地安人问巫师:\"今年冬季会不会特别冷？\"
   \"会的,\"巫师说,\"你们最好多存些柴火。\"
   一连几个星期都有人前来求教,巫师心虚了,偷偷打电话到气象台咨询。
   气象台的一位专家说:\"今年冬季一定特冷。你看,那些印地安人正在拼命攒柴火呢。
   \"Mrs. Himmler wanted to fill the bottle with milk, but she found out only clear water in the bottle and asked, \"What’s all this about?\"Milk vendor said unthinkingly,\"Sorry, I forgot to add the milk.\"
参考译文:
   希姆莱太太去打奶,发现盛到瓶里的全是清水。她问:\"怎么搞的？\"奶贩子贸然说出:\"抱歉,忘了加奶了。\"