Mark Twain: the expectation inside a joke

作家选择笔名以后，读者常常用这个名字认识他的作品。

zuò jiā xuǎn zé bǐ míng yǐ hòu， dú zhě cháng cháng yòng zhè ge míng zi rèn shi tā de zuò pǐn。

After an author chooses a pen name, readers often know the author's work by that name.

好的幽默不靠嘲笑弱者，而是帮助人从不同角度看问题。

hǎo de yōu mò bù kào cháo xiào ruò zhě， ér shì bāng zhù rén cóng bù tóng jiǎo dù kàn wèn tí。

Good humour does not depend on mocking vulnerable people; it helps us see a problem from another angle.

领航员熟悉水道，能够根据标志和水流判断方向。

lǐng háng yuán shú xī shuǐ dào， néng gòu gēn jù biāo zhì hé shuǐ liú pàn duàn fāng xiàng。

A pilot who knows the waterway can judge direction from markers and currents.

事情的发展超出预料，他只好重新解释自己的意思。

shì qíng de fā zhǎn chāo chū yù liào， tā zhǐ hǎo chóng xīn jiě shì zì jǐ de yì si。

Events develop in an unexpected way, so he has to explain what he meant again.

听清前后经过以后，大家发现笑话来自一个误会。

tīng qīng qián hòu jīng guò yǐ hòu， dà jiā fā xiàn xiào huà lái zì yí ge wù huì。

After hearing the full sequence, everyone realises that the joke arose from a misunderstanding.

结尾突然出现转折，使前面普通的一句话有了幽默效果。

jié wěi tū rán chū xiàn zhuǎn zhé， shǐ qián miàn pǔ tōng de yī jù huà yǒu le yōu mò xiào guǒ。

A sudden turn at the end gives an ordinary earlier remark a humorous effect.

马克·吐温是美国作家，塞缪尔·克莱门斯是他的本名，那个熟悉的名字其实是写作时使用的笔名。

mǎ kè · tǔ wēn shì měi guó zuò jiā， sāi móu ěr · kè lái mén sī shì tā de běn míng， nà ge shú xī de míng zi qí shí shì xiě zuò shí shǐ yòng de bǐ míng。

Mark Twain is the pen name of American writer Samuel Clemens.

年轻时，他在密西西比河上做过轮船领航员，水深、航道和河流的变化，都是工作中需要认真留意的事情。

nián qīng shí， tā zài mì xī xī bǐ hé shàng zuò guò lún chuán lǐng háng yuán， shuǐ shēn、 háng dào hé hé liú de biàn huà， dōu shì gōng zuò zhōng xū yào rèn zhēn liú yì de shì qíng。

As a young Mississippi River pilot, he attends carefully to water depths, waterways and changes in the river.

他的笔名与测量水深的叫声有关，意思是两英寻；河上的经验后来也进入他的作品。

tā de bǐ míng yǔ cè liáng shuǐ shēn de jiào shēng yǒu guān， yì si shì liǎng yīng xún； hé shàng de jīng yàn hòu lái yě jìn rù tā de zuò pǐn。

His pen name refers to a depth call meaning two fathoms, and river experience later enters his writing.

下面两则改编的轶事表现语言的机智。第一则发生在旅馆里，蚊子在房间里飞来飞去，使客人无法安睡。

xià miàn liǎng zé gǎi biān de yì shì biǎo xiàn yǔ yán de jī zhì。 dì yī zé fā shēng zài lǚ guǎn lǐ， wén zi zài fáng jiān lǐ fēi lái fēi qù， shǐ kè rén wú fǎ ān shuì。

The following two adapted anecdotes explore verbal wit. The first takes place in a hotel where mosquitoes disturb the guests’ sleep.

服务员道歉时，他却说：“这里的蚊子真聪明，还知道先来看看登记簿，免得夜里找错房间！”

fú wù yuán dào qiàn shí， tā què shuō：“zhè lǐ de wén zi zhēn cōng míng， hái zhī dào xiān lái kàn kan dēng jì bù， miǎn de yè lǐ zhǎo cuò fáng jiān！”

When a waiter apologises, he says, “Your mosquitoes are clever enough to check the register first so they will not visit the wrong room tonight!”

服务员先愣了一下，随后明白他是在把蚊子想象成访客，普通的抱怨便有了意外的表达。

fú wù yuán xiān lèng le yí xià， suí hòu míng bái tā shì zài bǎ wén zi xiǎng xiàng chéng fǎng kè， pǔ tōng de bào yuàn biàn yǒu le yì wài de biǎo dá。

The waiter pauses, then realises he is imagining mosquitoes as visitors, giving an ordinary complaint an unexpected form.

服务员望了望登记簿，又抬头看看墙上的蚊子，忍不住笑起来。马克·吐温指指房门：“如果它们来拜访，请告诉它们，我今天已经睡了。”

fú wù yuán wàng le wàng dēng jì bù， yòu tái tóu kàn kan qiáng shàng de wén zi， rěn bú zhù xiào qǐ lai。 mǎ kè · tǔ wēn zhǐ zhǐ fáng mén：“rú guǒ tā men lái bài fǎng， qǐng gào su tā men， wǒ jīn tiān yǐ jīng shuì le。”

The attendant looked at the register and the mosquitoes and laughed. Twain pointed to the door. “If they come to visit, tell them I have gone to sleep.”

另一次，朋友指着一位神情严肃的老人，对马克·吐温说：“你能让他笑起来吗？”他望了望老人，点头答应，准备了许多笑话。

lìng yí cì， péng yǒu zhǐ zhe yí wèi shén qíng yán sù de lǎo rén， duì mǎ kè · tǔ wēn shuō：“nǐ néng ràng tā xiào qǐ lai ma？” tā wàng le wàng lǎo rén， diǎn tóu dā ying， zhǔn bèi le xǔ duō xiào huà。

On another occasion, a friend pointed at a serious-looking old man and asked Twain to make him laugh. Twain agreed and prepared many jokes.

演讲时，观众一次次笑起来，老人却始终没有反应，越到后来，讲述者越觉得奇怪。

yǎn jiǎng shí， guān zhòng yí cì cì xiào qǐ lai， lǎo rén què shǐ zhōng méi yǒu fǎn yìng， yuè dào hòu lái， jiǎng shù zhě yuè jué de qí guài。

During the speech the audience laughs repeatedly, but the older man does not respond, increasingly puzzling the speaker.

演讲结束，马克·吐温走到朋友身边，问为什么老人一直不笑。朋友这才告诉他，老人听不见，刚才并没有听到那些笑话。

yǎn jiǎng jié shù， mǎ kè · tǔ wēn zǒu dào péng yǒu shēn biān， wèn wèi shén me lǎo rén yì zhí bù xiào。 péng yǒu zhè cái gào su tā， lǎo rén tīng bú jiàn， gāng cái bìng méi yǒu tīng dào nà xiē xiào huà。

After the speech, Twain asked his friend why the man had not laughed. Only then did the friend explain that the man was deaf and had not heard the jokes.

马克·吐温吃了一惊，随后来到老人身边，拿出纸笔，写下一句问候。老人读完，向他点点头。他拉过一把椅子坐下，把刚才想说的话改写在纸上。

mǎ kè · tǔ wēn chī le yī jīng， suí hòu lái dào lǎo rén shēn biān， ná chū zhǐ bǐ， xiě xià yī jù wèn hòu。 lǎo rén dú wán， xiàng tā diǎn diǎn tóu。 tā lā guò yì bǎ yǐ zi zuò xià， bǎ gāng cái xiǎng shuō de huà gǎi xiě zài zhǐ shàng。

Surprised, Twain approached the man and wrote a greeting. The man read it and nodded. Twain pulled up a chair and put the words he wanted to share on paper.

他写得慢了一些，老人便耐心等着，写完一句再看一句。有时老人指指一个词，他就换一种说法，刚才台上匆忙过去的笑话，在桌边有了另一种节奏。

tā xiě de màn le yì xiē， lǎo rén biàn nài xīn děng zhe， xiě wán yī jù zài kàn yī jù。 yǒu shí lǎo rén zhǐ zhǐ yí ge cí， tā jiù huàn yì zhǒng shuō fǎ， gāng cái tái shàng cōng máng guò qù de xiào huà， zài zhuō biān yǒu le lìng yì zhǒng jié zòu。

He wrote more slowly and the man waited patiently. Sometimes a word needed rephrasing, giving the hurried spoken jokes a different pace at the table.

老人读着纸上的字，神情渐渐轻松起来，又拿起笔写下自己的回答。周围的观众散去了，两人的交流却还没有结束。

lǎo rén dú zhe zhǐ shàng de zì， shén qíng jiàn jiàn qīng sōng qǐ lai， yòu ná qǐ bǐ xiě xià zì jǐ de huí dá。 zhōu wéi de guān zhòng sàn qù le， liǎng rén de jiāo liú què hái méi yǒu jié shù。

The man's expression softened as he read, and he wrote a reply. The crowd departed, but their exchange continued.

他作品中的幽默常使普通事情转向意料之外的方向，也让人重新看见习惯里没有注意的问题。

tā zuò pǐn zhōng de yōu mò cháng shǐ pǔ tōng shì qíng zhuǎn xiàng yì liào zhī wài de fāng xiàng， yě ràng rén chóng xīn kàn jiàn xí guàn lǐ méi yǒu zhù yì de wèn tí。

Humour in his work often redirects ordinary situations unexpectedly and draws attention to overlooked habits.

朋友再来找他时，看见桌上多了几张写满字的纸。马克·吐温指指其中一句，老人也笑了，这一次，两人都知道笑意从哪里来。

péng yǒu zài lái zhǎo tā shí， kàn jiàn zhuō shàng duō le jǐ zhāng xiě mǎn zì de zhǐ。 mǎ kè · tǔ wēn zhǐ zhǐ qí zhōng yī jù， lǎo rén yě xiào le， zhè yí cì， liǎng rén dōu zhī dào xiào yì cóng nǎ lǐ lái。

When his friend returned, several pages of writing lay on the table. Twain pointed to a line and the man smiled; this time both knew why.

A 你怎么解释马克·吐温这个名字？

nǐ zěn me jiě shì mǎ kè · tǔ wēn zhè ge míng zi？

How will you explain Mark Twain's name?

B 它是笔名，与河上测量两英寻水深有关。

tā shì bǐ míng， yǔ hé shàng cè liáng liǎng yīng xún shuǐ shēn yǒu guān。

It is a pen name linked to a two-fathom river sounding.

A 蚊子真的会看登记簿吗？

wén zi zhēn de huì kàn dēng jì bù ma？

Do mosquitoes really read registers?

B 不会，故事把它们想象成拜访的客人。

bú huì， gù shì bǎ tā men xiǎng xiàng chéng bài fǎng de kè rén。

No; the story imagines them as visitors.

A 笑意来自什么变化？

xiào yì lái zì shén me biàn huà？

What produces the humour?

B 听者的普通期待被意外的说法改变。

tīng zhě de pǔ tōng qī dài bèi yì wài de shuō fǎ gǎi biàn。

An unexpected statement overturns ordinary expectations.