中国网站品牌栏目（频道）
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 Germany has been voted the least funny country in the world in an international poll. |
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As Mark Twain observed, a German joke is no laughing matter. Sadly for the nation that brought us everything from Beethoven to lederhosen, it seems that everyone agrees. Germany has been voted the least funny country in the world in an international poll. But before you permit yourself a dry British chuckle at the news, we came fourth from bottom – apparently, we’re simply not as funny as we think we are. The survey of 30,000 people in 15 countries was conducted for social networking site Badoo.com, whose spokesman Lloyd Price said: ‘Germans are brilliant at so many things, including making cars and beating us at football. 'Unfortunately, telling jokes isn’t always one of them. If only there was a comedy World Cup, we might stand a chance against them.’ The stereotype of German humourlessness is believed to derive from their reputation for efficiency, punctuality and rationality, presumed to be at the expense of humour. Examples of German jokes include: ‘Yesterday, I met my friend Horst at the hospital. He’d swallowed a sponge. He says it doesn’t hurt but he’s always thirsty.’ If that left your ribs untickled, try this: ‘Plants grow very well if you speak kindly to them. Which is why I sometimes go into the garden and insult the weeds.’ Of Britain’s place near the bottom of the list, Mr Price said: ‘If we’re no good at football and no good at comedy either, it’s a bit of a pie in the face for us.’ (Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
就像马克•吐温说的那样，德国笑话一点都不好笑。 而大家似乎都同意这种说法，对这个拥有贝多芬和皮短裤的全能国家来说是个遗憾。 在一项跨国民意调查中，德国被评为全世界最无趣的国家。 但是在你看到这一消息想发出几声英国式干笑之前，请注意英国人的幽默感排名倒数第四。显然，英国人根本不像自己所想的那么幽默。 这一涵盖了15个国家、3万人的调查是社交网站Badoo委托开展的。Badoo的发言人罗伊德•普莱斯说：“德国人在许多方面都很出色，包括制造汽车和足球赛。” “不幸的是，讲笑话并非其中之一。要是有一个幽默世界杯，英国人也许还有机会赢他们。” 调查认为，对于德国人缺乏幽默感的成见来自他们在效率、守时和理性上的名声，这些被认为是以失去幽默感为代价的。 德国笑话的典型例子包括：“昨天，我在医院遇到了我的朋友霍斯特。他吞下了一块海绵。他说，吞下海绵后并不觉得痛，但他老是觉得很渴。” 如果你不觉得这有什么好笑，试试这个：“如果你友好地对植物讲话，植物就能长得很好。这就是为什么我有时会去花园辱骂杂草。” 对于英国人幽默感排名几乎垫底的状况，普莱斯先生说：“如果我们既不擅长踢足球，也不擅长喜剧，这对我们还真是有点丢脸了。” 相关阅读 （中国日报网英语点津 陈丹妮 编辑：冯明惠） |
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Vocabulary: lederhosen: 皮短裤，德国男人的传统服装 chuckle: to laugh quietly（低声轻笑；轻声地笑） left your ribs untickled: 让你觉得不好笑。tickle somebody in the ribs意思是“逗某人笑”。 a pie in the face: an act to embarrass and humiliate someone（让某人丢脸的事） |
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