Vocabulary:
1.But that would have been a sermon布道;讲道, and sermons are the death of humor.
2.The situation had become so outrageous粗暴的,无法容忍的 after nine weeks that it could be approached only through ridicule
3.To keep him simmered down平静下来, the Owners gave him an Interest
simmer:炖,充满(难以控制的情绪),(争论,分歧)即将爆发
Reflection:
1.Control is vital to humor.
幽默的关键在于掌控力,不恰当的幽默会起到反作用,不如不用;重复使用的幽默让人生厌。其实想一下,不只是幽默,写作时的遣词造句也是这样,最忌讳词汇重复出现,句型单调重复,但是同样也忌讳过分刻意的华丽辞藻。
2. First of all, superb writers. Don’t search for the outlandish and scorn what seems too ordinary; you will touch more chords by finding what’s funny in what you know to be true. Finally, don’t strain for laughs; humor is built on surprise, and you can surprise the reader only so often.