Knock-knock Jokes
敲敲門笑話
If someone walks up to you and says “Knock, knock,” no, they’re not crazy. Well, they could be, but chances are they’re getting ready to tell you a knock-knock joke. If you’ve never heard a knock-knock joke before, it’s important to know that they follow a formula. When you hear “Knock, knock,” the only correct response is “Who’s there?” Yes, “Knock, knock” is the sound of someone knocking on your door, so of course you have to answer it. The joke teller then tells you who they are; it could be an actual name, but often isn’t. Here’s an example: “Lettuce.” Now you have to ask them what their last name is: “Lettuce who?” And finally, the joke teller delivers the punchline: “Lettuce in—it’s cold out here!” As you can see, the punchline involves a pun: “lettuce” sounds just like “let us.”
如果有人來跟你說：「咚咚咚，敲敲門。」不，他不是瘋子。呃，也是有可能啦，但通常是準備告訴你一個敲敲門笑話。你若是從沒聽過敲敲門笑話，那麼有一點很重要，這笑話是有公式要遵循的。當你聽到有人說「敲敲門」，唯一正確的回答是「是誰？」沒錯，「咚咚咚」是有人敲你的門的聲音，所以你當然要回應。說這類笑話的人接著會告訴你他是誰；可能會是真的名字，但通常不是。例如：「生菜。」那你就要問對方姓什麼：「哪位生菜？」最後，說笑話的人會拋出笑梗：「讓我們進去，外面好冷！」由此可見，這笑梗是跟雙關語有關：「萵苣 (lettuce)」的發音跟「讓我們 (let us)」相似。
Although the inspiration for the knock-knock joke can be traced back to Shakespeare—Macbeth includes the line, “Knock, knock. Who’s there i’ the name of Beelzebub?”—the first jokes of this kind appeared in the U.S. during the 1930s. One of the earliest written examples appeared in a 1936 newspaper advertisement: “Knock, knock.” “Who’s there?” “Rufus.” “Rufus who?” “Rufus the most important part of your house.” Most early knock-knock jokes were, like the above example, based on real names. Another one: “Knock, knock.” “Who’s there?” “Justin.” “Justin who?” “Justin time! I thought you weren’t home.”
雖然敲門笑話的靈感來源可追溯至莎士比亞——《馬克白》中有這句話：「敲敲門。你他媽究竟是誰？」——但這類笑話是在1930年代第一次出現在美國。最早的文字版本是1936年出現在報紙廣告上：「敲敲門。」「是誰？」「魯夫斯。」「哪位魯夫斯？」「魯夫斯是你家最重要的一部分。」大部分早期的敲門笑話就像上述例子，是以真名為基礎。還有一個笑話：「敲敲門。」「是誰？」「賈斯汀。」「哪位賈斯汀？」「來得正好！（註：Justin與Just in諧音）我以為你不在家。」
大家都在笑，只有你沒笑？
Rufus the most important part of your house. 這句話有什麼好笑？
答：Rufus 與 Roof is 諧音，因此這句其實是Roof is the most important part of your house.（屋頂是你家最重要的一部分。）文中這則廣告可能是屋頂防水、修繕相關的廣告，而Rufus正是該家廠商的名稱。
看笑話，學英文
Q: What's the difference between a jeweler and a jailer?
珠寶商和獄卒的差別在哪？
A: A jeweler sells watches, and a jailer watches cells!
珠寶商賣錶，獄卒看守監牢。
這個謎語笑話的笑點在於sells watches兩個字倒過來，就是watches cells的發音。
Vocabulary
formula (n.) 公式，方法
involve (v.) 涉及，包含
inspiration (n.) 靈感，啟發
advertisement (n.) 廣告
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