(min 0:28)

Before listening…

What makes you laugh?

Make these questions to a partner

Do you laugh when you get embarrassed?

Do you laugh when you don’t know what to say?

Do you laugh when you don’t think it’s funny but someone wants you to laugh?

Do you laugh when you feel nervous?

Do you laugh if someone is clumsy?

Do you laugh when other people are laughing?

Do you laugh when someone is being silly?

Do you laugh when someone makes fun of a third person?

 Name 5 situations in which you’d generally laugh

 What kind of sense of humor do you think you have?
 What’s your opinion about this popular phrase? “laughter is the best medicine”
 Would you advice someone to laugh? Why? why not?
Listen and complete with 1 word

You gotta ………………………….! That’s weird advice, isn’t it? It’s weird. It doesn’t… It’s not good, is

it? It doesn’t feel very nice, does it? Laughter’s the best………………………., they say. I don’t.

I reckon penicillin might give it the nudge. There is truth to it, though. Laughter is very ……………

for the………………. It really is. ‘Cause when you laugh, you release………………….. And when you

…………………….tension in your human………………………………, it’s not healthy.

It’s not healthy ………………………………or ………………………….. That’s why it’s good to laugh.

It’s even better to laugh with other…………………. When you laugh, in a ……………….full of people,

when you ……………a laugh, you will release …………………tension because laughter

is………………………..

You stand to release more …………………when you laugh with ……………….people than you would

if you laugh ……………………... Mainly because when you laugh alone, that’s mental

………………..and that’s a………………………… kind of tension. Laughter doesn’t help. Trust me.

Tension…………………………. us.

And laughter …………………………….us.

Good ………………….. Good on me. What a guy. What a guy.

I’m ……………………………..Mother Teresa. But just like Mother Teresa… my ………………………..are

not exactly charitable.

Jokes

What is a joke for you?

Think of jokes in your language and tell them to your partners

Did they laugh?

What makes a good joke?

Are jokes often rude or not polite in your country?

Are there different kinds of jokes for you?

Can you invent a joke in English? Work with your partners

Listen and complete with 1 word

Let me explain to you what a …………………….. is. And when you strip it back to its bare

essential… ,………………………………… like, its bare minimum,

a joke is simply…………….. things, it needs two things to…………………

A setup and a punch …………………….

And it is ……………………………a question with a ………………………answer. Right?

But in this……………………………, what a joke is is a question that I have artificially inseminated.

Tension.

I do that, that’s my …………………...

I make you all feel tense, and then I make you laugh, and you’re like, “Thanks for that. I was

…………………………a bit tense.”

I made you tense. This is an ………………………………relationship.

Do you know why I’m such a funny fucker? Do you?

It’s because, you know, I’ve …………………………the art of tension diffusion since I was a children.

Back then it wasn’t a job, wasn’t even a……………………….., it was a survival tactic.

I didn’t have to ………………………. the tension. I was the…………………………...

And… I’m ……………………….of tension.

Tension is making me sick. It is time… I stopped… comedy.

I have to …………………….comedy… but I mean… I can’t quit you. No, I can’t quit you. I can’t.

Because I don’t have a ……………………………plan, guys. What have I got?

………………….years ago, I barely graduated from an Art ……………………..degree. Fifteen years ago.

Art History.

Fifteen– They were ………………………..then. They’re just deader.

My CV is pretty much a cock and balls drawn under a fax number.

Could you ……………………… me working in a …………………..with an asymmetrical woolen poncho

with an aggressive… …………………..?

Nasty jewelry, having the opinion?

No. There’s… You know, art history is highbrow.

I don’t really ……………………..in that world, I’m not from that world.

I’m not from………………………….., or even that much chat, if I’m honest, but… high art, you know,

that’s what elevates and ………………………..people. You know, ………………….., the ballet, the the-

a-ter. All these things, you go there, you get……………………………..

Comedy? Lowbrow.

Well, I’m ……………………… to inform you, but nobody here is leaving this room a ………………………

person.

We’re just rolling around in our own ……………………………. here, people.

After listening to Hannah Gadsby….

Answer

1- What does she say about laughter?

2- Is it good to laugh alone? Why/why not?

3- Why does she say she is so good at “the art of tension diffusion”?

4- Why do you think she feels she has to stop comedy?

5- What does she say about art?

6- Why is it highbrow?

7- Why is comedy lowbrow?

Read this joke and write an opinion about it

"Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn't seem to be

breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other man pulls out his phone and calls emergency

services. He gasps to the operator: "My friend is dead! What can I do?" The operator in a calm,

soothing voice replies: "Take it easy. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead." There is a

silence, then a shot is heard. Back on the phone, the hunter says, "Ok, now what?"

What’s the best joke in your language? Write it down