Humour, Irony, Sarcasm

Humour reflects the comical aspect of life and points out some inner contradictions of a phenomenon. Humour is intended to excite mirth, it is kindly and tolerant on the whole. The linguistic aspect of humour is manifold. A humorous tone may be created by a deliberate exaggeration (hyperbole), a round-about way of naming things (periphrasis), unexpected comparison (simile), words which do not belong in the situation and thus make it amusing (like high-flown words in an everyday situation, or colloquial words in a very formal situation).

Sometimes humour may be developed by using a grave, serious manner of describing an essentially comical situation, by maintaining a perfectly “straight face”. In such cases a humorous effect is achieved through situation and character. Humour may be also attained by unexpected turn of events which catch the reader off guard, amazing and amusing him.

Irony indicates mockery of something or someone. The essential feature of irony is the indirect presentation of a contradiction between an action or expression and the context in which it occurs. Emphasis placed on the opposition between apparent and intended meaning: one thing is said and the opposite is implied (verbal irony). So, intonation plays an important role in creating irony, as in “Beautiful day, isn’t it?” said when it is raining. When the author lets the reader know more about the character’s situation than the character himself, foreseeing an outcome contrary to the character’s expectation we have a ease of dramatic irony.

Sarcasm is related to irony, but the author does not, as in irony, say the opposite to what he means. He says what he means implying ridicule, mockery or contempt. Sarcasm is harsh and often rude, bitter and derisive. The difference between irony and sarcasm may be illustrated with the following two examples: “What a fine musician you turned out to be!” (irony) and “You couldn’t play on piece correctly if you had two assistants” (sarcasm). Irony suggests a milder and subtler form of mockery.

S u p p l e m e n t 2

Keys to exercises

Text 1. DOREEN POPE (M. Loudon)

1. 1–i; 2–j; 3–l; 4–b; 5–k; 6–c; 7–d; 8–h; 9–m; 10–e; 11–f; 12–g; 13–a.

2. a strong woman; practical shoes; an unfriendly dog; understanding and enjoying fully smb’s talent; an immense, rich laugh; never satisfied sense of humour.

3. strong; useful; good health; good for the mind.

4. aloof  anti-social, unfriendly;

awe  reverence, respect, dread, fear;

hapless  unfortunate, unhappy;

fret irritate;

jolly  cheerful;

unobtrusive  inconspicuous, not noticeable;

re-emerge  come into view again;

5. bookish: accoutrements; adolescence; obstreperous; delinquent; pay deference;

low colloquial: fuck off; posh bitch; muck about.

6. 1  cause; 2  educate; 3remind; 4persuade; 5mention; 6lower; 7help.

8. a), b), c)  epithets;

d), e)  similes;

f), g), h)  metaphors.

Text 2. EDUCATION: DOING BAD AND FEELING GOOD (Ch. Krauthammer)

1. 1c; 2d; 3a; 4i; 5f; 6e; 7b; 8j; 9h; 10g.

2. evidently  plainly, obviously;

superfluous  needless;

exceedingly  extremely;

adverse  contrary, unfavourable;

damage  harm, injury;

devastate  desolate;

relentlessly  mercilessly;

hindrance  obstacle, obstruction.

3. masquerade (fig.)  a false show or pretence; it ranks at the bottom  occupies the lowest position; obsessive preoccupation with indulgence  thinking too much about self-satisfaction; antidote  against a poison; on its face  judging by appearance.

4. indulge  please; damage  loss; adverse  contrary.

5. нация, риск, стандарт, фиксация, интеллектуальный, психотерапия, идеология, психика, патология, элита.

6. social ills; “education summit”; curricular materials; to launch an attack; outright lying; manufactured; high dropout rates; obsessive preoccupation; if at all; ranks at the bottom; a dead end; antidote.

Text 3. HOW TO PLAN FOR HAPPINESS (S. Lauer, B.J. Gebhardt)

1. 1  e; 2  f; 3  g; 4  c; 5 b; 6  d; 7  a.

2. 1) happy, happiness, happily, hapless

2) necessary, necessarily, necessitate, necessity, necessitous

3) basic, basis/es (pl), basically, base

4) tardy, tardiness, tardily

5) punctual, punctually, punctuality

6) employ, employee, employer, employment, employed

7) manage, manager, management

8) enjoy, enjoyment, enjoyable

9) create, creation, creative

10) equal, equalize, equality

11) joy, joyful, joyfully, joyless, joylessly, joyous

12) esteem, estimate, estimable, esteemed, estimation

13) effect, effective, effectively, effectual, effectually

14) spontaneous, spontaneously, spontaneity, spontaneousness.

3. a) pleasant  enjoyable

unavoidably  inevitably

doctor  physician

late  tardy

b) joyless  joyful

despair  hope

introversion  extraversion

destructive  constructive

negatively  positively

to raise  to lower

4.	1) develop principles 2) follow principles 3) enjoyment of one’s job 4) lecture smb on smth 5) avoid thinking about 6) whenever necessary 7) if you are not enjoying your thoughts ... 8) to isolate traits 9) sugar–coat

5. 1) принять ответственность (на себя),

2) вести себя подобным образом безответственно,

3) остальная работа,

4) рассматривать проблемы,

5) владеть ситуацией.

6. T o f o l l o w: a) go after; b) go along / by; c) understand clearly; ­

d) succeed (a person) in an office, a position, etc.; e) accept or take as a guide.

T o r a i s e: a) lift, move from a lower to a higher levels; b) build, cause to be erected; c) make bigger, louder, stronger, etc.; d)mention present for consideration, etc.; e) grow, cultivate; f) get, find, produce.

T o m a n a g e: a) control, b) fond of saying what must and must not be done; c) succeed in, do what is necessary; d) (coll.) eat.

8. 1  b, 2  c, 3  a.

Text 4. A NEWS REPORT (D.Davy)

1. bonfire-night safety measures; the safety of the site; safety regulations; safety precautions.

2. 1  d; 2  a; 3  h; 4  b; 5  c; 6  e; 7  f; 8 k; 9  g; 10  i; 11  j.

3. fumes; a fire; the blaze; flames; bonfire; firemen; fire engines; sparks; outbreak; inflammable materials; pall of smoke; to damp down; smouldering debris; fire-brigade.

4. safety measures; to cause a fire; take under control; the injured; detained for observation; to escape damage; to consult smb about smth; rival gangs of youths; have nothing to do with the fire starting; no site available; to strictly observe.

5. невероятно (не может быть, чтобы), что это имеет отношение к пожару; риск при этом был так мал, что им можно было пренебречь; соблюсти меры предосторожности; ветром отнесло несколько искр на крыши; собирать деньги на благотворительные цели; средства, полученные от этого; запрещать вход буйно ведущим себя лицам.

Text 5. LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE (N. Brooks)

1. 1  i; 2  l; 3  g; 4  a; 5  c; 6  d; 7  e; 8  h; 9  j.

2. дихотомия; трихотомия; континиум; презумпция.

3. 1) give a thorough grounding in the language skills;

1. attempt the study of literature;

2. the fine art of words;

3. to take smth for granted;

4. you can’t be too careful about smth;

5. to pass for literature;

6. of primary importance.

4. inadvertently  not on purpose;

inevitably  unavoidably;

bluntly  straightforwardly;

frequently often happening;

undoubtedly  indisputably;

eventually  at last; in the end;

presumably  probably.

5. 1 – for; 2 – in; 3 – to, in; 4 – for; 5 – in; 6 – to; 7 – at.

6. assume: assumption; assumed; assuming.

presume: presumption; presuming; presumptive; presumptuous.

7. neutral/formal;

formal/neutral;

formal/neutral;

formal/neutral;

formal/neutral.

Text 6. THIN END OF THE WEDGE (L. Rogers)

1. 1  d; 2  g; 3  e; 4  f; 5  c; 6  b; 7  j; 8  a; 9  i; 10  h.

2. 1. To follow a diet; to lose one’s weight; to go on a crash diet; to indulge in a few...leaves; to have one square meal a day; to keep off the inches.

2. starving; undernourished/malnourished; a todietfor career; spaghetti legs & arms; drastic/unhealthy diet; eating disorders; laxative abuse; calories.

3. wire-thin icon; flat chest; ironing-board stomach; famine-stricken limbs; anorexic looking model; bundy legs; skinny girls.

4. occasionally  happening now and then, at times;

tremendously  dreadfully, enormously;

ordinarily  usually or normally; in an ordinary manner;

heartily  a) with good appetite

2. completely, very;

suddenly  occurring without warning, unexpectedly;

disturbingly  the way that disturbs, confuses;

naturally – a) in a natural way,

b) of course

5. waste  waste  wasted

modelling  model  model

favour  favour favourable

nourishment  nourish  undernourished

starvation  starve  staring

denial  deny  denying

renewal  renew  renewed

slimmer  slim  slim

skin  skin  skinny

health  heal  healthy

dressing  dress  dressed

6. 1) продукты были нормированы

2. карьера модели требует ограничения в еде

3. лиха беда начало

4. голодный вид, истощенный вид

5. индустрия моды

6. супермодель

7. вешалка 8 размера

8. стройная согласно любым стандартам

9. нарушение пищеварения

10. ультрахудой, излишне худой

11. неполноценная пища (в закусочных-автоматах)

7. 1) to go on/follow a crash diet

2. a catwalk model

3. to lose a few pounds

4. to indulge in a few lettuce leaves

5. famine-stricken limbs

6. drastic dieting

7. one square meal a day

8. to become outmoded

9. to eat heartily

10. to model outsize clothes

11. to fall victim to

12. at puberty

13. to resort to drugs

8. a) nicotine, amphetamines, anorexic, bulimia, healthcrafts;

2. hips, waist, thighs, tummy, legs, arms, body, eyebrows, eyes, stomach, limbs.

9. waste away  syn. wear away, decrease, diminish;

famine  syn. starvation;

drastic syn. strong, thorough, violent;

pronounce  syn. declare, announce;

malnourished  syn. undernourished;

common  syn. widespread, usual, ordinary; ant. uncommon;

lose weight  ant. put on weight.

9. T o w a s t e: a) use without a good purpose;

2. talk uselessly;

2. causing to lose strength.

F l a t: a) monotonous, uninteresting;

2. stretched out on the ground;

3. not a success;

4. always the same;

5. absolute;

6. let there be no doubt about it;

To i n d u l g e: a) to give way to; to spoil;

2. allow oneself the pleasure of;

T o k e e p: a) control;

2. go on;

3. not to give up;

4. make progress at an equal pace with.

Text 7. HOW LIFE IMITATES SCREEN VIOLENCE (M. Driscoll)

1. 1  f; 2  e; 3  d; 4  g; 5  i; 6  h; 7  c; 8  b; 9  a.

2. crime, violence, murder, fight, rape, assault, wrongdoing, perpetrator, blond-spattered, hooliganism.

3. 1) pernicious; 2) havoc; 3) foul; 4) assault; 5) fail.

4. unprecedented; commit a crime; cult movie; assault; causal connection; expose to violence; mayhem; squirm out of responsibility.

5. насилие; разрушительное действие; сквернословие; правонарушение; разрушать семью; вести себя антиобщественно; доступ детей к просмотру видео со сценами насилия.

Text 8. THE DOMAIN OF STYLE (J.N. Leech, M.H. Short)

1. 1  f; 2  h; 3  g; 4  i; 5  c; 6  e; 7  d; 8  j; 9  b; 10  e.

2. a) to choose  implies a decision of the judgement and the actual taking or adoption of that which is fixed upon, as in: The disinterested search for truth is certainly one of the highest and noblest careers that a man can ~;

to select  usually implies a wide range of choice and discrimination of values in making one’s choice, as in: ...one particular nation to ~ from all the rest;

to pick  suggests a careful selection, often on personal ground, as in: to ~ an all-star team from the players in the city;

to associate  primarily implies a joining with others in companionship or effort in terms of equality, as in: a group of men ~ ed in business. In its extended use as referred to things it implies a connection in logic or in thought which comes naturally to the mind because things traditionally or in one’s mind belong together, as in: A fir-tree is usually ~ ed with the New Year;

to connect  implies a loose or at least an obvious attachment of things to each other, as in: a chain is made by ~ ing a succession of steel links. It often implies an intervening medium which permits joint movement or intercommunication, as in: to ~ two islands with a bridge, a ~ ing road;

to join  presupposes prior separation or detachment and, therefore, implies a bringing or coming together, or sometimes an adding of one thing to another, as in: to ~ hands, to ~ skirt lengths by seams;

to link  is more emphatic than connect in implying firmness of attachment: so, to ~ a person with a crime is, by implication, to have ample evidence of his having committed it;

to confirm  implies the resolving of all doubts as by an authoritative statement or indisputable facts, as in: His failure to pay his debts ~ ed their suspicion that he was not to be trusted;

to validate  is used when applied to legal papers requiring an official signature or seal before becoming valid, as in: to ~ a passport. It is also used in reference to the election of a candidate for office, as in: the mayor’s election will not be ~ d until the recount of votes;

to verify  implies the established correspondence of the actual facts or details to those that are given in an account, a statement, or a deliberate effort to establish the accuracy of smth by putting it to the test, as in: to ~ all the citations in a book or: the prediction of a severe storm was ~ ed in every detail.

b) intimate — i) close, familiar, dear;

ii) private, personal, secret;

iii) detailed, deep, exact.

3. intimate: secret; personal; close; friendly; cosy; deep (thorough) knowledge;

to confirm: ratify; validate; assure.

4. confirmed — хронический; закоренелый; предпочитающий жить в; укоренившаяся;

selected — избранные; отборный;

select —избранное; для избранных; несколько самых близких;

5. 1. scope; 2. intimate; 3. urged; 4. relational; 5. confirm; 6. domain; 7. ultimately; 8. associated; 9. selection.

6. a) linguist; context; corpus of writing; extralinguistic; characteristics of language use; linguistic; domain; term; definition; concept; abstraction; to generalize; studies; assumption.

b) literary and non-literary style; official style; informal discursiveness; didactic and expository prose; the style of everyday conversational remarks; epistolary style; authorial style.

7. They are metaphors.

8. a) selection  выбор; selected  отобранный, избранный; select (adj.)  избранный; отборный, selective  выборочный;

b) related  связанный, родственный; relation  отношение, связь; relational  относительный, родственный.

Text 9. THE OPEN WINDOW (H. Munro)

1. 1  b; 2  d; 3  i; 4 – e; 5  f; 6  g; 7  h; 8  c; 9  a.

2. 1  4; 2  3; 3  2; 4  5; 5  7; 6  1; 7  6.

3. Colloquial  1, 7, 8, 9, 10.

Bookish  2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

4. 1) without producing noise;

2. fairly good;

3. pale deathline;

4. actively lively;

5. speaking with a broken voice;

6. with difficulty.

5. in the meantime; letters of introduction; a self-possessed young lady; an indefinable something; get anything to do with; a French window; a treacherous piece of bog; a wide-spread delusion; total strangers and chance acquaintances.

6. по вопросу о диете; нет полного согласия; понимание с сочувствием; в холодном шоке от необъяснимого страха; неизбежное столкновение; выскочить, не попрощавшись; рычащие существа с оскалом и пеной у рта; тотчас же, немедленно.

Text 10. ANGEL PAVEMENT (J.B. Priestley)

1. 1  i; 2  h; 3  g; 4  f; 5 c; 6 a; 7  d; 8  j; 9  e; 10  b.

2. a) to shiver  suggests the effect of extreme cold, as in: He came into the house snow-covered and ~ ing.

It may apply to a quivering that results from a premonition, as in: Such thoughts may make you ~ at first.

to tremble  applies to uncontrollable shaking of the human body, especially when one is agitated by fear, passion, as in: She stood with her hand on the door-knob, her whole body ~ ing.

to shake  may imply any kind of physical or emotional instability that reveals itself in any particular way, as in: his whole body shook with laughter

to shudder  usually suggest the effect of that which is horrible or revolting; it implies a sudden sharp quivering that affects the entire body, as in: It was one of those illnesses from which we turn away our eyes shuddering.

to quiver  suggest a shaking comparable to the vibration of the strings of a musical instrument that is being played; in reference to human beings it carries a strong implication of the vibrating nerves, as in: Irene’s lips ~ ed.

to soak  literally suggest immersion in a liquid so that the substance absorbs the moisture and becomes permeated with it, as in: to ~ a sponge in water.

to drench  implies a thorough wetting by pouring water (such as rain) or other liquid, as in: They were in the open carriage and were ~ ed to the skin.

to saturate  stresses the absorption of a liquid to a point where no more can be absorbed. One’s clothes may be described as saturated when they are so damp that the addition of further moisture would make them dripping wet.

2. to charge − i) to attack, to assault;

2. to load, to burden;

3. to blame, to accuse, to incriminate.

3. to charge  to load; to load, to burden; to accuse; to ask for; to take money;

to shiver  tremble, shake uncontrollably.

4. 1) в дрожь бросает при одной мысли; 2) по коже мороз прошел; 3) его трясет лихорадка; 4) отвечать за; 5) маленькие питомцы; 6) я руковожу этим учреждением; 7) кто здесь главный? 8) вход свободный (бесплатный); 9) собака бросилась на меня.

5. 1. The shop assistants had not drawn a proper breath for hours.

2. Dark afternoon seemed to rain people down into the shopping streets.

3. There were tons and tons of imitation holly and enough cotton-wool piled in the windows to keep the hospitals supplied for the next ten years.

4. Miss Matfield found herself waiting, waiting to leave the office, waiting to get a bus, waiting to be served in the shop, waiting at the cash desk, waiting for her parcel.

5. When a child she thought Christmas the most radiant and magical season.

6. 1) shaking; 2) shake; 3) shudder; 4) shivered; 5) quivered; 6) trembled; ­ 7) shaked; 8) shivering.

7. shiver with cold; shudder with horror; shake a tree; shake a carpet; shake one’s head; trembling fingers; quivering lips; trembling voice; quivering reflections in the water; shudder with disgust; tremble with joy.

Text 11. INFLATION AND THE TRANSITION TO A MARKET ECONOMY (M. Watts)

1. 1 – j; 2 – h; 3 – g; 4 – e; 5 – f; 6 – d; 7 – I; 8 – k; 9 – b; 10 – a; 11 – c.

2. 1) decrease, shrink, reduce

2) free market economy

3) steady

4) producers

5) supply

6) losers

7) to borrow

8) to lose

3. 1) services

2) wealth

3) investors

4) sold

5) firms

6) inefficiencies

7) ruin

5. 1) transition from centralized to free market economy

2) drives up prices

3) goods in chronic short supply

4) entrepreneurs and investors

5) which makes investments in countries with little inflation more attractive

6) to encourage economic growth

7) fixed payments

8) to keep inflation under control

Text 12. UP THE DOWN STAIRCASE (B. Kaufman)

1. 1 – f; 2 – h; 3 – a; 4 – j; 5 – b; 6 – c; 7 – d; 8 – e; 9 – g; 10 – I; 11 – k.

2. 1 – ambition; 2 – negotiate; 3 – frustration; 4 – committed; 5 – endowed; 6 – observer; 7 – imposed; 8 – groaned; 9 – exceeded; 10 – odd; 11 – aspiration.

3. negotiating parties; to exceed the speed-limit; ambitious plans; aspiration for freedom; a frustrated attempt; an observation post; to impose a fine; to commit oneself; the table groaned with food; an endowed musician; to fight against odds.

4. a) нечетный номер; непарная перчатка; разрозненные тома; сдача, мелочь; случайная работа; Как странно!; между делом, на досуге.

b) устранить неравенство; шансы – десять против одного; обстоятельства против нас; быть в ссоре, не ладить; остатки, обрывки.

Text 13. Feminism and the School Teacher (A. Coffey, S. Delamont)

2. 1) feminine a; feminist n; feminism n; female a

2. concern n; concern v; concerning a; concerned a

3. obvious a; obviously adv

4. forfeit n; forfeit v; forfeiture n

5. conformity n; conform v; conformist n

6. celibate n; celibate a

3. 1) the way it is;

2. it was of interest for them;

3. to educate one's children;

4. to invest money in education;

5. forfeit of marriage prospects;

6. to be subject to a double conformity;

7. public hostility towards;

8. It was until 1961 that female and male teachers had equal pay;

9. secondary schools were single sex;

10. the introduction of co-education.

4. 1. в семьях, относящихся к среднему и высшему классу.

2. Им действительно приходилось охранять своих воспитанниц.

3. Им приходилось строго придерживаться консервативных правил поведения женщины.

4. До равной оплаты было еще далеко.

5. Законодательный Акт 1975 года «О дискриминации по половому признаку».

5. Concern: a) беспокоиться о чем-либо

b) с большим огорчением

c) не мое дело; меня не касается

d) что касается его поведения

e) беспокоиться о будущем

f) дело большой важности.

Way: a) то, как это было

b) посмотрите сюда

c) наоборот

d) ничего из ряда вон выходящего

e) идут приготовления

f) Я найду, как это сделать

g) иметь подход к кому-либо.

Text 14. A LAST WILL (W. Fish)

4. permanent — lasting, durable, stable

quaint — strange, odd, queer, peculiar

succeeding — following, ensuing

inconsiderable — small, trivial

solemn — formal, conventional, serious

imaginary — fanciful; fantastic; mythical

boisterous — rough, noisy, uprorious

strain — stress, pressure, tension.

S U P P L E M E N T 3