The funny side of life 喜劇人的歡樂(lè)生活

李全忠

一個(gè)脫口秀演員應(yīng)該是一個(gè)流利的溝通者，并擅長(zhǎng)用肢體語(yǔ)言來(lái)給笑話增色。然而，對(duì)于27歲的他來(lái)說(shuō)，這一切顯得太過(guò)艱難……

A stand?up comedian is supposed to be a fluent communicator who is also good at using body language to accompany jokes.

However， for 27?year?old comedian Zhang Jiaxin， it takes a great effort to clearly pronounce the sounds of each character and sentence and be flexible on the stage. At birth， the oxygen supply to his brain was not enough， which led to later problems with speaking and walking. The other long?term impairment is the loss of full use of his right hand. Yet what makes him even more special is his ability to make use of his conditions in a way that makes both him and the audience unaware of them. And he has found strength in his vulnerability.

It was two years ago when Zhang first performed stand?up comedy on the stage. At the time， he was preparing for a performance at a companys year?end party. Although he didnt know much about stand?up performances， he liked to watch and be amused by entertainment shows from a very young age. So he decided to give a humorous monologue at the party to amuse and entertain his colleagues. It opened Zhangs door to a colorful world of stand?up comedy.

He started to pay attention to the stand?up comedy live shows and met a woman who worked at a local stand?up club. The woman encouraged Zhang to write down jokes and test his material in the public. But he was afraid of showing his physical imperfections onstage.

“She sent me some videos of Drew Lynch （an American stand?up comic who has difficulty speaking due to a sports injury earlier in his life） and told me that my defects （缺陷）make my appeal special，” he says. “That inspired me to have a go.” Once he walked onto the stage， the audience immediately noticed his differences. Wows and claps resounded.

He began to pluck up the courage to make use of his physical handicaps or recollect hurtful memories when writing jokes and surprisingly found out that the process helped him to embrace his imperfections and get over the painful experiences.

1. What contributed to Zhangs problems with speaking and walking？

A. A sports injury. B. Loss of the right hand.

C. A lack of oxygen at birth. D. Hurtful childhood memories.

2. What did Zhang perform at a companys year?end party？

A. He gave a humorous monologue.

B. He broadcast comedy live shows.

C. He shared his favorite entertainment show.

D. He got in touch with a female comedian.

3. Why did the woman send Zhang videos of Drew Lynch？

A. To persuade him to join a local stand?up club.

B. To inspire him to perform on the stage.

C. To make friends with him.

D. To show her pity on him.

4. What does the underlined phrase “pluck up” in the last paragraph mean？

A. Go after. B. Give away. C. Put out. D. Gather up.

Useful expressions

be supposed to 應(yīng)該

It takes a great effort to do... 做……要付出巨大的努力

find strength in vulnerability 在脆弱中找到了力量

physical handicaps 生理缺陷

embrace imperfections 擁抱不完美

get over the painful experiences 從痛苦的經(jīng)歷中走出來(lái)