Q2e Listening & Speaking 1: Audio Script

UNIT 4

Unit 4, Physiology, The Q Classroom

Page 74

Teacher: The Unit Question for Unit 4 is “Who makes you laugh?”
How about you, Yuna? Do like comedies on TV?
Yuna: Yes, I love them.
Teacher: Do you think American comedies or Korean comedies are
funnier?
Yuna: Korean.
Teacher: How about you, Marcus? Who makes you laugh?
Marcus: I don’t like TV comedies, but I love live comedians. I like to
listen to people tell jokes. Also, I’m very funny myself.
Teacher: [laughs] That’s true. You are pretty funny. Sophy, who makes
you laugh? Besides Marcus.
Sophy: I think my best friend makes me laugh. We understand each
other so well. Lots of times we laugh at things that no one else thinks
are funny.
Teacher: What do you think, Felix? Why are some things funny to
one person but not to another?
Felix: Well, you need to understand the joke. Some English-speaking
comedians aren’t funny to me. It’s like listening to Sophy’s jokes with
her friend—I don’t understand it, so I don’t laugh. But some comedy
is funny even when I don’t understand the language. You know, like
people falling down and throwing pies and silly things like that.

Unit 4, Listening 1, Activity A, B; Unit 4, Listening Skill, Activity A

Page 78, 79, 80

Host: Welcome. We have a special show for you today. We’re going
to talk about Charles Dickens—the man, his life, and what makes his
books so funny. The number is 877-555-1167. Call us and tell us why
you love Charles Dickens.
First, a bit of background about Charles Dickens. He is the author of
fifteen novels, including some of the most famous stories in history. He
is known for his sense of humor and the unusual and funny situations
and people in his books.
Dickens was born in Landsport, England on February 7th,
1812—exactly 200 years ago. In 1817, his family moved to Kent in the southeast,
where Dickens spent most of his younger years. Many of the people and places in his
books are similar to his memories from this time. As a young boy, he
enjoyed spending time outdoors, but his favorite hobby was reading.
Surprisingly, for such a talented writer, Dickens did not have much
formal schooling. At the age of 12, Dickens had to stop school
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Q2e Listening & Speaking 1: Audio Script

because of his father’s money problems. For a time, he had to work

at a shoe polish factory in London—a very difficult experience for a
boy. However, these challenges helped him become a great writer and
storyteller.
Dickens’s first professional writing job was writing for the London
Monthly Magazine. His first novel, Pickwick Papers, quickly became a
hit. Soon it seemed everyone in London was reading and talking about
Charles Dickens. He was a huge success.
In his other works, Dickens went on to create many interesting and
funny characters, with comical names, such as Ebenezer Scrooge,
Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, and Polly Toodle. Readers say Dickens
described each character so well, they feel as though they know them
personally.
Two hundred years later, Dickens is one of the most famous comic
writers of all time, and students in schools around the world still read
and study Dickens’s work.
So, Charles Dickens fans, what do you think makes his writing funny?
What’s your favorite book, or your favorite funny scene in a Dickens
book? Let’s go to the phones and find out! Hello, you’re on the air.
Caller 1: Hi, uh . . . This is Karen.
Host: Hi, Karen. Tell us why you enjoy reading Dickens.
Caller 1: Well, when I read his books, they just make me laugh.
The characters are so unusual. And the conversations between the
characters are often very funny.
Host: Yes, I agree. Thanks, Karen. Next caller, you’re on the air.
Caller 2: Oh, um, hello. My name is Ernesto.
Host: Hi, Ernesto. Why do you like Charles Dickens?
Caller 2: I like the way Dickens can make a sad situation seem funny.
Many of his characters have difficult lives, or they don’t have money or
food to eat. But somehow Dickens helps us see humor in the sad parts
of life.
Host: That’s great. Thank you for your call. All right. It looks like we
have time for one more caller. . . . Next caller, what do you think?

Unit 4, Listening Skill, Activity B

Page 81

Host: Unlike some authors who only have one or two hits, all of
Dickens’s 15 books became very famous. One of his most popular
works is David Copperfield. David Copperfield was Dickens’s eighth
novel, which he wrote in 1849. In the book, the main character, David,
tells the story of his own life. Like Dickens, David has a difficult life
when he is young. His parents die when he is a boy, and he must go to
work in a factory. Many parts of the story are sad. But as always, the
way Dickens describes his characters makes readers laugh. In the end,

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Q2e Listening & Speaking 1: Audio Script

David becomes a successful writer, and lives a happy life. Late in his
career, Dickens said that David Copperfield was his favorite of all of
the characters in his books.

Unit 4, Listening 2, Activity A, B

Page 84

Professor: OK, class. Let me introduce today’s guest speaker,

psychology professor Doctor Brian Long. Doctor Long will talk about
how we use humor to communicate. Thanks for coming, Doctor
Long.
Doctor Long: Thank you for inviting me.
Professor: Doctor, first let me ask, How important is a sense of
humor?
Doctor Long: Well, Professor, these days, it’s very important. A
sense of humor shows we are happy and confident. It also helps us feel
relaxed. And humor is one way we communicate with other people.
Professor: Yes, that’s true.
Doctor Long: Of course, we don’t all have the same sense of humor.
Each one of us has our own humor style.
Professor: Humor style?
Doctor Long: Yes, there are four main humor styles. The first one isn’t
very nice. It’s “put-down humor.” This is when we make fun of another
person; for example, when we laugh at someone for doing or saying
the wrong thing.
Professor: You’re right. That isn’t very nice. Put-down humor can
make people feel bad, and can hurt their feelings.
Doctor Long: Right. Especially if they don’t understand that you’re
joking. If put-down humor is your humor style, you probably don’t
have many friends. It’s a good thing there are other humor styles—like
“bonding humor,” for example.
Professor: Bonding humor?
Doctor Long: Yes. The word bond means “bring together.” So, this
style of humor brings people together. If this is you, you are not afraid
to be in front of an audience. You like to tell jokes, and make other
people relax.
Professor: That sounds like some of the students in this class.
Doctor Long: Then there’s what I call “hate-me humor.”
Professor: “Hate-me?” Do they want people to dislike them?
Doctor Long: No, not really. People with this style of humor make
themselves the joke. They make fun of themselves, for example, of the
way they look. Or they do silly things so others will make fun of them.
Professor: Interesting. Yes, I think I know some people with that
humor style.
Doctor Long: Finally, there’s the “laughing-at-life” humor style. These

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Q2e Listening & Speaking 1: Audio Script

people can find humor in everything—even the sad or difficult parts

of life. They don’t worry about small things. If something bad happens,
they just laugh. It makes life easier.
Professor: That sounds good. I’m going to try to be more of a
laughing-at-life person. Thank you, Doctor Long. I never knew there
were so many different kinds of humor.
Doctor Long: [laughs] Can you imagine if we didn’t have humor at
all? Life would be very boring.
Professor: It sure would.

Unit 4, Grammar, Activity A

Page 89

1. A man and a woman go to a restaurant for lunch. The woman

orders a bowl of soup. A few minutes later, the waiter brings the soup
to the table. The man says, “Excuse me. Your finger’s in my wife’s
soup.” The waiter replies, “Oh, that’s OK. It isn’t too hot.”
2. A man’s at the doctor’s office. The doctor asks him, “What’s
the trouble?” The man answers, “I hurt everywhere. It hurts when
I touch my head. It hurts when I touch my leg, and it hurts when
I touch my arm.” The doctor thinks for a moment. Then he says, “I
know what’s wrong. Your finger is broken!”
3. A man stops his car at a traffic light. A policeman stops next
to him and sees a penguin in the car. The policeman tells the man,
“You can’t drive with a penguin in your car. Take that penguin
to the zoo.” The man says, “Yes, sir. I will.” The next day, the
policeman sees the man’s car again. The penguin is still in the car.
The policeman asks, “Why do you have that penguin? I told you to
take it to the zoo!” The man looks at the policeman and says, “I did
that yesterday, and we had a great time! Today we’re going to the
park!”

Unit 4, Pronunciation, Examples

Page 91
say says
tell tells
give gives
answer answers
laugh laughs
look looks
stop stops
eat eats
change changes
miss misses

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Q2e Listening & Speaking 1: Audio Script

wash washes
watch watches

Unit 4, Speaking Skill, Example

Page 93

Speaker:… The man touches the rabbit, and the rabbit bites him.
“Ouch!” he says. “You said your rabbit doesn’t bite!” The shopkeeper
replies, “That isn’t my rabbit!”

Unit 4, Speaking Skill, Activity A

Page 93

Man: A man’s at the doctor’s office. The doctor asks him, “What’s the
trouble?” The man answers, “I hurt everywhere. It hurts when I touch
my head. It hurts when I touch my leg, and it hurts when I touch my
arm.” The doctor thinks for a moment. Then he says, “I know what’s
wrong. Your finger is broken!”

Unit 4, Unit Assignment, Activity B, C

Page 95

Comedian :A tourist visits Sydney, Australia. He wants to

go to the beach. But he doesn’t know how to get there. He sees a
policeman. He waves to the policeman and says, “Excuse me! Can you
help me?” The policeman comes over and says, “Yes, sir. How can I
help you?” The tourist says, “Can you tell me the fastest way to get to
the beach?” The policeman asks, “Are you walking or driving?” The
tourist answers, “Driving.” The policeman answers, “Well, that’s the fastest way.”

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