Studies have shown that a sense of humor can improve your mental and physical health, boost your attractiveness, and improve your leadership skills.

There are a variety of theories and styles of humor, each of which can improve your understanding of the subject.

Humor may be a critical life skill, but can it be taught?

Mark Twain said that “Humor is the great thing, the saving thing after all. The minute it crops up, all our hardnesses yield, all our irritations, and resentments flit away, and a sunny spirit takes their place.” He’s certainly not wrong. Humor may very well be the great thing. It touches upon nearly every facet of life—90% of men and 81% of women report that a sense of humor is the most important quality in a partner, it’s a crucial quality for leaders, and it’s even been shown to improve cancer treatments. There’s no doubt that humor is a life skill that everybody needs. But how do we define humor, and can it be taught?

What is humor?

The best way to kill a joke is to explain it, but psychologists have tried to do so anyhow. There are three main theories on what humor is and where it comes from. Relief theory argues that laughter and humor are ways of blowing off psychological steam, a way to release psychic energy. That’s why jokes told at funerals are often met not with the silence that a somber occasion like that would merit but with uproarious laughter instead.

Page 49, ex. b, c, f

ex. b

An old saying goes ‘laughter is the best medicine’, and doctors have found that it’s really true. They don’t know why, but laughter is good for our heart, our blood circulation, and our immune system. So, the next time you’re feeling stressed about your school work, you know what you have to do: try to laugh a lot, develop a sense of humor and watch funny films.

The Comic Relief charity, an organization that helps people in need, uses laughter to raise money. Every two years in spring, many English people put on a red nose, make a fool of themselves and do ‘silly’ things to make themselves and others laugh. Examples of ‘silly things’ you can do are:

• Invite friends round to your house to watch funny films. They have to pay to watch the films — those with the most comfortable chairs pay more -and for food and drinks.
• Hold a talent show at school and ask your friends and teachers to sing, dance or tell jokes. Sell tickets for the show to the rest of the school.
• Have a ‘red nose party’ at your house. All your friends come dressed in red — including red nose — and you serve red food and drinks. If they don’t wear red, they have to pay a fine.

• Get the students at your school to make funny sculptures, using all kinds of art materials. Sell tickets to your Red Nose Day exhibition.

People can buy a red nose at supermarkets, and part of the money goes to Comic Relief. The organization has helped people for more than 20 years now. And how much money have they collected since the first Red Nose Day? More than £600 million! The idea of Red Nose Day has travelled to other countries, too. In New Zealand, for example, people have made big red noses which they put on the fronts of cars and even buildings!

ex. c

  1. I‘ve had my bicycle for two years and it’s great!
  2. My mum has worked in this hospital for three years.
  3. Has Maria lived here for a long time?
  4. How long have your parents been married?
  5. I haven’t seen my friend Tom for a long time.
  6. Diana and Jenny have been friends since 2004.

ex. f

1) I really like Sara. l ‘ve known (know) her since I was ten.

2) You have had (have) a cold for two weeks. Go to the doctor!

3) My mum’s really good at French. She has studied (study) it for years.

4) I don’t know where Peter is. I haven’t seen (not see) him since this morning.

5) We haven’t been (not be) to the cinema for a long time. Why don’t we go this weekend?

Are you fun to be with?

1. You’ve just had an argument with your mum. Do you:

a) phone your friends and ask them to meet up and have some fun?

b) lock yourself in your room on your own?

c) phone a friend to complain about your mum, and then play loud music for an hour?

2. You’ve just arrived at your holiday place with your parents. Do you:

a) only want to lie in the sand and read or sleep?

b) want to have a good time and make new friends?

c) act miserable: you hate being on holiday and prefer to be at home with your friends?

3. You’ve been at friend’s birthday party for two hours and it’s boring. Do you:

a) tell your friend you have to go home because you promised to help your dad with some work?

b) make fun of your friend and tell him/her that you are going to give him/her a ‘most boring party’ medal?

c) start doing silly dancing or telling jokes to try make people laugh?

4. It’s Saturday evening. You’ve studied hard for a test at school for almost a week. You phone all your friends, but they have already made other plans. Do you:

a) think of other people you could meet up with?

b) get angry or down? You can’t have a fun without your friends.

c) spend the evening watching TV (even if you don’t like films you’re watching)?

5. You’ve forgotten it’s the 1st of April. A friend sends you an email to tell you that your Math’s teacher wants to talk to you. When you phone the teacher you find out it was an April fool’s joke. Do you:

a) send a email back to your friend to tell him/her that you aren’t friends anymore?

b) send an email back to your friend to tell him/her that you think it was a silly joke?

c) tell all your friends about the joke and have a good laugh about it with them?

6. A group of friends have invited you to come to their after-school club. When you get there, you see that none of your friends are there. You don’t know anyone at the club. Do you:

a) stay at the club to see if you can make some new friends?

b) leave the place immediately?

c) sit down in a corner to your MP4 player, hoping your friends will arrive soon?