Unit 1  Laughter is good for you

2 they are observational, prop physical, and impressionist.
3 he began practicing stand-up when he was a child.
4 his outstanding ability to improvise.
5 eight times.
6 they were two comedians who lived to be 100 years old and kept working until the end of their lives.
7 it sends chemicals that are good for you into your body.
8 laughter is the best medicine.
2. next let's listen to the tape and decide whether the following sentences are true or false.
  1 a stand-up comedian is not allowed to make fun of an audience member.
  2 if the comedians act or speak like a well-known person, this is called observational comedy.
  3 what the physical comedians usually do is tripping over chairs, walking into doors and falling down on stage.
  4 quite a few stand-up comedians have become famous as television and film actor later on in life.
  5 the fact that when crystal hosts the academy awards, he always keeps a toothbrush in his pocket for good luck is only known to a few people.
  6 billy crystal has no plans to go on making films to go on telling jokes.
  7 the reason why people who laugh a lot live longer is that when you laugh, your brain sends chemicals around your body that are good for you.
answers  1 f     2 f      3 t       4 f      5 t       6 f       7 t
1. now let's come to part c2. the four main types of stand-up comedy are explained in the article. match each type with an appropriate example. write the correct letter in the bracket.
answers  1 d   2 a   3 c   4 b
step 4: practice
1. part d
find these new words and expressions in the article. guess their meanings from the contest. then match them with the correct definitions.
answers  1 b  2 d  3 e  4 h  5 g  6 a  7 c  8 f
2. part e
gao hua is writing a biography of billy crystal for his english class. help him complete it.
answers
1 american     2 observe      3 appropriate   4 comedy      5 television    
6 actors        7 improvise    8 host         9 healthy      10 comedian 
step 5: post-reading activities.