每日英語 #099: Typical Television Comedies

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Typical Television Comedies

In a 2010 book called *What Americans Really Want...Really* by Dr. Frank Luntz, the “author” (writer) discusses what makes a popular television comedy show in the U.S. Here are his four of his “guidelines” (suggestions or rules) on what makes a good sitcom.

在2010年的書籍《美國人真正想要的……真的》一書中，弗蘭克·倫茲博士討論了什麼使美國的電視喜劇節目受歡迎。以下是他關於好情境喜劇的四條“指導方針”（建議或規則）。

1. Hold up a mirror. “To hold up a mirror” means to put a mirror in your hands to see what you look like. This is exactly what Americans like to see in their sitcoms — themselves! Luntz says that people want “shows and characters they can personally relate to,” meaning programs and people that they can feel connected to. This may mean people of the same race or “geography” (location), or perhaps even the kinds of jobs they have.
   拿起鏡子。拿起鏡子”意味著拿著一面鏡子來看自己。這正是美國人喜歡在情境喜劇中看到的——他們自己！倫茲說，人們想要“可以個人認同的節目和角色”，也就是說節目和人物讓他們感到相關聯。這可能意味著相同的種族或“地理位置”（位置），或者甚至是他們擁有的工作類型。
2. Connect the dots. The expression “to connect the dots” means that you have to see the connection between things that may seem “otherwise” (normally) unrelated. For Americans, apparently they want the television show itself to connect the dots, meaning that they want the relationship between different events to be very obvious.
   連點成線。“連點成線”這個表達方式意味著你必須看到看似“通常”（通常）不相關的事物之間的聯繫。對於美國人來說，他們顯然希望電視節目本身來連接這些點，也就是說他們希望不同事件之間的關係非常明顯。
3. Relationships involving conflict. Nowadays, Americans no longer want sweet, innocent comedy. That is, they don’t necessarily want comedies where everything is nice and everyone gets along with everyone else. Instead, they want “conflict” (disagreement) among the characters. They want what we would call “an edge,” something that is a little “dark” (sad or tragic) but still “lovable” (something you can like or appreciate).
   涉及衝突的關係。 如今，美國人不再喜歡甜美無邪的喜劇。也就是說，他們不一定想要所有事情都很美好，所有人都彼此和睦相處的喜劇。相反，他們希望角色之間有“衝突”（分歧）。他們想要我們所說的“鋒芒”，一點點“黑暗”（悲傷或悲劇），但仍然是“可愛的”（你可以喜歡或欣賞的）。
4. Home is where comedy lives. Americans like comedies about people in their homes rather than their office.
   家是喜劇的所在。 美國人更喜歡關於家庭而非辦公室的喜劇。

重點單字

• Hold up a mirror /həʊld ʌp ə ˈmɪrər/ - 拿起鏡子
• Relate to /rɪˈleɪt tuː/ - 認同；相關聯
• Connect the dots /kəˈnɛkt ðə dɒts/ - 連點成線
• Conflict /ˈkɒnflɪkt/ - 衝突
• Lovable /ˈlʌvəbəl/ - 可愛的