Situation Comedy情景喜剧

Friends is a classic American situation comedy （情景喜剧）. Ever since its first episode （集） aired in 1994， it has been one of the most popular sitcoms. What has made the show so popular？

《老友记》是一部经典的美国情景喜剧。第一集于1994年播出，是最受欢迎的情景喜剧之一。究竟是什么让这个节目如此受欢迎？

Its humor is， of course， the main reason. Sitcoms like Friends are full of lighthearted and funny jokes. According to research done by American TV blogger Talib Visram， the number of jokes in popular US sitcoms ranges from 3.4 to 7.4 per minute. Friends takes a moderate （中等的） pace and has 6 jokes per minute. This pace of humor keeps the audience relaxed， but also fully involved （参与） in the show.

当然，它的幽默是主要原因。像《老友记》这样的情景喜剧充满轻松有趣的笑话。据美国电视博主塔利布·维斯兰的研究，美国热门情景喜剧中的笑话数量从每分钟3.4到7.4个不等。《老友记》笑话数量刚刚好，每分钟有6个笑话，这种幽默的节奏让观众放松，也让观众充分参与进节目中来。

When you laugh at the jokes， you might hear people laughing along with you on the show.This is another special feature （特點） of sitcoms-the laugh track （音轨）. Dating back to the 1940s， the laugh track aims to create a theater experience at home. This makes the show even more interesting-when others laugh， we want to laugh too.

当你被一个笑话逗乐时，你会同时听到有人在节目中和你一起大笑。这是因为情景喜剧的另一特点——笑轨。追溯到20世纪40年代，笑轨旨在创造一种家庭影院体验，它能使电视节目更加有趣——当别人笑的时候，我们也想笑。

But sitcoms are not only about jokes and laughs. As American writer Ken Sanes said， sitcoms are often about the trivial （琐碎的） matters of daily life and every character is as real as we are. They have fears， desires （欲望） and foolish emotions， and also do crazy things. The weaknesses they show help us relate to （与……感同身受） them.

但是情景喜剧不仅仅是关于笑话和笑声。正如美国作家肯·桑斯所说，情景喜剧通常是关于日常生活中琐碎的事情，每个角色都和我们一样真实。他们有恐惧、欲望和愚蠢的情绪，也做疯狂的事情，他们展示的弱点有助于我们与他们感同身受。