
IELTS TopicHappiness and Humour
Core Vocabulary
Click on the cards to reveal the Vietnamese translation.
Feel down and blue
Cảm thấy buồn bã và chán nản
Harmonious relationship
Mối quan hệ hòa hợp / êm ấm
Taken advantage of
Bị lợi dụng
Slapstick humour
Hài hành động / Hài thể chất
Sarcastic remarks
Những lời nhận xét mỉa mai / châm biếm
Lighten the mood
Làm dịu bầu không khí
Defuse the situation
Xoa dịu tình hình / giải tỏa căng thẳng
Incorporate humour
Lồng ghép / kết hợp sự hài hước
Passage Analysis
Hover over the highlighted words to see their translations.
Paragraph 1 & 2: Sources of Happiness
Happiness in life is something most people hope for. Nobody wants to feel down and blueCảm thấy buồn bã và chán nản, so they do what they can to become happy. However, people’s sources of happiness may differ. Many people claim that their loved ones are what make them happy. So if there is a harmonious relationshipMối quan hệ hòa hợp / êm ấm at home, enough food on the table, and no one is sick, they feel happy despite difficulties faced at school or work. Another source is one’s career. If people love what they are doing, even if they sometimes have to work overtime, they are content and happy. Hobbies can also bring happiness… all of the stress and pressure disappear the moment they get to read, exercise outdoors, paint, sing, or play video games.
Paragraph 3: Experiencing Negative Emotions
But of course, try as we might, people cannot be happy all the time. As humans, we experience a range of emotions. When things do not go our way, we may feel disappointed and frustrated. When we are taken advantage ofBị lợi dụng or betrayed, we may feel angry and bitter. And when we lose someone or something special, we can feel down. Even if these negative situations happened months or years ago, remembering them can cause a person’s moment of happiness to disappear. But again, these are normal.
Paragraph 4: Humour as a Coping Mechanism
To counter these negative emotions and restore happiness, some people seek something humorous since a joke, funny video, or comedy movie can put a smile on their face. Some people prefer slapstick humourHài hành động / Hài thể chất, which is physical comedy such as gags or pranks to scare or shock others. Other people enjoy witty humour where funny stories, jokes, quips, or sarcastic remarksNhững lời nhận xét mỉa mai / châm biếm are used to make others laugh. However, to understand such humour, people must understand the context of what was said and the language.
Paragraph 5: The Function of Humour in Society
Moreover, humour can make a situation lighter or motivate people. In challenging or depressing situations, some people crack jokes or tell funny stories to lighten the moodLàm dịu bầu không khí. Bosses know that if employees are too serious, they might become overstressed and ineffective. When dealing with confrontations, humour can help defuse the situationXoa dịu tình hình / giải tỏa căng thẳng, reminding people that they are on the same side. And in school, professors might begin with a funny story to catch the students’ attention or incorporate humourLồng ghép / kết hợp sự hài hước in their lecture to reenergize the class.
Sentence Structures
- “Nobody wants to [feel/be…], so they do what they can to [mục tiêu].”Không ai muốn [cảm thấy/bị…], vì vậy họ làm những gì có thể để [mục tiêu].
- “So if there is a [danh từ], they feel happy despite difficulties faced at [nơi chốn].”Nếu có [danh từ], họ cảm thấy hạnh phúc mặc dù gặp khó khăn tại [nơi chốn].
- “To counter these negative emotions and restore happiness, some people seek [danh từ] since…”Để đối phó với những cảm xúc tiêu cực này và khôi phục hạnh phúc, một số người tìm kiếm [danh từ] vì…
- “When dealing with confrontations, humour can help defuse the situation, reminding people that…”Khi đối mặt với xung đột, sự hài hước có thể giúp xoa dịu tình hình, nhắc nhở mọi người rằng…
Practice Exercise
Select the most appropriate word or phrase to complete each sentence:
- Whenever it rains for several days in a row, I tend to feel down and .
- A good leader knows exactly how to a tense situation between angry team members.
- Children often laugh out loud when watching cartoons that rely heavily on humour.
- Telling a funny, light-hearted story before a presentation is a great way to the mood.
- She was deeply hurt when she realized her kindness was being by her friends.

Leave a Reply