文字难度：★★★★
1)Keep it above the belt, stop short of total humiliation and, if possible, mix in some irony, some drama, maybe even a 2)bogus call from the person's 3)old flame or new boss. A good prank, of course, involves good 4)stagecraft. But it also requires emotional intuition.
要玩就玩得光明正大，别搞那些羞辱人之类的把戏，如果可能的话，就适当加入一点儿讽刺，一点儿戏剧，或许甚至可以是假装旧情人或新上司打来的电话。高明的恶作剧，当然需要好的表演能力。此外，还需要对他人的感受有种直觉上的把握。
“You want to play on people's weaknesses or dislikes, but not go too hard,” said Tommy Doran, a fireman and 5)paramedic in Skokie, Ill., who as a 6)rookie in Montgomery County, Md., was 7)lured into the station's kitchen and blasted with multiple cream pies. “For me it's just the sort of dark humor we use to cope with the job and each other. Nothing dangerous or illegal.”
“要针对别人的缺点或者厌恶好好地恶搞一番没问题，但是切记别太过分，”汤米·德兰说道。他是美国伊利诺斯州斯科基市消防站的一名消防员兼急救员，曾经就试过被人骗进消防站的厨房，然后遭到奶油派轮番“袭击”。“对我来说，那只是我们用以应对工作和彼此相处的一份黑色幽默，既不危险也不犯法。”
Psychologists have studied pranks for years, often in the context of 8)harassment, 9)bullying and all manner of malicious exclusion and prejudice. Yet practical jokes are far more commonly an effort to bring a person into a group,10)anthropologists have found—an integral part of 11)rituals around the world intended to 12)temper success with humility. And recent research suggests that the experience of being 13)duped can stir self-reflection in a way few other experiences can, functioning as a check on 14)arrogance or 15)obliviousness.
心理学家们致力于恶作剧的研究已经多年了，研究方向通常都集中在骚扰、欺凌弱小以及各种各样的排外和歧视行为上。但人类学家却发现，整人游戏往往更多是为了让个体融入集体——全球通用的以羞辱打压成功气焰的必经一役。最近的研究表明，被人愚弄的经历能激发一个人去自我反省，检视自己的自负和糊涂，而几乎没有其他哪种经历能有这样的效果。
The 1960s activist and prankster Abbie Hoffman reportedly divided practical jokes into three categories. The bad ones involve 16)vindictive 17)skewering, or the sort of head-shaving, shivering-in-boxers 18)fraternity 19)hazing that the sociologist Erving Goffman described as “degradation ceremonies.” Neutral tricks are more akin to physical 20)punch lines, like wrapping the toilet bowl in 21)cellophane, depositing a massive pumpkin on top of the student union building, or pulling some electronic 22)high jinks on a co-worker's keyboard (though on deadline this falls quickly into the “bad” category).
据报道，在20世纪60年代，社会活动人士及恶作剧玩家阿比·霍夫曼将玩弄把戏分为了三大类。“坏”的恶作剧通常包括恶意的伤害，如在大学的兄弟会中捉弄新生，剃光人家的头发，让人只穿着短裤冷得发抖，这些被社会学家欧文·霍夫曼称之为“堕落的典礼”。“中性”的恶作剧更像是将笑点活现眼前，比如说给抽水马桶的厕兜包上玻璃纸，在学生会大楼的屋顶上放一个巨型南瓜，再或者是在同事的键盘上做点手脚（但若是碰巧发生在工作中的重要截止日期，那这原本“中性”的恶作剧就会立刻变成“坏”的恶作剧）。