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Taka Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

test

0''01span01u00Life is a test. It's only a test. Had this been a real life you would have been instructed where to go and what to do02u00.' Whenever I think of this humorous bit of wisdom, it reminds me to not take my life so seriously.02span02br
02br
00I know this is not really a grammar question, but could somebody help me understand what the underlined part is trying to say and what point the author think is humorous?0-
  

Top answer

0Old joke. The joke is the contrast between the seriousness of the situation and the "relaxing" message conveyed by the last sentence. 02br 02br 00Imagine yourself being a test pilot on a plane falling towards the ground who receives instructions from the ground support:02br 01u 00This is only a test.

  • 0Old joke.
  • The joke is the contrast between the seriousness of the situation and the "relaxing" message conveyed by the last sentence.
  • 02br 02br 00Imagine yourself being a test pilot on a plane falling towards the ground who receives instructions from the ground support:02br 01u 00This is only a test.
  • 02span 02br 00 or: 02br 02br 01u 00This is only a test.
  • 02span 0-
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20 Answers
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0Old joke. The joke is the contrast between the seriousness of the situation and the "relaxing" message conveyed by the last sentence. 02br
02br
00Imagine yourself being a test pilot on a plane falling towards the ground who receives instructions from the ground support:02br
01u00This is only a test. 02u00 01span
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0Your example is really easy to understand. Thanks. But the part in question is still puzzling to me. I mean, it says '01span00Life is a test. It's only a test.' Then it goes 'Had this been a real life01span00...' I don't know this person's perception of life. Life is a test without any instruction and a real life wo
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0Oh, wait a minute. Is it that his/her 'life' is the actual situation he/she is in and 'a real life' is sort of a product of his/her imagination? 0-
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0Enjoy the life without knowing or without being instructed or programmed what to do in each situation. 02br
00Enjoy the element of surprise in life and react to it. This is what humans, but not robots, do. 02br
00A 01b00real life02b00, in this author's opinion, means IMO a life in which you take yourself too seriously. 0-
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0I'm starting to understand what the author is trying to say.02br
00I think I'm going into a grammar question after all.02br
02br
00''01span00Life is a test. It's only a test. 01span00Had02span00 this 01span00been02span
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0If the source was American, it's from the test of our emergency broadcast system. 02br
02br
00Periodically, the television stations will stop what they are broadcasting and play this warning tone. Then the message will be "This is a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. This is only a test. In the event of a real emergency..." and so on. Then there are three short beeps an
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0GG, that test is understandable. ' This is a test. This is a test. If this had been about a real state of emergency, you would have been instructed what to do.'02br
00But about the sentence in question, why isn't it 'Life 01span00could02span00 be a test. In a real life, however, you 01span
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0I do not understand the subjunctive too. The subjunctive "01u00Had01font00 this 02font00been01font00 a real life you 02font00would have been01font00 instructed where to go and what to do02font02u01font00.'02font
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0Taka, I'm on you side! It never crossed my mind. Good point. New2Grammar.( I'm facing some problem with my computer so I'll won't be logging in until I find a solution.)0-
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0It's just supposed to be a joke, suggesting that what we're doing here is not "real life." I suppose it's even possible the person who first came up with it was thinking about the "afterlife" (in heaven) as what's real, and this one doesn't count, but I doubt it. It's just at attempt at humor. Obviously we are living a real life, but if we were NOT, and this really is some sort of test run for

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