Practice English Speaking&Listening with: Steve Carrell - (Steve Martin Tribute) - 2007 Kennedy Center Honors

[orchestra plays ôComedy Tonightö from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum [applause]

(unseen male announcer) Ladies and gentlemen, Steve Carrell.

[applause and music continue]

Good evening. It is difficult for me to

express what a personal thrill it is to

pay tribute to Martin Scorsese. [laughter] Few

people in the history of cinema have

created such an enduring legacy. [laughter] His work

transcends [light laughter] the craft of filmmaking. [a few claps] (Caroline Kennedy whispers inaudibly] [light laughter]

[laughter starts and increases]

Steve Martin is a national treasure.

[laughter and applause]

I first saw him perform in 1978. He was

little more than a blurry white dot

several thousand yards away. [light laughter] But I can

tell you what I did see. I saw a man with

an arrow through his head. [laughter]

I witnessed the phenomenon of happy feet. [light laughter]

I saw a balloon-animal depiction of

venereal disease. [laughter] His act was that of an

idiot savantů [laughter] minus the savant. [laughter] Much of what

he did that night could be easily

dismissed as abject silliness, pointless

clowning, incomprehensible non sequitur.

And, frankly, that's exactly what I think

it was. [light laughter] Because even though I do believe

Steve Martin to be a national treasure,

in the loosest sense of the term, [light laughter] I also

believe that he has deceived us. [laughter] He has

led us to believe that he is both smart

[emphasized]and dumb. [light laughter] Awkward yet refined. [a few murmurs] Illiterate

and yetůnotůilliterate. [laughter]

Perhaps I have chosen an inappropriate

time for this. [laughter] And if I haveůwell, ex-cuůuse

me. [laughter] The fact of the matter isůthat he's

even smarter than he is letting on. He is

toying with us. [chuckling] Look at him. [laughter] Look at his

face. [laughter] He's laughing [emphasized] at you. [laughter]

He mocks us for his own personal

pleasure. [laughter] And for thisůI think we owe him

our thanks. [laughter]

I am in awe of Steve Martin. I admire his

career. I respect him more than anyoneů

with the possible exception of Martin

Scorsese. [laughter and a few claps]

It's truly the greatest honor of my life (um)

to pay tribute to you. Our world is

richer because you are a part of it.

[applause]

[applause]