Why do we laugh? 为什么我们会笑？

随身英语 Why do we laugh? 为什么我们会笑？

Play audio file 当我们听到有趣的笑话时定会忍俊不禁。然而，这并不是最常见的“发笑因素”，最能引人开怀大笑的究竟是什么呢？答案其实很简单：与人共处。研究显示，和他人在一起时发笑的频率是独处时的三十倍，而且人类并不是唯一能被逗乐的物种。

课文内容 词汇:  笑声

What makes you laugh the most?

While rib-tickling jokes and hilarious videos certainly do make us giggle, most of the time we laugh because of something much simpler: being with other people.

So much so that we are 30 times more likely to laugh when we're with others, according to a study by neuroscientist Robert Provine from the University of Maryland. "When you're alone, laughter basically disappears," he told Smithsonian Magazine.

So, what is it about other people that makes us split our sides? The answer lies deep within our brains, and in how we form communities.

Laughter is a social emotion that we use to "make and maintain social bonds," says Professor Sophie Smith from University College London in an article for the BBC. It reassures people that situations are non-threatening. Those who laugh frequently are also often more popular. Even in a normal conversation we laugh seven times every 10 minutes, she says.

Professor Smith also explains that laughter is very different to speech. It is non-verbal: the wheezing and snorting sounds are produced by air being pushed out quickly at high pressure, without involving the teeth or lips. These sounds are the kind we make when in a state of heightened emotion.

In this respect, laughter sounds more like an animal call than human language. This theory is backed up by tests which show the part of the brain responsible for laughter is not the neocortex used in language, but an 'older' area we share with mammals.

Indeed, chimpanzees, gorillas and even rats all enjoy a good chortle, especially when being tickled. Just be careful when you tickle a gorilla, or you might end up laughing on the other side of your face… (Did you laugh at that gag? Or did it just make you groan?)

词汇表 rib-tickling 令人捧腹大笑的

hilarious 滑稽的

giggle 咯咯地笑

neuroscientist 神经科学家

split your sides 笑裂腰身，笑破肚皮

social bond 社会关系

non-threatening 不具威胁性的

non-verbal 非语言的

wheeze 发出喘息声

snort 用鼻子哼

heightened emotion 高度激动的情绪

back up 证实，有证据支持

neocortex 大脑新皮层

chortle 哈哈大笑

laugh on the other side of your face （口语比喻）转喜为忧、乐极生悲

gag 玩笑、俏皮话

groan 哼了一声

测验与练习 1.  阅读课文并回答问题。

1. Why do we laugh so much when we're with others?

2. How is laughing unlike speaking?

3. If I tell a bad joke does it make you split your sides or groan?

4. How do you make a rat laugh?

5. True or false? The part of the brain responsible for speaking is newer than the part used for laughing.

2.  请你在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处 。

1. I can't stop _________ whenever Tim talks. He's just so funny.

rib-tickling         splitting         giggling         groaning

2. He _________ his claim with photographic evidence.

back upped         back up         heightened         backed up

3. After running for 10 miles I was _________ heavily.

wheezing         snorting         chortling         tickling

4. Don't you dare say that again or you'll be laughing on the other side _________.

of my face         of your face         of our face         of the face

5. Police were sent in to deal with a _________ situation.

threatened         non-verbal         non-threatening         threatening

答案 1.  阅读课文并回答问题。

1. Why do we laugh so much when we're with others?

We laugh because it helps us make and maintain social connections, it helps us understand situations are non-threatening, and because it can make us more popular.

2. How is laughing unlike speaking?

Laughter is produced in a different way physically: by forcing air out quickly, without using the teeth or lips. The sounds made are similar to those we make when highly emotional, not to words. Laughing is similar to animal noises – and uses a different part of the brain to speech.

3. If I tell a bad joke does it make you split your sides or groan?

If you hear a bad joke you groan, which means to laugh awkwardly or in a forced way.

4. How do you make a rat laugh?

You tickle a rat to make it laugh.

5. True or false? The part of the brain responsible for speaking is newer than the part used for laughing.

True. The part of the brain used for laughing is an older part we share with other mammals. 

2. 请你在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处 。

1. I can't stop giggling whenever Tim talks. He's just so funny.

2. He backed up his claim with photographic evidence.

3. After running for 10 miles I was wheezing heavily.

4. Don't you dare say that again or you'll be laughing on the other side of your face.

5. Police were sent in to deal with a threatening situation.