什么能让你发笑？能让我们笑出声的原因有很多，其中一个主要原因是为了建立和维持社会联系。你觉得和朋友在一起的时候更容易笑吗？本期 “随身英语” 讨论为什么要笑，笑对我们有哪些好处。

词汇：laughter 笑声

What things make you laugh? There are many things that make us chuckle or burst into laughter. This natural show of emotion gives off signals that we are happy, we find something humorous or even that we’re just a barrel of laughs! Gelotologists have been looking at why we do it and what the benefits are.

Laughter is a very primitive way of making a sound. When we do it, we make very strange noises – from wheezes and squeaks to gasps and snorts – and each sound simply reflects the muscles in the chest squeezing out air from our ribcages under very high pressure.

Most of the time our laughter is involuntary and contagious, particularly between friends. Neuroscientist, Sophie Scott, told the BBC that it’s “a social emotion. It’s better to laugh with people we like.” She defines two types of laughter – spontaneous laughter, where we laugh instantly and uncontrollably, and conversational laughter – where we laugh together with friends. Research found, on average, people laugh seven times for every ten minutes of conversation.

The BBC World Service programme Crowd Science examined the science of laughter. It wanted to know what caused this highly infectious repetitive action. It found we use laughter to show others that we’re being playful and non-threatening, and this serves to make and maintain social bonds. Also, people outside of our social group can understand the relationship between the laughers by the sound of our chuckles.

While our health is no laughing matter, research has found a good guffaw can help our body and mind – it can make us feel good and relax our bodies. It also helps us manage pain and improve our immune system. That’s why laughter therapy is being used as an alternative to conventional treatments. But generally, our ability to laugh is out of our control. When you start doing it, just go with the flow and others will join in.

词汇表

chuckle 轻声笑，暗自笑
burst into laughter 突然开始大笑
humorous 幽默的，滑稽的
a barrel of laughs 有趣，开心果
gelotologist 笑学家
primitive 原始的
wheeze 呼哧呼哧的喘气声
squeak 吱吱声，短促的尖叫声
gasp 喘息，倒抽气
snort 鼻息声，哼哼声
involuntary 不由自主的
contagious 具有感染力的
spontaneous laughter 自发的笑
conversational laughter 交谈中的笑
infectious 有感染力的
non-threatening 不具威胁性的
social bond 社会关系
no laughing matter 不是开玩笑的事，正经事
guffaw 哈哈大笑，狂笑
laughter therapy 笑声疗法

测验与练习

1.  阅读课文并回答问题。

1. What is happening physically in our bodies that makes us laugh?

2. What happens when we laugh spontaneously?

3. According to one survey, how many times do we laugh on average in a ten-minute conversation?

4. In which ways can laughter improve our health?

5. True or false? Other people feel threatened if they hear you laugh.

2.  选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

1. We were very _______ and booked a cheap package holiday. We’re leaving tomorrow!

humorous                  spontaneous                 infectious                       contagious

2. I like going out with my brother. He’s always a _______.

laughing barrel          barrel of laughing          barrels of laughs            barrel of laughs

3. Her sense of humour is _______; we always end up laughing with her.

humorous                  contagious                    conversational                guffaw

4. I had to _______ when I saw the actor get his words mixed up.

wheeze                      snort                             chuckle                           primitive

5. Losing your job is _______.

a laughing matter                                            no laugh matters          

laughing not matters                                       no laughing matter

答案

1. 阅读课文并回答问题。 

1. What is happening physically in our bodies that makes us laugh?
Laughter is caused by the muscles in the chest squeezing out air from our ribcages under very high pressure.

2. What happens when we laugh spontaneously?
We laugh instantly and uncontrollably.

3. According to one survey, how many times do we laugh on average, in a ten-minute conversation?
Research found, on average, people laugh seven times for every ten minutes of conversation.

4. In which ways can laughter improve our health?
It can make us feel good and relax our bodies. It can even help manage pain and improve our immune system.

5. True or false? Other people feel threatened if they hear you laugh.
False. We use laughter to show others that we’re being playful and non-threatening.

2.  选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

1. We were very spontaneous and booked a cheap package holiday. We’re leaving tomorrow!

2. I like going out with my brother. He’s always a barrel of laughs.

3. Her sense of humour is contagious; we always end up laughing with her.

4. I had to chuckle when I saw the actor get his words mixed up.

5. Losing your job is no laughing matter.