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我们为什么大笑?
添加时间:2016-09-21 12:38:02 浏览次数: 作者:未知
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  • Laughter is weird1 - and we do it a lot. One study found that people laugh seven times for every 10 minutes of conversation.

    笑很奇怪--而我们还经常这么做。一项研究发现,人们在每十分钟的交谈中平均会笑七次。

    We don't do it when we think we do. It's been found that if you ask people what makes them laugh they'll talk about jokes and humour, but we laugh most frequently when we are with other people - and hardly ever at jokes.

    有时我们以为自己在笑,而实际上并没有。如果你问人们什么会让他们大笑,他们会回答笑话或幽默,然而我们在与他人交往时笑得最多--而很少在听到笑话时大笑。

    It's a social emotion and we use it to make and maintain social bonds.

    笑是一种社会情感,我们靠它来制造和维系社会纽带。

    We also make very strange noises when we laugh - from wheezes2 and squeaks3 to gasps4 and snorts - and each sound simply reflects the muscles in the chest squeezing out air from our ribcages under very high pressures.

    我们大笑时还会发出奇怪的声音--从喘息和吱吱声到大喘气和哼哼--这些声音仅仅是胸部肌肉在高压作用下将胸腔空气排出造成。

    My laugh is very high-pitched, far higher than I could produce when trying to sing, for example.

    我的笑声非常尖锐,打个比方说,比我试着唱歌的声音要尖地多。

    Laughter is also a very primitive5 way of making a sound.

    大笑同时也是一种非常原始的发声方式。

    MRI images show that when someone laughs, there is no real movement of the tongue, jaw6, soft palate and lips. All the action is happening at the ribcage.

    核磁共振图像显示,人们在大笑时,舌头、下巴、软腭和嘴唇并没有真正运动。所有的动作都在胸腔内发生。

    Laughter is a non-verbal emotional expression and these sounds, which we typically make when in the grip of quite strong emotions, are more like animal calls than they are like our normal speech.

    大笑是一种非语言的情感表达方式,当我们处在非常强烈的情绪中时,我们发出的声音更像动物的吼声而不像我们正常的语言交流。

    We make them in very simple ways (unlike speech) and they are controlled by an evolutionarily "older" brain system, one that looks after vocalisation in all mammals (unlike speech).

    我们发出这种声音的方式非常简单(不像语言),它们由进化角度“更老的”大脑系统控制,它在所有哺乳动物的发声系统中都存在(不像语言)。

    This is why a stroke can rob someone of the ability to speak, but leave them able to laugh and cry. They have suffered damage to the brain areas that enable them to speak, but the older emotional system is still intact.

    这就是为什么中风会使人失去语言能力,但患者仍能大哭和大笑。他们大脑中负责语言的部分受损,但更老的情绪系统部分仍然完好损。

    These non-verbal expressions are frequently associated with expressions of emotion. The emotions themselves are called the "basic" ones, because they're recognised by all human groups and are also found in other mammals.

    这种非语言的表达往往和情绪表达联系在一起。情绪本身被称为“基础”,因为它们会被所有人类群体和其他哺乳动物识别。

    This explains why some emotions are quite similar across species - think about similarities between the face of an angry human and an angry wolf.

    这也解释了为什么有些情绪跨越物种仍然十分相似--想想愤怒的人脸和愤怒的狼之间的相似之处吧。

    People recognise laughter as laughter even if it is produced by someone from a very unfamiliar7 culture.

    人们能够识别出笑声,即使它来自一个完全陌生的文化。

    My collaborators Disa Sauter and Frank Eisner went to Namibia several times to work with the Himba people and the only positive sound that the English made which the Himba recognised (and vice8 versa) was laughter.

    我的合作人迪萨·索特和弗兰克·艾斯纳多次前往纳米比亚和当地的津巴布韦人共事,他们唯一能够识别的由英语国家的人发出的积极声音就是笑声(反之亦然)。

    Other, very positive emotions such as triumph, which are meaningful across cultures, are expressed very differently in different cultures and so are not basic expressions.

    其他积极的情绪,比如胜利--在各文化中都是意义重大的,却有着不同的表达方式,因而它不是基础表情。

    For example, in the UK, it's not unusual for people to cheer to express triumph, while the Himba people produce an almost song-like "ay-ay-ay" sound when they are celebrating.

    例如在英国,人们在表达胜利时往往会欢呼,而津巴布韦人则是发出类似“ay-ay-ay”的声音来表达庆祝。

    Of course, we are certainly not the only animals that laugh. Laughter has been well described in other primates9 such as gorillas10, chimpanzees and orang-utans.

    当然,人类并不是唯一会笑的动物。其他灵长类动物也能很好地大笑,比如大猩猩、黑猩猩和猩猩。

    Laughter has even been described in rats, so it's at least possible that there is more laughter out there in the mammal kingdom.

    甚至老鼠也会笑,因此在哺乳动物的世界里很可能存在更多会笑的动物。

    And intriguingly11, wherever you find laughter, its roots are in tickling12 and play from humans to gorillas to rats. All mammals play when they are juveniles13 and some mammals (like humans, otters14, rats and dogs) play through their whole lives.

    有趣的是,大笑往往来源于挠痒痒和玩耍,不论是人类、大猩猩还是老鼠。所有哺乳动物在青少年时期都会玩耍,有些哺乳动物(如人类、水獭、老鼠和狗)会把玩耍贯穿整个生命。

    Maybe laughter has evolved to be an important signifier of play - a sign that we're having fun, no-one is going to get hurt and this is all a game.

    也许,笑已经逐渐转变为玩耍的一个重要标记--它意味着我们很开心,没有人会受伤害,这只是个游戏。

    There is even a theory that this is what happens in comedy - people are using communication in a playful way and this is why we laugh.

    它甚至成为解释喜剧的一个理论--人们使用有趣的方式进行对话,这也是我们会笑的原因。

     10级    双语 


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    1 weird [wɪəd] bghw8   第7级
    adj.古怪的,离奇的;怪诞的,神秘而可怕的
    参考例句:
    • From his weird behaviour, he seems a bit of an oddity. 从他不寻常的行为看来,他好像有点怪。
    • His weird clothes really gas me. 他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。
    2 wheezes [hwi:ziz] ac1c821de1ffb9e4f5477f18b3efa2e0   第11级
    n.喘息声( wheeze的名词复数 )v.喘息,发出呼哧呼哧的喘息声( wheeze的第三人称单数 )
    参考例句:
    • They've tried some brilliant wheezes, but every time, Jerry's twigged at the last moment. 他们使用了一些华丽的陈腐俏皮话,但是每次到了最后关头,德国人就察觉了。 来自互联网
    • The lungs are clear to auscultation bilaterally, without any wheezes, rales, or rhonchi. 双肺听诊清音,无喘鸣或干湿罗音。 来自互联网
    3 squeaks [skwi:ks] c0a1b34e42c672513071d8eeca8c1186   第9级
    n.短促的尖叫声,吱吱声( squeak的名词复数 )v.短促地尖叫( squeak的第三人称单数 );吱吱叫;告密;充当告密者
    参考例句:
    • The upper-middle-classes communicate with each other in inaudible squeaks, like bats. 那些上中层社会的人交谈起来象是蚊子在哼哼,你根本听不见。 来自辞典例句
    • She always squeaks out her ideas when she is excited. 她一激动总是尖声说出自己的想法。 来自互联网
    4 gasps [ɡɑ:sps] 3c56dd6bfe73becb6277f1550eaac478   第7级
    v.喘气( gasp的第三人称单数 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
    参考例句:
    • He leant against the railing, his breath coming in short gasps. 他倚着栏杆,急促地喘气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
    • My breaths were coming in gasps. 我急促地喘起气来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
    5 primitive [ˈprɪmətɪv] vSwz0   第7级
    adj.原始的;简单的;n.原(始)人,原始事物
    参考例句:
    • It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger. 逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
    • His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society. 他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。
    6 jaw [dʒɔ:] 5xgy9   第7级
    n.颚,颌,说教,流言蜚语;v.喋喋不休,教训
    参考例句:
    • He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw. 他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
    • A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character. 强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。
    7 unfamiliar [ˌʌnfəˈmɪliə(r)] uk6w4   第7级
    adj.陌生的,不熟悉的
    参考例句:
    • I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here. 我在这儿人地生疏。
    • The man seemed unfamiliar to me. 这人很面生。
    8 vice [vaɪs] NU0zQ   第7级
    n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的
    参考例句:
    • He guarded himself against vice. 他避免染上坏习惯。
    • They are sunk in the depth of vice. 他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。
    9 primates [prai'meiti:z] 9536f12c27d026e37c108bd6fc53dbba   第8级
    primate的复数
    参考例句:
    • Primates are alert, inquisitive animals. 灵长目动物是机灵、好奇的动物。
    • Consciousness or cerebration has been said to have emerged in the evolution of higher primates. 据说意识或思考在较高级灵长类的进化中已出现。
    10 gorillas [ɡəˈriləz] a04bd21e2b9b42b0d71bbb65c0c6d365   第8级
    n.大猩猩( gorilla的名词复数 );暴徒,打手
    参考例句:
    • the similitude between humans and gorillas 人类和大猩猩的相像
    • Each family of gorillas is led by a great silverbacked patriarch. 每个大星星家族都由一个魁梧的、长着银色被毛的族长带领着。 来自《简明英汉词典》
    11 intriguingly [] bad4b759a0f1d6431273da89bebb4008   第7级
    参考例句:
    • Intriguingly, she gave to the music a developed although oddly malleable personality. 最神奇的是,她的音乐具有成熟却又很奇怪地极富可塑性。 来自互联网
    • Intriguingly, the patients brains were riddled with tangles, but not amyloid plaques. 有趣的是,患者的大脑中充满了各缠结,但并没有粉斑。 来自互联网
    12 tickling ['tɪklɪŋ] 8e56dcc9f1e9847a8eeb18aa2a8e7098   第9级
    反馈,回授,自旋挠痒法
    参考例句:
    • Was It'spring tickling her senses? 是不是春意撩人呢?
    • Its origin is in tickling and rough-and-tumble play, he says. 他说,笑的起源来自于挠痒痒以及杂乱无章的游戏。
    13 juveniles ['dʒu:vɪnaɪlz] 257c9101f917ec8748aa5fc520c6a9e3   第8级
    n.青少年( juvenile的名词复数 );扮演少年角色的演员;未成年人
    参考例句:
    • Do you think that punishment for violent crimes should be the same for juveniles and adults? 你对暴力犯罪的惩罚对于青少年和成人应一样吗? 来自生活英语口语25天快训
    • Juveniles Should we not exactly in need of such strength and conviction? 少年的我们难道不正是需要这种力量和信念吗? 来自互联网
    14 otters [ˈɔtəz] c7b1b011f1aba54879393a220705a840   第11级
    n.(水)獭( otter的名词复数 );獭皮
    参考例句:
    • An attempt is being made to entice otters back to the river. 人们正试图把水獭引诱回河里去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
    • Otters are believed to have been on Earth for 90 million years. 水獭被认为存活在地球上已经9千多万年。 来自互联网

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