bbc随身英语什么水平（BBC随身英语Whydo）
bbc随身英语什么水平（BBC随身英语Whydo）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 o
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.
什么事情能让你笑?有很多事情会让我们咯咯地笑起来。这种自然的情感流露会发出信号:我们很快乐，我们发现了一些幽默的东西，甚至我们只是一个笑桶!动物学家一直在研究我们为什么要这样做以及这样做的好处是什么。
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.
笑是一种非常原始的发声方式。当我们这样做的时候，我们会发出非常奇怪的声音——从喘息声、吱吱声到喘气声和鼻息声——每一种声音都只是反映了胸部肌肉在高压下从胸腔挤出空气的情况。
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.
大多数时候，我们的笑声是不由自主的，会传染的，尤其是在朋友之间。神经学家索菲·斯科特(Sophie Scott)告诉BBC，这是“一种社会情感”。最好是和我们喜欢的人一起笑。”她定义了两种类型的笑——自发的笑，即我们立即不受控制地笑，和交谈式的笑，即我们和朋友一起笑。研究发现，人们在交谈中平均每十分钟笑七次。
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.
BBC世界服务节目《人群科学》对笑的科学进行了研究。它想知道是什么导致了这种高度传染性的重复性动作。研究发现，我们用笑声向别人展示我们很顽皮，没有威胁性，这有助于建立和维持社会联系。此外，我们这个社会群体之外的人可以通过我们咯咯笑的声音来理解笑声之间的关系。
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.
虽然我们的健康不是一件好笑的事，但研究发现开怀大笑可以帮助我们的身心——它可以让我们感觉良好，放松我们的身体。它还帮助我们控制疼痛，提高我们的免疫系统。这就是为什么笑声疗法被用作传统疗法的替代方案。但一般来说，我们笑的能力是不受我们控制的。当你开始做这件事的时候，就顺其自然，其他人也会加入进来。
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
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.
