【英语时差8，16】笑是个社会信号？

 Don is anticipating a career in comedy, but Yael pretty well quashes his ambition.   D: Ya?l, I've been thinking lately that maybe I should go into stand-up comedy.

Y: What on earth gave you that idea?

D: I've noticed that I seem to make a lot of people laugh, especially women. Sometimes all I have to say is "Hello." It's rather remarkable¹.

Y: Actually, it's rather ordinary. Laughter research has found that only a small percentage of laughter, less than 20%, is a sincere response to someone's humor. In fact, laughter is primarily a social signal, as opposed to an emotional outburst. People are thirty times more likely to laugh in a social situation than when they are alone. And other observations about laughter also imply it has a social function. For instance, there's "polite" laughter. How often have you found yourself laughing at someone's attempt at being funny in order to spare their feelings or make them feel good?

D: Wow. You've just described my relationship with my father. It hurts me how unfunny he is. I'm sure I'd be able to tell if people were faking their laughter at my jokes, though.

Y: Hmm. Well, Don, research has also found that women tend to laugh a good deal more than men. And male speakers tend to illicit² more laughter than female speakers. Also, laughter may very well be a sign of power dynamics³ between people, signaling dominance and submission⁴, acceptance and rejection⁵. Certainly, that seems to be the case when someone is laughed at rather than with.

D: Thanks a lot, Yael. I think you've ruined my career in comedy, as well as laughter in general. You've explained the life out of it!  

1 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

2 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

3 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。

4 submission   

n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出

参考例句：

• The defeated general showed his submission by giving up his sword.战败将军缴剑表示投降。
• No enemy can frighten us into submission.任何敌人的恐吓都不能使我们屈服。

5 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。