时差N小时 笑是个社会信号?

DON:Yael, I've been thinking lately that maybe I should go into stand-up comedy.

唐:雅艾尔,最近我一直在想也许该去演喜剧脱口秀。

YAEL:What on earth gave you that idea?

雅艾尔:到底是什么让你萌生这种念头?

DON:I've noticed that I seem to make a lot of people laugh, especially women.

唐:我注意到,我似乎是很多人的开心果,尤其是在女性中间。

Sometimes all I have to say is "Hello." It's rather remarkable¹.

有时我只是不得不说你好。就能带来非凡的笑果。

YAEL:Actually, it's rather ordinary.

雅艾尔:事实上,这再普通不过了。

Laughter research has found that only a small percentage of laughter, less than 20%, is a sincere response to someone's humor.

对于笑的研究已经发现,只有很小一部分的笑,不到20%,是对别人幽默真诚的回应。

In fact, laughter is primarily a social signal, as opposed to an emotional outburst.

事实上,笑是主要的社会信号,而不是一种情绪的宣泄。

People are thirty times more likely to laugh in a social situation than when they are alone.

处于社交场合时人们的笑会是独自一人时的30倍。

And other observations about laughter also imply it has a social function.

而另一项关于笑的研究也表明它有一种社会功能。

For instance, there's "polite" laughter.

例如,有“礼貌”的笑声。

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?

你是否经常发现自己笑别人的幽默只是为了照顾他们的感情或让他们感觉好受些?

DON:Wow. You've just described my relationship with my father.

唐:哇。你刚刚讲的就是我和父亲之间的关系。

It hurts me how unfunny he is.

这伤害了我,他是个多么无趣的人。

I'm sure I'd be able to tell if people were faking their laughter at my jokes, though.

尽管我确信自己可以判断是否有人假装感到我的笑话笑果出众。

YAEL:Hmm. Well, Don, research has also found that women tend to laugh a good deal more than men.

雅艾尔:嗯。嗯,唐,研究也发现,女性的笑常常超过男性。

And male speakers tend to illicit² more laughter than female speakers.

而男性演讲者们往往比女性的笑更为不正当。

Also, laughter may very well be a sign of power dynamics³ between people, signaling dominance and submission⁴, acceptance and rejection⁵.

还有,笑声很可能标志着人与人之间的权力分配,信号统治及顺从,接受和拒绝。

Certainly, that seems to be the case when someone is laughed at rather than with.

当然,这似乎是这样而当有人嘲笑的时候则另当别论。

DON:Thanks a lot, Yael.

唐:雅艾尔，非常感谢。

I think you've ruined my career in comedy, as well as laughter in general.

我认为你毁了我的喜剧事业,还有一般的笑。

You've explained the life out of it!

你已经融入于生活中了!

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。