听力文摘：老人们仍能欣赏幽默吗？

Do Old Folks Still Appreciate Humor?

老人们仍能欣赏幽默吗？

Maybe when people get older, sense of a humor is the first thing to go.

也许，人年纪越大，越是幽默感至上。

Actually, research suggests that old folks, if they’re healthy, can still appreciate humor as much as a younger person can.

事实上，研究 表明，和年轻人一样，健康的老人们仍然欣赏幽默。

They still smile and laugh when they get the joke.

有人开玩笑依旧会面带微笑或大笑。

However, there is evidence to suggest that with age we may lose our ability to comprehend more complex forms of humor.

但是，研究也证实随着年龄的增长，我们无法理解比较复杂形势的幽默。

Scientists believe that the tools we need to get a complex joke are primarily located in the brain’s frontal lobes¹.

科学家相信，理解复杂玩笑主要靠的是脑前叶的功能。

People with damage to their right frontal lobe² experience difficulty getting punch lines and prefer slapstick humor instead.

脑前叶右部受损会造成笑话中妙语的困扰，而这类人也更倾向于浅显幽默。

There’s also evidence that the functions located in the brain’s frontal lobes may be the first to diminish with aging.

有证明显示，脑前叶功能会随着年老而最先退化。

This may explain why in a recent experiment older folks performed significantly worse than younger folks in comprehending more complex forms of humor.

这也解释了最近的实验中，年长者们在理解更复杂幽默上明显不如年轻人。

Of course, it’s also important to take into account such factors as social differences in the kind of humor people prefer, social setting, and health.

当然，综合考虑其他因素也很重要：比如社会差异影响个体的幽默倾向、社会背景、健康状况。

Maybe an elderly person would laugh at a joke if she were socializing with a group of her friends,

也许，和朋友相处的一个老人会因为玩笑而大笑；

but not laugh with her neighbor whom she doesn’t know well or finds annoying.

但是，和不熟悉或恼人的邻里就不会大笑。

1 lobes   

n.耳垂( lobe的名词复数 )；（器官的）叶；肺叶；脑叶

参考例句：

• The rotor has recesses in its three faces between the lobes. 转子在其凸角之间的三个面上有凹槽。 来自辞典例句
• The chalazal parts of the endosperm containing free nuclei forms several lobes. 包含游离核的合点端胚乳部分形成几个裂片。 来自辞典例句

2 lobe   

n.耳垂，（肺，肝等的）叶

参考例句：

• Tiny electrical sensors are placed on your scalp and on each ear lobe.小电器传感器放置在您的头皮和对每个耳垂。
• The frontal lobe of the brain is responsible for controlling movement.大脑前叶的功能是控制行动。