【英语语言学习】我们为什么会笑？

ACKI LYDEN, HOST:

OK. So here's a joke. A man sitting on the veranda¹ with his wife one night when out of the blue he says: I love you. His wife says: Was that you or was that the beer talking? The man says: That was me talking to the beer. Maybe you found that funny. I find it hysterical². What makes a joke funny is a question that has beset³ the human condition since we lost our tails and started walking upright.

But, can scientists tell us today why we laugh? Scott Weems is a cognitive⁴ neuroscientist and the author of the book, "Ha! The Science of When We Laugh and Why." And he joins us from member station KUAR in Little Rock, Arkansas. Thanks for being with us, Scott Weems.

SCOTT WEEMS: Thank you very much for having me.

LYDEN: Tell me a joke and let's break it down a little bit, would you?

WEEMS: Sure. I should warn you though, as a scientist I'm not trained very well to tell jokes, but I'll do my best.

LYDEN: All right.

WEEMS: So a dog walks in a telegraph office and he says I want to send a message. And the operator says, "Sure what would you like to send?" And the dog says, "Woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof." And the operator pauses a second and goes, "You know, that's only nine. You can send a 10th woof for free." And the dog replies, "But that would make no sense." People never laugh when I tell that joke.

LYDEN: I'm giggling⁵. I'm giggling here.

WEEMS: Thank you. I wouldn't hold it against you if you didn't.

LYDEN: All right. I'm kind of getting my comedy writing sketch⁶ part here, but you're a neuroscientist. What makes it funny?

WEEMS: There is one part of the brain that's worth recognizing and it's called the anterior⁷ cingulate. It's not on the surface. It's a little below and it's what we consider our conflict detector⁸.

LYDEN: Um-hum.

WEEMS: Anytime we're confused or overwhelmed or just we have conflicting information like in the form of a surprising punch line, this area gets very active.

LYDEN: Why is conflict important in a joke?

WEEMS: It's basically how we process things we don't understand. I mean, so much of our life is filled with conflict, and not just jokes. I mean, people laugh at funerals, people laugh at tragic⁹ events, and it's because these are time when we just don't know how else to respond. I mean, humor is much broader than just a standup routine. It's just how we look at these moments in life where things don't make sense.

LYDEN: So laughter is coping, bonding, lessening¹⁰ anxiety, the sense of discovery, surprise; all these things.

WEEMS: It is and I think that's why it's so linked with health benefits as well.

LYDEN: Now, humor hasn't always been looked upon so positively¹¹. You write that Plato and Jesus weren't funny.

WEEMS: No. I mean, it's really a shame. Historically, humor has not gotten a good rap. Someone actually counted the number of times that laughter occurred in the Old Testament¹². The total number is 29 and of those only two are positive. In other words, only two are occasions of joy. Well, there's debates now whether Jesus laughed, not just in the New Testament, but in his whole life.

And, of course, Plato, Hobbs, Nietzsche, these scholars all have very negative views towards humor 'cause they saw it as something that weak minds did. It's not something that serious people do.

LYDEN: Do you think men and women tell jokes differently?

WEEMS: They do. It turns out that women laugh more than men, but they're much less successful in the world if comedy. Or at least there are fewer professional female comedians¹³, which is - it's a shame. And people have wondered why is this? Because it's certainly not that women have less of a sense of humor. And one evolutionary¹⁴ theory is that the men are raised, and maybe even have an evolutionary benefit to being the funny people in relationships.

We men make women laugh because it's a sign of genetic¹⁵ fitness. A man who can make his partner laugh is more likely to be intelligent and a good caregiver. And that's also why women consistently rate sense of humor as No. 1 desired trait in a mate. For men, sometimes it's closer to No. 3, after intelligence and good looks. So women maybe aren't given the benefits and the encouragement to be as funny as they could or should be.

LYDEN: You want leave us with one last joke?

WEEMS: Oh, my. OK, I have had bad success with this in the past but I will give it a try. Two fish are swimming in a tank and one looks to the other and he says: Do you know how to drive this thing?

LYDEN: Scott Weems is a cognitive neuroscientist and the author of "Ha! The Science of When We Laugh and Why." He joined us from Little Rock, Arkansas. Thank you for joining us.

WEEMS: Thank you very much for having me.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

LYDEN: And you're listening and maybe laughing to WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News.

1 veranda   

n.走廊；阳台

参考例句：

• She sat in the shade on the veranda.她坐在阳台上的遮荫处。
• They were strolling up and down the veranda.他们在走廊上来回徜徉。

2 hysterical   

adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的

参考例句：

• He is hysterical at the sight of the photo.他一看到那张照片就异常激动。
• His hysterical laughter made everybody stunned.他那歇斯底里的笑声使所有的人不知所措。

3 beset   

v.镶嵌；困扰，包围

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• The plan was beset with difficulties from the beginning.这项计划自开始就困难重重。

4 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

5 giggling   

v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We just sat there giggling like naughty schoolchildren. 我们只是坐在那儿像调皮的小学生一样的咯咯地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I can't stand her giggling, she's so silly. 她吃吃地笑，叫我真受不了，那样子傻透了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

7 anterior   

adj.较早的；在前的

参考例句：

• We've already finished the work anterior to the schedule.我们已经提前完成了工作。
• The anterior part of a fish contains the head and gills.鱼的前部包括头和鳃。

8 detector   

n.发觉者，探测器

参考例句：

• The detector is housed in a streamlined cylindrical container.探测器安装在流线型圆柱形容器内。
• Please walk through the metal detector.请走过金属检测器。

9 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

10 lessening   

减轻，减少，变小

参考例句：

• So however much he earned, she spent it, her demands growing and lessening with his income. 祥子挣多少，她花多少，她的要求随着他的钱涨落。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• The talks have resulted in a lessening of suspicion. 谈话消减了彼此的怀疑。

11 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

12 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

13 comedians   

n.喜剧演员，丑角( comedian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The voice was rich, lordly, Harvardish, like all the boring radio comedians'imitations. 声音浑厚、威严，俨然是哈佛出身的气派，就跟无线电里所有的滑稽演员叫人已经听腻的模仿完全一样。 来自辞典例句
• He distracted them by joking and imitating movie and radio comedians. 他用开玩笑的方法或者模仿电影及广播中的滑稽演员来对付他们。 来自辞典例句

14 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

15 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。