VOA慢速英语2018--笑是最好的药

Laughter Is the Best Medicine

Now, the VOA Learning English program Words and Their Stories.

Each week, we tell about terms and expressions we use in American English. We often explore their meanings and explain how to use them in different situations.

Today we talk about something common to everyone around the world.

Laughing is one of life’s most simple pleasures. It is free. You can do it anywhere. And it makes you feel good!

There is another thing you should know about laughter: Laughter is contagious¹.

Like the flu, laughter can spread easily among people. Often when we hear someone laughing in a crowded room or a packed train, for example, we start laughing too – even if we have no idea why.

But unlike the flu, even a good handwashing will not protect you against breaking into a fit of laughter. Your eyes water, your heart rate goes up and your face gets that beautiful laughter glow.

In fact, many doctors say that mental health can affect physical health. You might even say, “Laughter is the best medicine.”

However, “laughter is the best medicine” does not mean that you should not take medicine when you are sick. It simply means that having a positive outlook might help ease your troubles.

People who use this expression are probably pretty happy people. Then there are those other types – you know, people who are always grumpy. We could call someone who does not like to laugh a curmudgeon². A curmudgeon is bad-tempered³, ill-natured and just generally not fun to be around.

Well, unless you yourself are a curmudgeon. If that is the case, you two could hang out and not laugh and not have fun together! You know what we say -- misery⁴ loves company. This means that some people who are miserable⁵ and unhappy like to make others miserable and unhappy, too.

On the other hand, making others laugh with you is an act of joy and kindness. However, the opposite is true when people laugh at you. That experience is lonely and no fun at all.

But at least those two phrases really show the importance of choosing the right preposition.

For example, if Anna is in a funny play and people laugh with her -- that is a good thing. However, if she messes up her lines and falls on stage, people may laugh at her. And that is not so good.

People might even call her a laughingstock. No one, not even a professional comedian⁶, wants to be a laughingstock.

That is a really great example, Bryan. Thanks. I think.

But you’re right. Nobody wants to be a laughingstock.

If you wanna go crazy and act like a clown

Be the laughing stock all over town

That's your red wagon⁷, that's your red wagon …

(Ella Fitzgerald, “Red Wagon”)

For example, let’s say a teacher falls on hard times and loses his apartment. So, for a couple of days he sleeps in his car outside of the school. As it happens, at night he sleeps in bright pink, full-body pajamas⁸ with a hood⁹ and bunny ears. And he holds a teddy bear.

Well, some cruel students record him sleeping in his car and share the video with their classmates. The teacher becomes the laughingstock of the whole school.

That was a mean thing to do.

Well, yes. Yes, it was. But our story does not end there.

The students post the video online, and it goes viral! More than 10 million people watch it on YouTube! So, the teacher gets dozens of offers to make commercials for pajamas and teddy bears. He makes a lot of money. Then he writes a best-selling book on how to fall asleep anywhere, anytime.

Good for him!

But wait, Bryan. It gets even better! He stars in a movie based on his life: “The Teacher Who Slept in His Car.”

So, in the end, you could say the teacher definitely had the last laugh. When you have the last laugh, you end up winning when at first you were losing.

Another way to have the last laugh, is to simply laugh off a tough situation. It shows you just do not care. For example, if the teacher is a friend of yours, you could always tell him to just laugh it off.

It may be difficult. But if you have the choice to laugh or cry, chose laughter. For one thing, you may inspire others to laugh, too.

That’s right. As we also like to say: Laugh and the world laughs with you; cry and you cry alone. This means that people prefer to be around those who are happy and cheerful.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox, a poet of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, penned this famous expression. In her poem “Solitude¹⁰,” she writes ."Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone."

However, these days, we do not usually say “weep.” So, the expression now uses the word “cry.” Whatever you call it -- weeping or crying, it is always better to laugh!

And that’s Words and Their Stories.

I’m Bryan Lynn. And I’m Anna Matteo.

The more I laugh,

The more I fill with glee.

And the more the glee,

The more I’m a merrier me ... (It’s embarrassing!)

The more I’m a merrier me!

Words in This Story

contagious – -adj. exciting similar emotions or conduct in others contagious enthusiasm contagious laughter

fit – -n. a sudden burst or flurry (as of activity)

glow – -n. to have a warm, reddish color from exercise, emotion, etc.

grumpy – -adj. easily annoyed or angered : having a bad temper or complaining often

curmudgeon – -n. ill-tempered, and usually old man

misery – -n. a circumstance, thing, or place that causes suffering or discomfort¹¹ the joys and miseries¹² of life : a state of great unhappiness and emotional distress¹³

laughingstock – -n. a person or thing that is regarded as very foolish or ridiculous : a person or thing that is made fun of

hood – -n. a covering for the head and neck and sometimes the face

viral – -adj. quickly and widely spread or popularized especially by means of social media

solitude – -n. the quality or state of being alone or remote from society

glee – -n. a strong feeling of happiness : great pleasure or satisfaction

merry – -adj. very happy and cheerful : feeling or showing joy and happiness

embarrassed – -v. feeling or showing a state of self-conscious confusion and distress

1 contagious   

adj.传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
• He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。

2 curmudgeon   

n. 脾气暴躁之人，守财奴，吝啬鬼

参考例句：

• The old curmudgeon found a new scapegoat and that let me out.那个老守财奴找到一个新的替罪羊，这样我就脱身了。
• The old curmudgeon was talking about the smothering effects of parental duty on creative lives.那些坏脾气的老人们喋喋不休于父母生儿育女之责任的妨碍性效应。

3 bad-tempered   

adj.脾气坏的

参考例句：

• He grew more and more bad-tempered as the afternoon wore on.随着下午一点点地过去，他的脾气也越来越坏。
• I know he's often bad-tempered but really,you know,he's got a heart of gold.我知道他经常发脾气，但是，要知道，其实他心肠很好。

4 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

5 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

6 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

7 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

8 pajamas   

n.睡衣裤

参考例句：

• At bedtime,I take off my clothes and put on my pajamas.睡觉时，我脱去衣服，换上睡衣。
• He was wearing striped pajamas.他穿着带条纹的睡衣裤。

9 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

10 solitude   

n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方

参考例句：

• People need a chance to reflect on spiritual matters in solitude. 人们需要独处的机会来反思精神上的事情。
• They searched for a place where they could live in solitude. 他们寻找一个可以过隐居生活的地方。

11 discomfort   

n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便

参考例句：

• One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
• She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。

12 miseries   

n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 )；痛苦的事；穷困；常发牢骚的人

参考例句：

• They forgot all their fears and all their miseries in an instant. 他们马上忘记了一切恐惧和痛苦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• I'm suffering the miseries of unemployment. 我正为失业而痛苦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。