首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Why We Laugh We start finding things laughable--or not laughable--early in life. An infant first smiles at approximately eig
Why We Laugh We start finding things laughable--or not laughable--early in life. An infant first smiles at approximately eig
admin
2010-04-12
35
问题
Why We Laugh
We start finding things laughable--or not laughable--early in life. An infant first smiles at approximately eight days of age. Many psychologists assume this is his first sign of simple pleasure-food, warmth and comfort. At six months or less, the infant laughs to express complex pleasures-such as the light of Mother’s smiling face.
Between the ages of six months and one year, the baby learns to laugh for essentially the same reasons he will laugh throughout his life, says Dr. Jacob Levine, associate professor of psychology at Yale University. Dr. Levine says that people laugh to express mastery over an anxiety. Picture what happens when a father throws his child into the air. The child will probably laugh--but not the first time. In spite of his enjoyment of" flying", he is too anxious to laugh. How does he know Daddy will catch him? Once the child realizes he will be caught, he is free to enjoy the game. But more importantly, says Dr. Levine, the child laughs because he has mastered an anxiety.
Adult laughter is more subtle, but we also laugh at what we used to fear. The feeling of achievement, or lack of it, remains a crucial factor. Giving a first dinner party is an anxious event for a new bride. Will the food be good? Will the guests get along? Will she be a good hostess? Will the knives and forks, cups and saucers be all right? All goes well; the party is over. Now she laughs freely. Her pleasure from having proved her success is the foundation for her pleasure in recalling the evening activities. She couldn’t enjoy the second pleasure without the first, more important one-her mastery of anxiety.
Laughter is a social response triggered by cues. Scientists have not determined a brain center for laughter, and they are perplexed by patients with certain types of brain damage who go into laughing fits for no apparent reason. The rest of us requires company, and a reason to laugh.
When we find ourselves alone in a humorous situation, our usual response is to smile. Isn’t it true that our highest compliment to a humorous book is to say that" it made me laugh out of loud"? Of course, we do occasionally laugh alone; but when we do, we are, in a sense, socializing with ourselves. We laugh at a memory, or at a part of ourselves.
Of course, we don’t always need a joke to make us laugh. People who survive frightening situations, such as a fire or an emergency plane landing, frequently relate their story of the crisis with laughter. Part of the laughter expresses relief that everything is now all right. During a crisis, definitely, everyone mobilizes energy to deal with the potential problem, If the danger is avoided, we need to release that energy. Some people cry; others laugh.
When we are made the target of a joke, either on a personal or impersonal level, we are emotionally involved in it. Consequently, we won’t be able to laugh.
Knowing that laughter blunts emotion, we can better understand why we sometimes laugh when nothing is funny. We laugh during moments of anxiety because we feel no mastery over the situation, claims Dr. Levine. He explains, "Very often compulsive laughter is a learned response, ff we laugh, it expresses good feelings and the fact that we are able to cope. When we’re in a situation in which we can’t cope, we laugh to reassure ourselves that we can!"
How often have we laughed at a funeral or upon heating bad news? We laugh to deny an unendurable reality until we are strong enough to accept it. Laughter also breaks our tension. However, we may also be laughing to express relief that the tragedy didn’t happen to us. We laugh before giving a big party, before delivering a speech, or while getting a traffic ticket, to say, "This isn’t bothering me. See? I am laughing."
But if we sometimes laugh in sorrow, more often we laugh with joy. Laughter creates and strengthens our social bonds. And the ability to share a laugh has guided many marriages through hard periods of adjustment.
How could we manage a life with the absence of laugh? According to Dr. Levine, we can measure our adjustment to the world by our capacity to laugh. When we are secure about our abilities, we can laugh at the defects of our own character, If we can laugh through our anxieties, we will not be overpowered by them.
The ability to laugh starts early, but it takes a lifetime to perfect. Says Dr. Grotjabn, "when social relationships are mastered, when the individual has mastered... a peaceful relationship with himself, then he has...the sense of humour. "And then he can throw back his head and laugh.
Funerals are a good source of jokes.
选项
A、Y
B、N
C、NG
答案
C
解析
依据文章第九段。人们也许会在葬礼等悲伤场合笑,这是因为在否定一个让人无法忍受的事实。但葬礼是否是笑话的一个很好的来源,本文没有提及。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/lmj7777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
ThepassagegivesadescriptionofthecontaminationinNewOrleansafterHurricaneKatrina.Todate,sixpeoplehavediedfrom
itseemsthatthestablestructureoffamilyisalsochanging.Formostofthepeoplenowadays,divorceisnotbignews.Theincr
A、Itisverycommercial.B、Itisveryinsecure.C、Itisverynoisy.D、Itisveryunfriendly.B[听力原文]Whatdoesthespeakerthink
Whatdoesthenewmechanismdotosolvetheproblemofunemployment?WhatisonereasonmentionedinthepassagethatRonhasn’
A、Peoplemayuseportablelaptopcomputerstolistentomusic.B、Peoplemaysetthemathighvolumewhentheylistentomusic.C
A、Bytheirfunction.B、Bytheirproperties.C、Byincreaseofourexperience.D、Byassociationwithotherthings.C[听力原文]Howdo
A、Becausecannabisprovedtobemoreharmfulthantobacco.B、Becausecanabisisalreadysowidespread.C、Becauseitisnotknown
Thetermbiologicalclockisappliedtothemeans,whichlivingthings【M1】______adjusttheiractivitypatterns,withou
Thereenginesare.______(不如我们制造的那些发动机功率大)
The1920ssawtheemergenceofwidespreadcarownershipintheUnitedStates.Assembly-line【C1】______madecarswonderfullyche
随机试题
葡萄酒斑状血管瘤属于
患者因红斑狼疮出现眼睑、下肢浮肿,胸胁胀满,面色无华;腰膝酸软,面热肢冷,口干;舌淡胖,苔少,脉沉细.其中医辨证为()
下列事项中,可能引起资本公积变动的有()。
2014年1月1日,甲公司从二级市场购入乙公司分期付息、到期还本债券面值l200元,支付价款1050万元,另支付相关交易费用12万元。该债券系乙公司于2014年1月1日发行,期限为3年,票面年利率为5%。甲公司拟持有该债券至到期,甲公司持有乙公司债
茂腔是山东独特的地方戏曲。由茂腔经典剧目《墙头记》改编制作而成的茂腔动漫剧既具有浓郁的民俗风情又不乏时尚元素,深受观众喜爱。材料反映的文化生活道理是()。
公安机关的人民警察因履行职责的紧急需要,经(),可以优先乘坐公共交通工具,遇交通阻碍时,优先通行。
《宪法》第一条规定:“中华人民共和国是工人阶级领导的、以工农联盟为基础的人民民主专政的社会主义国家。”这条规定表明了我国的()。
掌握辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义,从本质意义上是使人()。
两个相同的瓶子装满某种化学溶液,一个瓶子中溶质与水的体积比是3:1.另一个瓶子中溶质与水的体积比是4:1,若把两瓶化学溶液混合,则混合后的溶质和水的体积之比是:
简述贪污罪的概念及犯罪构成。
最新回复
(
0
)