我们都爱笑

Alice+Andre-Clark

When you hear a funny joke （which we hope happens often）， something odd happens. The corners of your eyes crinkle1）. Your nostrils flare2）， and your lips pull back to show your teeth. Your breath comes out in short bursts， five times a second， while your voice makes "ha ha ha" sounds. You're laughing！

There are many kinds of laughs—belly laughs3） and chuckles4） and guffaws5） and giggles6） and nervous laughs and unkind laughs. Your laugh is distinctive， like your voice. But even though no two laughs sound exactly the same， we all know laughter when we hear it. Laughs in Kazakhstan are pretty much the same as laughs in Kentucky.

We usually don't decide to laugh. When you hear a good joke， you don't think， "Now I'll raise my lip and say 'hee-hee'." It happens automatically.

Babies laugh long before they can talk. And laughter is hard to fake. In experiments， people can tell a real laugh from a fake laugh two times out of three.

All this tells us that laughter is hardwired7） into our brains. But why do we do it？ And are we the only ones？

当你听到一则有趣的笑话时（我们希望这种事情经常发生），会发生一些奇妙的事情。你的眼角泛起皱纹，鼻孔张大，嘴向后咧开露出牙齿。你以每秒钟五次的频率急迫短促地向外呼气，并发出“哈哈哈”的声音。你笑了！

笑有很多种——开怀大笑、暗自窃笑、纵声狂笑、咯咯傻笑、紧张的笑和不怀好意的笑。和你的嗓音一样，你的笑声也是独特的。不过，尽管没有哪两种笑声听起来是完全相同的，但只要一听到声音我们就都知道那是笑声。哈萨克斯坦的人笑起来跟肯塔基的人笑起来几乎没有什么差别。

通常，笑不是由我们自主决定的。当你听到一个有趣的笑话时，你不会想着：“我现在要张开嘴说‘嘻嘻了。”你自然而然地就笑了。

婴儿早在会说话之前就会笑了。而且，笑很难伪装。在诸多实验中，人们都有三分之二的几率可以将真笑和假笑区分开来。

所有这些都告诉我们，笑是人类大脑固有的功能。但我们为什么会笑呢？我们是唯一会笑的生物吗？

The Laughing Zoo

If you tickle8） a rat， it will make a squealing9） sound so high-pitched10） that humans can't hear it （though other rats can）. Scientists are pretty sure that this is rat laughter. Rats like to spend time with other rats that laugh a lot， and with people who tickle them. Many social animals， from mice to chimpanzees and even penguins， make laugh-like squeals or pants11） when they're play-fighting or being tickled， and sometimes when they want to avoid a fight. Animals can't tell jokes， so what are they laughing at？ In animals， laughter is a way to tell others "It's OK！ This might look like fighting， but we're just playing！" That's an important message for social animals to share. In play fights they practice biting and chasing， which might seem threatening. But if everyone is laughing， it stays friendly.

For both people and animals， laughter feels good. When you laugh， your body relaxes and your brain releases chemicals that make you happy. This is your brain's way of saying， "That was great！ Do that again！" Your brain likes you to explore and take risks. But it also wants you to be OK. So when it senses a little fear followed by immediate relief， it says， Great！ And that triggers a laugh.

Humans are more complex than mice or chimpanzees， and so is our laughter. We still laugh at tickling and chasing， but we also laugh at jokes and puns12） and even clowns in funny shoes.

Just as we enjoy running and jumping to flex13） our muscles， hearing a joke is a fun way to flex our mental muscles. Jokes help us think creatively and see things in new ways. They also help us think better by making mistakes fun. That's important！ If you want to do great things， you have to be prepared to make a lot of mistakes and not let them get to14） you. Jokes give us lots of practice at being flexible， thinking in new ways and correcting ourselves quickly. And the brain rewards this mental play with laughter. It feels so good that we like to do it again and again. Tell me another joke！

Of course， jokes aren't the only things we laugh at. Some people laugh when they're nervous. It's a way of releasing tension， so we don't explode15）.

Laughter can sometimes have a dark side， such as when we laugh at other people's mistakes or accidents. This laughter is not always kind. Why do we do it？ Maybe because we're always a little bit worried about doing something wrong ourselves. When someone else goofs16）， it can be a relief—at least it wasn't me！

Practical jokes17） set up this kind of laugh. They put other people into situations where we can laugh at them， which can be tricky—if the person has a good sense of humor， he or she may be able to laugh at the joke along with you. But often practical jokes make people mad.

Surprisingly， most of the time when we laugh， it's not because someone made a joke or did anything silly. In fact， when researchers at the University of Maryland followed people around a mall and counted all their laughs， they discovered that most laughs happen in ordinary conversations. People laugh after saying things like， "I'll see you guys later" or "There you go！" But why？

These everyday laughs fill pauses and help people read each other. Even friendly chatting is full of small moments that could sound rude if you take them the wrong way—laughs keep everything friendly. People also laugh after saying something that might sound a bit odd or new or contrary. The laugh says， "I'm just playing with this idea， it's OK" or "I'm not mad". They help the conversation move along. Sometimes， laughter simply shares a happy mood. When you laugh it makes your friends laugh too. And laughing feels good. So go ahead and spread it around！

Laughing uses lots of muscles and fills your lungs with oxygen—it's actually quite good exercise. It relaxes your body and relieves stress. Being in a cheerful mood boosts your immune system， so you can fight off sickness more easily. Patients in hospitals even report that funny books and movies help them feel less pain—though when scientists tested this idea， they found that scary movies work just as well.

Laughter can even help you be brave. It is a potent18） weapon against fear and things that scare us. If you can laugh at the monsters under the bed instead of being paralyzed19） by fear， you'll have a big advantage. All together now： riddiculus20）！

And laughter can help you learn. You may have noticed that it's much easier to remember a funny story about George Washington than a list of battles he won. Humor gets you to pay attention and think， and rewards you with a good feeling. All that adds up to a stronger memory.

So laughter can make you happy healthy and smart—what are you waiting for？ Oh， a joke？

动物的笑

如果你胳肢一只老鼠，它会发出一种长而尖的叫声，声音尖到人耳都无法听到（但其他老鼠可以听到）。科学家们相当肯定这就是老鼠的笑声。老鼠喜欢跟其他爱笑的老鼠待在一起，也喜欢跟胳肢它们的人待在一起。从老鼠到黑猩猩，甚至包括企鹅在内的许多社会性动物在打闹、被胳肢或是有时想要避免打斗时，都会发出类似于笑声的尖叫声或喘息声。动物不会讲笑话，那么它们在笑什么呢？在动物当中，笑是这样一种方式，它能向其他动物传达出如下信息：“不要紧的！也许这看上去像是在打架，但咱们只是在闹着玩呢！”对社会性动物而言，传递这样的信息很重要。它们在打闹中练习撕咬和追逐，虽然这些举动看似颇具威胁性。但如果大家都在笑，一切就仍然是友好的。

无论是对人还是对动物而言，笑的感觉都很好。当你笑的时候，你的身体呈放松状态，且大脑会释放出令你愉快的化学物质。大脑是在用这种方式告诉你：“太棒了！再来一次吧！”你的大脑喜欢让你去探索和冒险，但它同样希望你安然无恙。所以，当它感到一丝恐惧，而这丝恐惧随即烟消云散时，它就会传达出“太棒了！”的信息，而那就会让你笑起来。

人类比老鼠和黑猩猩更为复杂，人类的笑容也是如此。在被人胳肢或是追逐打闹时，我们也会笑，不过，笑话、俏皮话甚至是穿着滑稽鞋子的小丑也同样能令我们发笑。

如同我们喜欢跑跑跳跳来活动我们身体的肌肉一样，听笑话是一种活动我们精神“肌肉”的有趣方式。笑话有助于我们进行创造性思维，并从新的角度看待事物。它们还能使犯错变得饶有趣味，从而有助于我们更好地进行思考。这一点很重要！如果你想做成大事，你就必须做好要犯很多错的准备，并不让那些错误影响你的心情。笑话为我们学会灵活应变、从新的角度思考问题以及迅速纠正自身错误提供了大量的练习机会。大脑用笑来奖励这种智力游戏。这种感觉是如此的愉快，所以我们笑完之后还想再笑一次。再给我讲个笑话吧！

当然，不是只有笑话能让我们发笑，有些人在紧张的时候也会笑。笑是一种释放紧张情绪的方式，这样我们就不会情绪失控了。

笑有时也会有阴暗面，比如我们在别人犯了错误或是出了意外时的笑。这种笑就不总是善意的了。我们为什么会这么做呢？也许是因为我们总是有些担心自己会做错事。当别人出错时，它能让我们感到宽慰——还好不是我！

恶作剧带给人们的就是这种笑。它们将别人置于被人嘲笑的境地，而这种情形可能会很微妙——如果对方富于幽默感，他/她可能就会跟着你一起笑。不过，被恶作剧捉弄的人通常都会很生气。

出乎意料的是，大多数时候我们并不是因为有人开了一个玩笑或是做了什么傻事才笑。实际上，马里兰大学的研究人员在跟随人们逛商场并将他们的笑进行统计之后发现，人们在日常会话中笑得最多。在说完“再见”或“拿去吧！”这类话之后，人们都会笑一下。但这是为什么呢？

这类日常一笑可以填补对话的间隙，帮助人们更好地理解彼此。即使是在友好的聊天过程中也充满了这种小瞬间——如果你理解有误，那么有些对话听起来就会有些失礼——而笑使这一切都保持友好的状态。人们在说了一些可能略显怪异、新潮或与别人意见相左的话之后也会笑。这时的笑表示“这个念头我只是想想而已，没什么的”或“我没疯”。笑有助于让谈话继续进行下去。有时，笑纯粹是在传播一种快乐的情绪。当你笑起来的时候，也会让你的朋友笑起来。笑让人感觉良好。所以行动起来，让大家都笑起来吧！

你在开玩笑吗？

人在笑的时候需要调动许多块肌肉，并使肺里充满氧气，笑其实是一种很好的运动。它使人放松身体，缓解压力。保持心情愉悦可以增强你的免疫系统，这样你的病就更容易好起来。医院里的病人甚至声称，搞笑的书籍和电影能帮助他们觉得不那么疼痛。不过，科学家在验证这个说法时发现，恐怖片也同样奏效。

笑还能给人壮胆。笑是对付恐惧和令我们感到害怕的事物的有力武器。如果你能对床下的怪物一笑置之，而不是被吓得不能动弹，你就大大占了上风。现在大家跟着我一起说：真可笑！

笑能提高人的学习能力。或许你已经注意到了，记住有关乔治·华盛顿的一则趣闻远比记住他所打赢的战役的名单更为容易。幽默的事物会引起你的注意和思考，并带给你一种愉快的感觉，这一切都能使记忆变得更加牢固。

如此说来，笑能让你快乐、健康又聪明。你还在等什么呢？哦，是在等着听笑话吗？