Why People Laugh
Sunday May 4th will be World Laughter Day. Dr Madan Kataria, who introduced this annual event, says we need more laughter in our lives to combat the global rise of stress and loneliness. But surely that strange sound that we make periodically can't be the (1)_____ to such problems.
If an alien were to land on our planet and (2)_____ a stroll among a crowd of earthlings, it would hear a lot of 'ha-ha’ noises. It might wonder what (3)_____ this strange habit served. If we ask ourselves what (4)_____ a good laugh, the obvious answer is that it is a response to something funny. But one scientist, Robert Provine, says humour has surprisingly little to (5)_____ with that. Instead, it lies at the (6)______ of such issues as the perception of self and the evolution of language and social behaviour.
Provine realised that you cannot capture (7)_____ laughter in the lab because as soon as you (8)_____ it under scrutiny, it vanishes. So, instead, he gathered data by hanging around groups of people, noting when they laughed.
He collected 1,200 laugh episodes - an episode being (9)______ as the comment immediately preceding the laughter and the laughter itself. His analysis of this data (10)_____ some important facts about laughter. "It's a message we send to other people- it (11)_____ disappears when we're by ourselves,'' he says. "And it's not a choice. Ask someone to laugh and they'll either try to (12)_____ a laugh or say they can't do it on command.“
1
A way B answer C end D response
2
A make B get C walk D take
3
A reason B purpose C idea D meaning
4
A results B leads C prompts D concludes
5
A go B bring C do D set
6
A root B stem C head D back
7
A complete B authentic C contemporary D current
8
A place B lay C stand D keep
9
A defended B decided C defined D depicted
10
A revealed B investigated C displayed D declared
11
A absolutely B constantly C undoubtedly D virtually
12
A offer B pretend C fake D imagine
c
h
e
c
k
y
o
u
r
a
n
s
w
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1 B The meaning of this is 'solution'.
2 D 'take a stroll', like 'take a walk', is a collocation.
3 B 'serve a purpose' is a collocation.
4 C This fits the meaning. Distraction 'results' would need to be followed by 'in' and 'leads' by 'to'.
5 C 'little' / 'not much to do with' is a collocation.
6 A 'root' gives the idea of something 'being central to'. 'Heart' would also be possible here if that were an option.
7 B 'authentic' means 'real' and fits the meaning.
8 A 'place' collocates with 'under scrutiny'.
9 C 'defined' is the word which makes sense in this context.
10 A 'reveal' is frequently used with the subject of analysis.
11 D 'virtually' here means 'almost completely' and it is the only word which makes sense in the context.
12 C 'fake', which means 'give a false version of something' fits here. You could say 'pretend to laugh' or 'give a pretend laugh' but not
'pretend a laugh'.
