笑能治百病

 【原文】

Laugh for the Health of ItPatients and medical practitioners¹ alike have long believed in the healing power of humor. It is claimed that humor not only affects patients' moods, but can actually help them recover faster.

Several studies, as well as a lot of anecdotal evidence, seem to support this. Patients in better spirits are known to have higher immune cell counts. Some have even claimed to have healed themselves of serious illnesses by reading comics and watching comedies.

Despite all this, many researchers are not convinced. They point to the fact that many afflictions have been known to disappear spontaneously, with or without a daily dose of laughter. They also say that while optimism in general does seem to be related to better health, it is hard to tell which comes first.

Humor in times of stress, however, clearly makes us feel better. On one level, it takes our minds off our troubles and relaxes us. On another, it releases powerful endorphins in the brain that act to alleviate² pain.

There are cases where the appreciation³ of a good joke is indeed directly related to a person's health. It can show, for example, whether a person has suffered damage to one particular area of the brain: the right frontal lobe⁴.

Scientists confirmed this by having people read jokes and asking them to choose the funniest endings from a list. Subjects with normal brains usually chose endings that were based on a relatively⁵ complex synthesis of ideas. Subjects with specifically located brain damage, however, responded only to slapstick endings, which did not depend on a particular context. When pressed , the brain-damaged subjects saw the logic⁶ in the correct endings. They simply did not find them funny.

Of course, humor is largely an individual matter. The next time your friend does not get one of your jokes, there is no need to accuse him of being a lamebrain. However, you might suggest that he lighten up—for the health of it.

 

1 practitioners   

n.习艺者，实习者( practitioner的名词复数 )；从业者（尤指医师）

参考例句：

• one of the greatest practitioners of science fiction 最了不起的科幻小说家之一
• The technique is experimental, but the list of its practitioners is growing. 这种技术是试验性的，但是采用它的人正在增加。 来自辞典例句

2 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

3 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

4 lobe   

n.耳垂，（肺，肝等的）叶

参考例句：

• Tiny electrical sensors are placed on your scalp and on each ear lobe.小电器传感器放置在您的头皮和对每个耳垂。
• The frontal lobe of the brain is responsible for controlling movement.大脑前叶的功能是控制行动。

5 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

6 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。