VOA慢速英语2012 Health Report - Worried That People Are Laughing at You?

 

Health Report - Worried That People Are Laughing at You?

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Imagine this situation. You pass a group of people. The people are talking to each other. You cannot hear what they are saying. But suddenly they start laughing. What would you think? Would you think they were laughing at something funny that one of them said? Or -- be honest with yourself -- would you think they were laughing at you? Yes, you.

Being laughed at is a common fear. But a major study published in two thousand nine found that this fear is not the same around the world. It differs from culture to culture.

People in Finland were the least likely to believe that people laughing in their presence¹ were making fun of them. Less than ten percent of Finns in the study said they would think that, compared to eighty percent of people in Thailand.

Some people in the study said they felt unsure of themselves in social situations but hid their feelings of insecurity. Others said they avoided social situations where they had been laughed at before.

The study found that people in Turkmenistan and Cambodia were more likely to be in the first group. They would hide their feelings of insecurity if they were around other people's laughter². But people in Iraq, Egypt and Jordan were more likely to try to avoid such situations if they felt they had been laughed at before.

Shy people often avoid situations that would force them into close contact with other people. They worry that something they say or do will make other people laugh at them. But some people worry much more than others. They may have a disorder³ called gelotophobia. Gelos is a Greek⁴ word. It means⁵ laughter. Phobia means fear. This fear of laughter can be truly sad for those who live with it. It can affect how they lead their lives.

In the study, a team from the University of Zurich led more than ninety researchers from around the world. They wanted to understand the difference between normal shyness and true gelotophobia. Another purpose of the study was to compare the levels of fear of being laughed at in different cultures. The researchers surveyed more than twenty-two thousand people in forty-two different languages. The findings⁶ appeared in the scientific journal⁷ Humor⁸.

And that's the VOA Special English Health Report. Is shyness a serious problem for you or someone you know? It was for a university student who asked people in our audience for advice on how to deal with it. You can find out what they said at www.voanews.cn -- where you can also read, listen and learn English with our stories. I'm Faith Lapidus.

1 presence   

n.出席；到场；存在

参考例句：

• Her presence lent an air of respectability to the occasion.她的到场使那种场合增添了崇高的气氛。
• His presence is indicative of his willingness to help.他的出席表示他愿意帮忙。

2 laughter   

n.笑，笑声

参考例句：

• I don't know how my story caused so much laughter.我不知我的故事怎么引起如此大笑。
• The audience gave way to uncontrollable bursts of laughter.听众忍不住发出一阵阵笑声。

3 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

4 Greek   

adj.希腊(人)的，希腊语的；n.希腊人；希腊语

参考例句：

• The Greek seaman went to the hospital five times.这位希腊海员到该医院去过五次。
• Delta is the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet.δ是希腊字母中的第四个字母。

5 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

6 findings   

n.发现物( finding的名词复数 )；调查（或研究）的结果；（陪审团的）裁决

参考例句：

• It behoves us to study these findings carefully. 我们理应认真研究这些发现。
• Their findings have been widely disseminated . 他们的研究成果已经广为传播。

7 journal   

n.日志，日记；议事录；日记帐；杂志，定期刊物

参考例句：

• He kept a journal during his visit to Japan.他在访问日本期间坚持记日记。
• He got a job as editor of a trade journal.他找到了一份当商业杂志编辑的工作。

8 humor   

n.(humour)幽默，诙谐

参考例句：

• He is distinguished for his sense of humor.他以其幽默感著称。
• American humor is founded largely on hyperbole.美式幽默主要以夸张为基础。