VOA慢速英语2009年-Health Report - 'Gelotophobia' Is No L
时间：2018-12-01 作者：英语课 分类：VOA慢速英语2009年（十二）月
This is the VOA Special English Health Report.
Shy people often avoid situations that force close contact with other people. They worry that something they say or do will make others laugh at them.
But some people worry much more than others about being the target of laughter. These people are frightened. They suffer from an emotional 1 disorder 2 called gelotophobia. That long name comes from the Greek language. The word Gelos means laugh, while phobos means fear.
Victor Rubio is an expert on human behavior at the Autonomous 3 University of Madrid. He says people laugh at others for many different reasons. He says being laughed at causes a fear response in the victim. That fear leads the victim to avoid social situations. Sadly, gelotophobia limits the way they lead their lives.
Victor Rubio was among researchers in a huge international study about laughter. The researchers wanted to understand the difference between normal shyness and true gelotophobia. Another goal was to measure the fear of being laughed at within different cultures.
A team from the University of Zurich led ninety-three researchers from many countries in search of answers.
The researchers surveyed more than twenty-two thousand people. They used questions provided 4 in forty-two languages. Their findings 5 were reported in the scientific publication 6 Humor 7.
Some of the people questioned said they felt unsure of themselves in social situations. But they hid their feelings. Others said they avoided social situations where they had been laughed at before. People also admitted to differing levels of fear that they themselves were the targets of other people's laughter. The researchers measured and compared all these reactions.
Fear of being laughed at, being made fun of, is a common emotion. But the researchers learned 8 that these feelings differed from nation to nation.
For example, the study found that people in Turkmenistan and Cambodia are likely to hide insecure feelings when they are around others' laughter. But people in Iraq, Egypt and Jordan who feel they have been victims before may avoid such situations.
People in Finland were the least likely to believe that people laughing in their presence 9 were making fun of them. Only eight and a half percent of Finns said they would -- compared to eighty percent of those questioned in Thailand.
What would you think? You can comment at voaspecialenglish.com.
And that's the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. I'm Steve Ember.
- Emotional people don't stop to calculate.感情容易冲动的人做事往往不加考虑。
- This is an emotional scene in the play.这是剧中动人的一幕。
- 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。
- They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
- This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。
- Provided it's fine we will have a pleasant holiday.如果天气良好，我们的假日将过得非常愉快。
- I will come provided that it's not raining tomorrow.如果明天不下雨，我就来。
- 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。
- They don't think this article is suitable for publication.他们认为这篇文章不宜发表。
- The government has delayed publication of the trade figures.政府已将贸易统计数字延后公布。
- 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。