What makes you laugh the most?
什么使你笑的最厉害？
While rib-tickling jokes and hilarious videos certainly do make us giggle, most of the time we laugh because of something much simpler: being with other people.
令人捧腹大笑的笑话和滑稽的视频确实令我们咯咯的笑，但是大部分时间我们是因为很简单的事情发笑：和其他人在一起。
So much so that we are 30 times more likely to laugh when we're with others, according to a study by neuroscientist Robert Provine from the University of Maryland. "When you're alone, laughter basically disappears," he told Smithsonian Magazine.
根据马里兰大学神经学家罗伯特所说，我们和别人在一起的时候我们发笑的几率要增加30倍，“当你一个人的时候，笑声基本上消失了”，他在史密森杂志采访时说。
So, what is it about other people that makes us split our sides? The answer lies deep within our brains, and in how we form communities.
所以，其他人是怎么使我们笑破肚皮？答案藏在我们的大脑深处。
Laughter is a social emotion that we use to "make and maintain social bonds," says Professor Sophie Smith from University College London in an article for the BBC. It reassures people that situations are non-threatening.Those who laugh frequently are also often more popular. Even in a normal conversation we laugh seven times every 10 minutes, she says.
来自伦敦大学学院的索菲史密斯教授在BBC的一篇文章里说，“笑是一种社会情感，我们用来建立和维持社会纽带”。它可以消除人们恐惧，证明周围环境是没有威胁的。经常笑的人很受欢迎。她还说，甚至在普通的交谈中，我们每10分钟笑7次。
Professor Smith also explains that laughter is very different to speech. It is non-verbal:the wheezing and snorting sounds are produced by air being pushed out quickly at high pressure, without involving the teeth or lips. These sounds are the kind we make when in a state of heightened emotion.
斯密斯教授还解释说，笑和语言是很不一样的，它是非语言的：踹息声和哼哼声是通过空气被推送出来的，很快在高压下产生，不涉及牙齿和嘴唇。这些声音是我们在情绪高涨的时候发出的。
In this respect, laughter sounds more like an animal call than human language. This theory is backed up by tests which show the part of the brain responsible for laughter is not the neocortex used in language, but an 'older' area we share with mammals.
在这个方面，笑听起来更像是动物的呼唤，负责笑的那部分大脑不是使用语言的大脑皮层，而是我们与哺乳动物共享的一个老区域，这个理论已经被试验所证实。
Indeed, chimpanzees, gorillas and even rats all enjoy a good chortle,especially when being tickled. Just be careful when you tickle a gorilla, or you might end up laughing on the other side of your face…(Did you laugh at that gag? Or did it just make you groan?)
事实上，黑猩猩，大猩猩甚至老鼠都喜欢大笑，尤其在被胳肢的时候，当你逗大猩猩的时候，只是要小心，或许你会乐极生悲。。。（你听了那笑话会发笑吗？或者仅仅只使你哼了一声？）
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