# What makes children laugh - 科目：雅思听力真题（Part 4） - 考频：中频 - 最近考试：2024.8.24Asia/2024.5.18/2022.3.12 - 题目数：10 - 来源页：https://www.yaquan.site/paper/27cc8787-4a9a-4541-ad67-1873bb0bb242（在线机考练习与音频请访问该页面） - 数据更新：2026-10-29 ## 题目原文 00:00:00,080 We all think we know what makes children laugh, but can we really explain it? And is it useful for educators to be aware of how children's humor works? 00:00:12,320 Well, to answer these questions, I'd like to tell you about the large-scale study on the humor of primary school children that I was commissioned to carry out two years ago. 00:00:24,000 The aim of the study was to find out what children find funny in their everyday lives, both at school and at home. 00:00:33,100 We wanted to know how children used humor to interact with each other. 00:00:38,500 For example, when they were in the playground, we wanted to know what sort of jokes they told one another and which ones were most popular. 00:00:48,920 Some research was done in this area about fifty years ago, but it's never been followed up. So that's one area that we wanted to find out more about in our research. And we also wanted to find out about what children find funny when they're at home watching television since many children spend quite a significant amount of time doing this. 00:01:12,580 So how did we go about finding out this information? 00:01:16,980 Well, we interviewed a total of a hundred and fifty children in six different primary schools around the city. 00:01:25,720 We had originally intended to have one-to-one interviews, but we decided that this would be too time-consuming and also might be stressful for the children. So instead, each interviewer had several groups, each consisting of three or four children. 00:01:44,940 They were asked questions like, "What was the last thing that made you laugh?" And, "Do you know any funny stories?" 00:01:52,880 Then another method we used to collect information about what makes children laugh was through the use of humor diaries. 00:02:01,620 So we asked the parents of some of the children to keep a diary like this for six months and to describe situations in which their children had laughed. 00:02:12,400 So what were the main findings? 00:02:15,960 Well, some of them weren't quite what you'd have expected. You'd think that people laugh when things are funny, but that's not always the case. 00:02:26,720 One thing we found was that children nearly always laugh if they're in a situation which is unfamiliar to them. They're a bit nervous because they're not sure what sort of action it's appropriate for them to take, so they laugh. 00:02:41,900 Another type of situation in which we found children often laughed was when people did things which were surprising. If someone's walking down the street with a dog on a lead, that's quite unsurprising. But if someone's got a chicken on a lead, the child will laugh because the usual conventions that govern our behavior aren't being followed. It's funny because it's surprising. 00:03:07,860 Another interesting area is what sort of person makes children laugh most, and here we found that nearly all primary school children find situations particularly humorous if they involve people looking foolish, and particularly if these are adults. 00:03:26,500 The children probably find this empowering to see them at a disadvantage for once. 00:03:33,220 One thing that was observed frequently in the humor diaries was that laughter often erupted spontaneously during pretend games and role-play. 00:03:43,460 Our research showed there's a strong link between laughter and being creative. 00:03:49,160 It's an area that's received little attention to date, maybe because this type of humor isn't often observed in research situations. 00:03:59,040 As well as these, there were other findings that we made during the research process. 00:04:04,640 One quite surprising finding was the fact that when looking at what children find funny, there seems to be hardly any difference between boys and girls. So the children's gender doesn't seem to be significant. 00:04:19,280 Boys sometimes show a slight preference for physical humor, but there's nothing much in it. 00:04:26,460 For educators as well as for those involved in children's media, it's worth stressing that children still find many of the same things funny as they did in the past. There hasn't been much change in what they laugh at over the years. 00:04:42,820 If you look at what makes children laugh in the twenty-first century, there's really not much difference from what made their grandparents laugh in the twentieth century. 00:04:52,360 They still react positively to the same sort of things. 00:04:56,700 So, for example, in the media, they enjoy humor, which is non-verbal, where the humor comes from pictures rather than words. And one of the most striking findings that came out of our research, both the interviews and the diaries, is that just as in their grandparents' generation, what children find incredibly funny is humor that is founded on some kind of danger. 00:05:22,620 The fact that they know it isn't real gives them permission to laugh somehow. 00:05:27,960 So what we can conclude from all this is that humor is incredibly important to children. ## 题目与答案 ### 31. Aim of study To find out what children laugh about at school and at home, e.g. · the types of 31_____ told in the playground · humour on television at home Aim of study To find out what children laugh about at school and at home, e.g. · the types of 31_____ told in the playground · humour on television at home **答案**：jokes 原文定位：when they were in the playground, we wanted to know what sort of jokes they told one another and which ones were most popular 同义替换：「types」↔「sort」 ### 32. Methods Children were interviewed at school in small 32_____ . Methods Children were interviewed at school in small 32_____ . **答案**：groups 原文定位：We had originally intended to have one-to-one interviews;So instead, each interviewer had several groups, each consisting of three or four children ### 33. A “humour diary” was kept by some 33_____ for six months. A “humour diary” was kept by some 33_____ for six months. **答案**：parents 原文定位：We asked the parents of some of the children to keep a diary like this for six months ### 34. Main findings Children laugh: · when they don`t know what 34_____ to take Main findings Children laugh: · when they don`t know what 34_____ to take **答案**：action 原文定位：They're a bit nervous because they're not sure what sort of action it's appropriate for them to take, so they laugh 同义替换：「don't know」↔「not sure」 ### 35. · when people do things which don`t follow conventions · when people, especially 35_____, look foolish. · when people do things which don`t follow conventions · when people, especially 35_____, look foolish. **答案**：adults 原文定位：nearly all primary school children find situations particularly humorous if they involve people looking foolish, and particularly if these are adults 同义替换：「especially」↔「particularly」 ### 36. In games and role plays, laughter is connected with the opportunity to be 36_____ . In games and role plays, laughter is connected with the opportunity to be 36_____ . **答案**：creative 原文定位：Our research showed there's a strong link between laughter and being creative 同义替换：「connected with」↔「link between」 ### 37. Other findings What children find funny depends very little on their 37_____ . Other findings What children find funny depends very little on their 37_____ . **答案**：gender 原文定位：One quite surprising finding was the fact that when looking at what children find funny, there seems to be hardly any difference between boys and girls. So the children's gender doesn't seem to be significant 同义替换：「depends very little on」↔「doesn't seem to be significant」 ### 38. There has been little 38_____ in children`s humour. There has been little 38_____ in children`s humour. **答案**：change 原文定位：There hasn't been much change in what they laugh at over the years 同义替换：「little」↔「not much」；「humour」↔「laugh」 ### 39. Children still react positively to · humour shown in 39_____ in the media Children still react positively to · humour shown in 39_____ in the media **答案**：pictures 原文定位：in the media, they enjoy humor, which is non-verbal, where the humor comes from pictures rather than words 同义替换：「shown in」↔「comes from」 ### 40. · humour which is based on 40_____, since they know it`s unreal. · humour which is based on 40_____, since they know it`s unreal. **答案**：danger 原文定位：what children find incredibly funny is humor that is founded on some kind of danger 同义替换：「based on」↔「founded on」；「since they know it’s unreal」↔「The fact that they know it isn’t real」 --- 以上内容由鸭圈雅思真题库（www.yaquan.site）提供，收录近期雅思考试真题回忆，支持在线机考模式免费练习。