Table of Contents
Passage
A We like to think that laughing is the height of human sophistication. Our big brains let us see the humour in a strategically positioned pun, an unexpected plot twist or a clever piece of word play. But while joking and wit are uniquely human inventions, laughter certainly is not. Other creatures, including chimpanzees, gorillas and even rats, chuckle. Obviously, they don’t crack up at Homer Simpson or titter at the boss’s dreadful jokes, but the fact that they laugh in the first place suggests that sniggers and chortles have been around for a lot longer than we have. It points the way to the origins of laughter, suggesting a much more practical purpose than you might think.
B There is no doubt that laughing typical involves groups of people. ’Laughter evolved as a signal to others—it almost disappears when we are alone,’ says Robert Provine, a neuroscientist at the University of Maryland. Provine found that most laughter comes as a polite reaction to everyday remarks such as ’see you later’, rather than anything particularly funny. And the way we laugh depends on the company we’re keeping. Men tend to laugh longer and harder when they are with other men, perhaps as a way of bonding. Women tend to laugh more and at a higher pitch when men are present, possibly indicating flirtation or even submission.
C To find the origins of laughter, Provine believes we need to look at play. He points out that the masters of laughing are children, and nowhere is their talent more obvious than in the boisterous antics, and the original context is play,’ he say. Well-known primate watchers, including Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall, have long argued that chimps laugh while at play. The sound they produce is known as a pant laugh. It seems obvious when you watch their behavior-they even have the same ticklish spots as we do. But remove the context, and the parallel between human laughter and a chimp’s characteristic pant laugh is not so clear. When Provine played a tape of the pant laughs to 119 of his students, for example, only two guessed correctly what it was.
D These findings underline how chimp and human laughter vary. When we laugh the sound is usually produced by chopping up a single exhalation into a series of shorter with one sound produced on each inward and outward breath. The question is: does this pant laughter have the same source as our own laughter? New research lends weight to the idea that it does. The findings come from Elke Zimmerman, head of the Institute for Zoology in Germany,who compared the sounds made by babies and chimpanzees in response to tickling during the first year of their life. Using sound spectrographs to reveal the pitch and intensity of vocalizations, she discovered that chimp and human baby laughter follow broadly the same pattern. Zimmerman believes the closeness of baby laughter to chimp laughter supports the idea that laughter was around long before humans arrived on the scene. What started simply as a modification of breathing associated with enjoyable and playful interactions has acquired a symbolic meaning as an indicator of pleasure.
E Pinpointing when laughter developed is another matter. Humans and chimps share a common ancestor that lived perhaps 8 million years ago, but animals might have been laughing long before that. More distantly related primates, including gorillas, laugh, and anecdotal evidence suggests that other social mammals nay do too. Scientists are currently testing such stories with a comparative analysis of just how common laughter is among animals. So far, though, the most compelling evidence for laughter beyond primates comes from research done by Jaak Panksepp from Bowling Green State University, Ohio, into the ultrasonic chirps produced by rats during play and in response to tickling.
F All this still doesn’t answer the question of why we laugh at all. One idea is that laughter and tickling originated as a way of sealing the relationship between mother and child. Another is that the reflex response to tickling is protective, alerting us to the presence of crawling creatures that might harm us or compelling us to defend the parts of our bodies that are most vulnerable in hand-to-hand combat. But the idea that has gained most popularity in recent years is that laughter in response to tickling is a way for two individuals to signal and test their trust in one another. This hypothesis starts from the observation that although a little tickle can be enjoyable, if it goes on too long it can be torture. By engaging in a bout of tickling, we put ourselves at the mercy of another individual, and laughing is a signal that we laughter is what makes it a reliable signal of trust according to Tom Flamson, a laughter researcher at the University of California, Los Angels. ’ Even in rats, laughter, tickle, play and trust are linked. Rats chirp a lot when they play, ’syas Flamson. ’These chirps can be aroused by tickling. And they get bonded to us as a result, which certainly seems like a show of trust.’
G We’ll never know which animal laughed the first laugh, or why. But we can be sure it a wasn’t in response to a prehistoric joke. The funny thing is that while the origins of laughter are probably quite serious, we owe human laughter and our language-based humor to the same unique skill. While other animals pant, we alone can control our breath well enough to produce the sound of laughter. Without that control there would also be no speech-and no jokes to endure.
Questions
Questions 1-6 Look at the following research findings (questions 1-6) and the list of people below. Match each finding with the correct person, A, B, C or D. Write the correct letter, A, B, C or D, in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.
NB You may use any letter more than once.
A Tom Flamson
B Elke Zimmerman
C Robert Provine
D Jaak Panksepp
1 Babies and chimps produce similar sounds of laughter .
2 Primates are not the only animals who produce laughter Pan
3 Laughter also suggests that we trust others.
4 Laughter is a response to polite situation instead of humour.
5 Animal laughter evolved before human laughter
6 Laughter is a social activity.
Questions 7-10 Complete the summary using the list of words, A-K, below. Write the correct letter, A-K, in boxes 7-10 on your answer sheet.
Some researchers believe that laughter first evolved out of 7 ………………………. . Investigation has revealed that human and chimp laughter may have the same 8 ………………………. . Besides, scientists have been aware that 9 ………………………. laugh, however, it now seems that laughter might be more widespread than once we thought. Although the reasons why humans started to laugh are still unknown, it seems that laughter may result from the 10 ………………………. we feel with another person.
A evolution
B chirps
C origins
D voice
E confidence
F rats
G primates
H response
I play
J children
K tickling
Questions 11-13 Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
11 Both men and women laugh more when they are with members of the same sex.
12 Primates lack sufficient breath control to be able to produce laughs the way humans do.
13 Chimpanzees produce laughter in a wider range of situations than rats do.
Answers
Below are the answers, key words, synonyms and full explanations for the IELTS Reading passage What are you laughing at? (Passage 1, Questions 1–13).
Questions 1–6: Matching People (A–D)
A Tom Flamson · B Elke Zimmerman · C Robert Provine · D Jaak Panksepp
1. Babies and chimps produce similar sounds of laughter.
Answer: B
Key words: compared sounds made by babies and chimpanzees, same pattern
Synonyms: similar sounds = Zimmerman “discovered that chimp and human baby laughter follow broadly the same pattern”
Explanation: Elke Zimmerman compared baby and chimp laughter and found them alike.
2. Primates are not the only animals who produce laughter.
Answer: D
Key words: laughter beyond primates, ultrasonic chirps, rats
Synonyms: not only primates = Panksepp’s research into “the ultrasonic chirps produced by rats during play”
Explanation: Jaak Panksepp provided the strongest evidence of laughter beyond primates (in rats).
3. Laughter also suggests that we trust others.
Answer: A
Key words: reliable signal of trust
Synonyms: suggests trust = “laughter is what makes it a reliable signal of trust according to Tom Flamson”
Explanation: Tom Flamson links laughter to trust between individuals.
4. Laughter is a response to polite situation instead of humour.
Answer: C
Key words: polite reaction, everyday remarks, rather than funny
Synonyms: response to polite situation = Provine “found that most laughter comes as a polite reaction to everyday remarks … rather than anything particularly funny”
Explanation: Robert Provine observed laughter as a social politeness, not a reaction to jokes.
5. Animal laughter evolved before human laughter.
Answer: B
Key words: laughter was around long before humans arrived
Synonyms: evolved before humans = Zimmerman “supports the idea that laughter was around long before humans arrived on the scene”
Explanation: Elke Zimmerman argues laughter predates humans.
6. Laughter is a social activity.
Answer: C
Key words: signal to others, almost disappears when alone
Synonyms: social activity = Provine “Laughter evolved as a signal to others — it almost disappears when we are alone”
Explanation: Robert Provine describes laughter as inherently social.
Questions 7–10: Summary Completion (word list A–K)
7. Some researchers believe that laughter first evolved out of ………
Answer: I — play
Key words: origins of laughter, look at play, original context
Synonyms: first evolved out of = “To find the origins of laughter, Provine believes we need to look at play … the original context is play”
Explanation: Laughter is traced back to play.
8. Human and chimp laughter may have the same ………
Answer: C — origins
Key words: same source as our own laughter
Synonyms: same origins = “does this pant laughter have the same source as our own laughter? New research lends weight to the idea that it does”
Explanation: The research suggests a shared origin/source for human and chimp laughter.
9. Scientists have been aware that ……… laugh.
Answer: G — primates
Key words: gorillas laugh, laughter beyond primates
Synonyms: scientists aware that primates laugh = “More distantly related primates, including gorillas, laugh … the most compelling evidence for laughter beyond primates”
Explanation: Primate laughter was already known; the surprise is laughter in non-primates.
10. Laughter may result from the ……… we feel with another person.
Answer: E — confidence
Key words: signal and test their trust
Synonyms: confidence = laughter is “a way for two individuals to signal and test their trust in one another”
Explanation: Laughter reflects the trust/confidence between two people.
Questions 11–13: True / False / Not Given
11. Both men and women laugh more when they are with members of the same sex.
Answer: NOT GIVEN
Key words: men laugh with other men, women when men present
Synonyms: The passage says “Men tend to laugh … with other men” but women “laugh more … when men are present” — it does not say women laugh more with other women, so the claim is unconfirmed.
Explanation: No information that women laugh more with the same sex → NOT GIVEN.
12. Primates lack sufficient breath control to be able to produce laughs the way humans do.
Answer: TRUE
Key words: other animals pant, we alone can control our breath
Synonyms: primates lack breath control = “While other animals pant, we alone can control our breath well enough to produce the sound of laughter”
Explanation: Only humans have the breath control for human-style laughter.
13. Chimpanzees produce laughter in a wider range of situations than rats do.
Answer: NOT GIVEN
Key words: no comparison given
Synonyms: The passage discusses chimp and rat laughter separately but never compares the range of situations in which each laughs.
Explanation: No such comparison is made → NOT GIVEN.
Answer Key (Quick Reference)
| Q | Answer | Q | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B | 8 | C — origins |
| 2 | D | 9 | G — primates |
| 3 | A | 10 | E — confidence |
| 4 | C | 11 | NOT GIVEN |
| 5 | B | 12 | TRUE |
| 6 | C | 13 | NOT GIVEN |
| 7 | I — play |
