Robert Provine studied people and laughter. He discovered that people laugh when they want to be friendly. He watched people in city walking and shopping. He found that 80 to 90 % of laughter came after sentences like “Yeah, I know” or “I’ll see you later”. People did not laugh because someone said something funny. People laughed because they wanted to be friendly with each other.
Many people say “Oh, I just don’t laugh very much. I can’t change that actually”. That’s not true. People can learn to laugh. First you need to see how small events can be funny. For example, you are carrying too many bags, and you drop one bag. Laugh at the situation. Second, you can learn to be funny and tell jokes. Watch funny TV shows and read jokes on the Internet. Give yourself more reasons to laugh. You can learn to bring laughter into your life.
Laughter happens at certain time in a conversation. People laugh more when they speak than when they listen. Pay attention to conversations around you. You will discover that the speaker in a conversation laughs more often. Also, laughter almost always comes at the end of a sentence or a thought. For example, a person might say “He went to the wrong store! Ha! Ha! Ha!”. “The person does not say, “He went – Ha! Ha! Ha! – to the wrong store!”
Decide if the statements below are true (T) or false (F) based on the previous reading
Robert Provine discovered that people laugh when they want to be friendy
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Robert Provine watched television to see people in city walking and shoppiny
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He found that nearly 100 % of laughter came after sentences like “Yeah, I know” or “I’ll see you later”.
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Many people cannot learn to laugh.
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People can learn to bring laughter into their life.
Read the following passage and do the exercises that follow.
Grandmas know best!
When you have a minor health problem, do you usually go to the doctor, get something from the drugstore, or use a home remedy?
When people have a cold, a fever, or the flu, they usually go to the doctor for help, or they get some medicine from the drugstore. But many people also use home remedies for common illnesses. Here are some simple home remedies:
Bee stings and insect bites: Wash the sting or bite. Put some meat tenderizer on a handkerchief and then put the handkerchief on the bite for half an hour. To avoid insect bites, it's helpful to eat garlic or take garlic pills.
Burns: Put the burn under cold water or put a cold handkerchief on it. Then apply aloe vera gel to the burn. It's important not to put ice on the burn.
Colds: Lots of people eat hot chicken soup when they have a cold. They find it clears the head and the nose. Some people rub oil on their chest for a cold. Other people drink a mixture of red pepper, hot water, sugar, lemon juice, and milk or vinegar.
Cough: Drink warm liquids or take some honey.
Headaches: Apply an ice pack or cold cloth to your head, or splash your face with cold water. It's also a good idea to put your hands into hot water and leave them there for several minutes. Also, you shouldn't read or watch TV.
Insomnia: Drink a large glass of warm milk. It's also a good idea to soak in a warm bath.
Then cover the article and complete the chart. What problems are these things good for?
