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Some people worry about being the target of laughter. These people are frightened. They suffer from
an emotional disorder 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 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 in forty-two
languages. Their findings were reported in the scientific publication Humor.
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 that
these feelings differed from nation to nation.
For example, the study found that people in Turkmenistan and Cambodia are likely to hide insecure
(不安) 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 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.
1. The passage is mainly about _______.
A. a common emotion
B. laughter
C. shyness
D. gelotophobia
2. In which country are people most likely to avoid social situations where they have been laughed at before?
A. Turkmenistan
B. Iraq
C. Finland
D. Thailand
3. According to the text the following is true EXCEPT that ______.
A. people suffer from gelotophobia because they are shy
B. not all the people questioned hid their feelings in social situations
C. perhaps Humor is a magazine
D. people in Finland are the least likely to suffer from gelotophobia
4. A person who suffers from gelotophobia will probably ______.
A. be active in social activities
B. be easily laughed at
C. like to laugh at others
D. like to stay alone

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