The Origins of Laughter Reading Answers

Dec 16, 2022

The Origins of Laughter Reading Answers is a topic discussing about laughter and its evolution. The Origins of Laughter Reading Answers is the topic having 13 questions, which should be attempted by the candidates within the given time span of 20 minutes. The given IELTS topic has been taken from the book “IELTS Reading Recent Actual Test 24”.The candidates for understanding the overall concept should mandatorily go through the passage. The topic is divided into three sorts of questions, mainly, choose the correct letter, complete the summary, and True/False/Not Given. In order to recognize the synonyms and identify the keywords in order to answer the questions provided below, the candidates should thoroughly skim the IELTS reading passage to analyze the gist of the passage. The topics like The Origins of Laughter Reading Answers can be prepared by the candidates by practicing the IELTS reading practice papers.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

The Origins of Laughter Reading Answers

While joking and wit are uniquely human inventions, laughter certainly is not. Other creatures, including chimpanzees, gorillas and even rats, laugh. The fact that they laugh suggests that laughter has been around for a lot longer than we have.

There is no doubt that laughing typically 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.

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. 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 after removing the context, 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.

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.

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 can 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.

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 the 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 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,” says 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.”

We’ll never know which animal laughed the first laugh, or why. But we can be sure it 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.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation
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.

1   Babies and some animals produce laughter which sounds similar.
2   Primates are not the only animals who produce laughter.
3   Laughter can be used to show that we feel safe and secure with others.
4   Most human laughter is not a response to a humorous situation.
5   Animal laughter evolved before human laughter.
6   Laughter is a social activity.

List of People

Tom Flamson
Elke Zimmerman
Robert Provine
Jaak Panksepp

Question 1: Babies and some animals produce laughter which sounds similar.

Answer: B (Elke Zimmerman)
Supporting sentence: Elke Zimmerman, head of the Institute of Zoology in Germany, made a comparison between the sounds that chimpanzees and babies made in response to tickling during the first year of their life.
Keywords: Babies, animals, produce, laughter, sounds similar
Keyword Location: Line 4 Paragraph D
Explanation: The fourth line of paragraph D states that the head of the German Institute of Zoology Elke Zimmerman compared the sounds that chimpanzees and infants make in reaction to tickling throughout the first year of life.

Question 2: Primates are not the only animals who produce laughter.

Answer: D (Jaak Panksepp)
Supporting sentence: 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.
Keywords: Primates, not the only, animals, produce laughter
Keyword Location: Last line Paragraph E
Explanation: The conclusive part of pargagraph E explains that the research of Jaak Panksepp, Bowling Green State University, Ohio, into the laughter produced by rats when they are tickled, is currently the most fascinating proof that laughter exists outside of primates.

Question 3: Laughter can be used to show that we feel safe and secure with others.

Answer: A (Tom Flamson)
Supporting sentence: Tickling can arouse these chips and as a result, they get bonded, which certainly seems like a show of trust.
Keywords: Laughter, show, feel safe and secure, others
Keyword Location: Last line Paragraph F
Explanation: The last part of paragraph F implies that according to Flamson, tickling, play, and trust are all connected in rats as well. Rats play loudly and frequently chirp. These chips can be aroused by tickling, which causes them to bind and appears to be an act of trust.

Question 4: Most human laughter is not a response to a humorous situation.

Answer: C (Robert Provine)
Supporting sentence: Robert Provine, a neuroscientist of the University of Maryland, in the mentioned paragraph says that laughter is like a signal to others and almost disappears when we are alone.
Keywords: Most, human laughter, not a response, humorous situation
Keyword Location: Line 2 Paragraph B
Explanation: The second line of paragraph B enhances that according to the aforementioned text, laughing acts as a signal to other people and almost vanishes when we are by ourselves, according to University of Maryland neuroscientist Robert Provine.

Question 5: Animal laughter evolved before human laughter.

Answer: B (Elke Zimmerman)
Supporting sentence: The similarities between the laughter of babies and chimpanzees, according to Elke Zimmerman, supports the theory that animal’s laughter evolved way before humans ever arrived on the scene.
Keywords: Animal laughter, evolved, before, human laughter
Keyword Location: Line 7 Paragraph D
Explanation: Elke Zimmerman in the line 7 of paragraph Dcontends that there is evidence to support the idea that chimps and infants share commonalities in their laughter, which suggests that chimpanzees and infants shared a laugh long before humans did.

Question 6: Laughter is a social activity.

Answer: C (Robert Provine)
Supporting sentence: Robert Provine, a neurologist at the University of Maryland found that most laughter is usually a polite reaction between two persons just like “see you later”, rather than a reaction to anything particularly funny.
Keywords: Laughter, social activity
Keyword Location: Line 3 Paragraph B
Explanation: The third line of paragraph B suggests that Neurologist Robert Provine of the University of Maryland discovered that most laughing is typically a courteous response between two people, such as "see you later," rather than a response to something particularly humorous. Hence, it is regarded as a social excercise and activity.

Questions 7-10:

complete the summary using the list of words A-K.

Combat
Chirps
Pitch
Origins
Play
Rats
Primates
Confidence
Fear
Babies
Tickling

Question 7: Some scientists believe that laughter first developed out of ________________.

Answer: E (Play)
Supporting sentence: To find the origins of laughter, Provine believes we need to look at play.
Keywords: Scientists, believe, laughter, first developed
Keyword Location: Line 1 Paragraph C
Explanation: Many scientists in the beginning part of paragraph C claims that we need to look at playing, in order to understand the origins of laughter.

Question 8: Research has revealed that human and chimp laughter may have the same ____________.

Answer: D (Origins)
Supporting sentence: 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.
Keywords: Research, revealed, human and chimp, laughter
Keyword Location: Line 6 Paragraph D
Explanation: The sixth line of paragraph D suggests that Elka Zimmerman found a resemblance between chimpanzee laughter and a baby human's laugh, indicating that laughter was likely developed long before humans even existed. Here, long before the origins or arrival of humans.

Question 9: Scientists have long been aware that ___________ laugh, but it now appears that laughter might be more widespread than once thought.

Answer: G (Primates)
Supporting sentence: Until now, the most captivating evidence for laughter beyond primates comes from research done by Jaak Panksepp, Bowling Green State University, Ohio into the laughter produced by rats when tickled.
Keywords: Scientists, aware, laugh, widespread, thought
Keyword Location: Line 4 Paragraph E
Explanation: Line 4 of paragraph E explains that the prevalence of animal laughing is increasingly being recognised by scientists through studies. The research conducted by Jaak Panksepp at Bowling Green State University in Ohio into the laughter produced by rats when they are tickled provides the most compelling evidence to date for laughing existing outside of primates.

Question 10: Although the reasons why humans started to laugh are still unknown, it seems that laughter may result from the ____________ we feel with another person.

Answer: H (Confidence)
Supporting sentence: Tickling can arouse these chips and as a result, they get bonded, which certainly seems like a show of trust.
Keywords: Reasons, humans started, laugh, unknown, result, feel with another person
Keyword Location: Last line Paragraph F
Explanation: The ending part of paragraph F suggests that the laughter, tickling, play, and trust are all correlated, according to Flamson, even in rats. Rats play loudly and frequently chirp. These chips can be aroused by tickling, which causes them to bind and appears to be an act of trust. They connect confidently here from the confidence.

Questions 11-13:
Answer the following statements with the information given in the passage.
Write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information,
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information and
NOT GIVEN if there is no information provided in the passage.

Question 11: Both men and women laugh more when they are with members of the same sex.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting sentence: Women tend to laugh more and at a higher pitch when men are present, possibly indicating flirtation or even submission.
Keywords: Both men and women, laugh more, members, same-sex
Keyword Location: Last line Paragraph B
Explanation: The ending part of paragraph B suggests that when men are around, women generally laugh louder and longer, which could be a sign of flirtation or even submission. Hence, it is a FALSE sentence.

Question 12: Primates lack sufficient breath control to be able to produce laughs the way humans do.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting sentence: While other animals pant, we alone can control our breath well enough to produce the sound of laughter.
Keywords: Primates, lack, sufficient breath control, produce laughs, humans
Keyword Location: Line 4 Paragraph G
Explanation: Line 4 of paragraph G states that one and only humans have the ability to control their breath sufficiently to make noises like laughter while other animals pant. Additionally, there wouldn't be any speech and no jokes to put up with without such control. Therefore, the statement is regarded as a TRUE one.

Question 13: Chimpanzees produce laughter in a wider range of situations than rats do.

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Explanation: No available relatable information to support the above text is available in the passage.

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