Why do we laugh and get amusement from so many different things，from puns (双关语) to pratfalls? Why are some things funny to some people and not to others? How is that while a successful joke can cause pleasure，a sick one can cause serious harm?
Over the centuries，various scholars have attempted to produce a universally agreed-upon theory of humor．Plato and Aristotle introduced the superiority(优越感) theory，the idea that people laugh at the misfortune of others．Their theory seems to explain teasing，but it doesn’t work well for knock-knock jokes．Sigmund Freud argued for his relief theory，the concept that humor is a way for people to release psychological tension and reveal their inner fears and desires．His theory works well for dirty jokes，less well for most puns．
The majority of humor expels today agree with the incongruity theory，the idea that humor arises when there’s a gap between what people expect to happen and what actually happens．Incongruity has a lot going for it — jokes with unexpected funny lines，for example，fit well．But scientists have found that in edy，unexpectedness is overvalued．
With the goal of developing a new，more satisfactory explanation，I produced “the gentle violation(违背)theory”，the idea that humor arises when something seems wrong or threatening，but is actually OK or safe．A dirty joke，for example，trades on moral or social violations，but it’s only going to get a laugh if the person listening is open enough to consider the subject OK to talk about．Similarly，puns can be seen as linguistic violations that still make grammatical sense．
And while most humor theories have struggled to account for tickling (挠痒痒)，or just avoided the phenomenon altogether，my theory accounts for even this kind of laughter．Tickling involves violating someone’s physical space in a gentle way．People can’t tickle themselves — because it isn’t a violation．
【小题1】What is the author’s attitude towards Plato and Aristotle’s theory?A．Critical．B．ApprovingC．uncaringD．Unclear【小题2】According to Sigmund Freud’s theory，we can infer that .A．people will laugh when they see others sufferB．telling dirty jokes is a relief of one’s nervous feelings ’C．unexpectedness can explain how humor worksD．tickling doesn’t involve psychological tension【小题3】According to the author，why are some things funny to some people but not to others?A．Because the sense of humor varies greatly from person to person．B．Because people have different expectations for the same thing．C．Because some people lack the sense of safety deep in their heart．D．Because people’s understanding of violation is different．【小题4】What is the author’s main purpose of writing this passage?A．To draw people’s attention to the research of humor．B．To criticize people’s misconceptions about humor．C．To explain what exactly causes people to laugh．D．To prove the sense of humor can be developed．A
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(答案→)A
解析：
试题分析: 一个笑话会让有的人捧腹大笑，而有的人却没有反应，甚至会心生恼怒，为什么人们的反应会有所不同呢？作者认为这是由于人们的文化程度不同，理解程度不同，以及人们内心接受的程度不同决定的。在本文中作者对此现象进行了分析，提出了几种不同的理论。
【小题1】A。细节理解题。根据文章第二段内容Their theory seems to explain teasing，but it doesn’t work well for knock-knock jokes．…..．His theory works well for dirty jokes，less well for most puns．可知作者对Plato and Aristotle的理论是持批判态度的，答案选A。
【小题2】B。细节理解题。根据文章第二段Sigmund Freud argued for his relief theory，the concept that humor is a way for people to release psychological tension and reveal their inner fears and desires．His theory works well for dirty jokes，less well for most puns．可知根据他的理论可知下流的笑话反应了人内心的恐惧和渴望，故答案选B。
【小题3】D。细节理解题。从文章第四段作者举的例子A dirty joke，for example，…..Similarly，puns can be seen as linguistic violations that still make grammatical sense可以判断人们对笑话的不同反应是由人们的思想开放程度和文学素养决定的，换句话说也就是由一个人不同的理解认识程度决定的，故答案选D。
【小题4】C。推理判断题。作者以设问的方式在文章开篇提出了几个问题，提出为什么人们对于笑话会有不同的反应，然后在下文提出了几个相关的理论进行解释，由此判断作者的写作目的就是解释什么会博得人们的笑声，故答案选C。