BBC随身英语｜动物也会开玩笑吗？

Do animals make jokes too? 动物也会像人类一样开玩笑？
Laughter is a universal language for humans to connect with each other and form social bonds. Even as babies, we giggle when our parents pull funny faces, and then gradually learn to make others laugh as we grow up. But, is it a uniquely human experience? Scientists have observed behaviours in animals that suggest that your pets might be secret jokesters…
笑是人类相互联系、形成社会纽带的通用语言。即使在婴儿时期，当父母扮鬼脸时，我们也会咯咯笑，然后随着我们的成长，我们逐渐学会了让别人笑。但是，这是一种独特的人类体验吗？科学家们观察到动物的行为表明，你的宠物可能是秘密的开玩笑者......

Have you ever seen dogs let people come close to their toy, and then playfully run away with it? Biologist Charles Darwin saw this as the dog's version of a practical joke. Marc Bekoff, biology professor at the University of Colorado, also observed dogs playfully teasing each other by approaching slowly and then quickly running away. His work concluded that dogs just want to have fun, and he's also said that animals may goof around as a way to cope with stress.

您见过狗狗让人靠近它们的玩具，然后玩耍着拿着玩具跑开吗？生物学家查尔斯-达尔文认为这是狗的恶作剧。科罗拉多大学生物学教授马克·贝科夫也观察到，狗在玩弄对方时会慢慢靠近，然后迅速跑开。他的研究结论是，狗只是想找点乐子，他还说，动物可能把打闹作为一种应对压力的方式。

In a 2024 study, Isabelle Laumer and colleagues watched four ape species interact with each other and observed 18 distinct teasing behaviours. They saw young apes sneak up behind an adult, poke them to surprise them and then wait and watch the response, behaviour similar to that shown by human children. So, a sense of humour may have appeared early in our evolutionary timeline.
在2024年的一项研究中，伊莎贝尔 · 劳默及其同事观察了四种类人猿之间的相互作用，并观察到了18种截然不同的挑逗行为。他们看到年轻的猩猩悄悄地走到一个成年猩猩的后面，戳它们来给它们一个惊喜，然后等待并观察它们的反应，行为类似于人类儿童表现出来的行为。所以，幽默感可能出现在我们进化时间线的早期。

What about laughing? While playing, dogs sometimes produce a breathy snort that could sound like laughter. Dolphins let out sounds of joy when play-fighting. Rats make a joyful squeak similar to a giggle when they are tickled, says Jeffrey Burgdorf, professor at Northwestern University.
那笑呢？狗在玩耍的时候，有时会发出像笑声一样的呼吸声。海豚在比赛时发出欢乐的声音。西北大学教授杰弗里•伯格多夫表示，当老鼠被挠痒痒时，它们会发出类似于咯咯笑的快乐叫声。

But, is a rat's giggle really a sign of a sense of humour? Are the apes in Laumer's study really joking around or just attention-seeking? What would be the evolutionary purpose of animals teasing and pranking? "In humans, humour can serve as like an ice-breaker, removing social barriers and strengthening relationships," says Laumer. "We don't know if it's the same in apes or other animals, but it's possible.
但是，老鼠的笑声真的是幽默感的表现吗？劳默研究中的猿类真的是在开玩笑，还是只是在寻求关注？动物戏弄和恶作剧的进化目的是什么？劳默说：“在人类身上，幽默可以起到破冰的作用，消除社会障碍，加强人际关系。我们不知道猿类或其他动物的情况是否相同，但这是可能的。”

词汇表
laughter 笑，笑声
giggle 咯咯地笑
pull a funny face 扮鬼脸
make (someone) laugh 逗（某人）笑
jokester 喜欢讲笑话或开玩笑的人
playfully 闹着玩地
practical joke 恶作剧
tease 戏弄，招惹
have fun 玩乐
goof around 瞎胡闹
sneak up 悄悄靠近
poke （用手指）戳
sense of humour 幽默感
play-fight 玩耍打闹
joyful 高兴的
tickle 挠痒痒，胳肢
joke around 闹着玩，开玩笑
prank 玩笑，恶作剧

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