SMARTCOM IELTS GEN 9.

0
www.smartcom.vn

READING PASSAGE
Tickling and Laughter
A. The fingers of an outstretched aim are nearing your body; you bend away folding your
torso, bending your head to your shoulder in hopes that you don’t get tickled; but the inevitable
occurs: you are tickled and in hysterics you chuckle, titter, and burst into uncontrollable
laughter. Why do we laugh when we are tickled?
B. Tickling is caused by a light sensation across our skin. At times the light sensation can
cause itching; however, most of the time it causes giggling. If a feather is gently moved across
the surface of the skin, it can also cause tickling and giggling. Heavy laughter is caused by
someone or something placing repeated pressure on a person and tickling a particular area.
The spots tickled often are feet, toes, sides, underarms, and neck which cause a great deal of
laughter. Yngve Zotterman from Karolinska Institute has found that tickling sensations involve
signals from nerve fibers. These nerve fibers are associated with pain and touch. Also,
Zotterman has discovered tickling sensations to be associated not only with nerve fibers but
also with sense of touch because people who have lost pain sensations still laugh when
tickled. But really, why do we laugh? Why are we not able to tickle ourselves? What part of the
brain is responsible for laughter and humor? Why do we say some people have no sense of
humor?
C. Research has shown that laughter is more than just a person’s voice and movement and
that it requires the coordination of many muscles throughout the body. Laughter also
increases blood pressure and heart rate, changes breathing, reduces levels of certain
neurochemicals (catecholamines, hormones) and provides a boost to dying immune system.
Can laughter improve health? It may be a good way for people to relax because muscle
tension is reduced after laughing. Human tests have found some evidence that humorous
videos and tapes can reduce feelings of pain, prevent negative stress reactions and boost the
brain’s biological battle against infection.
D. Researchers believe we process humor and laughter through a complex pathway of brain
activity that encompasses three main brain components. In one new study, researchers used
imaging equipment to photograph the brain activity of healthy volunteers while they underwent
a side splitting assignment of reading written jokes, viewing cartoons from The New Yorker
magazine as well as “The Far Side” and listening to digital recordings of laughter. Preliminary
results indicate that the humor-processing pathway includes parts of the frontal lobe brain
area, important for cognitive processing, the supplementary motor area, important for
movement; and the nucleus accumbens, associated with pleasure. Investigations support the
notion that parts of the frontal lobe are involved in humor. Subjects’ brains were imaged while
they were listening to jokes. An area of the frontal lobe was activated only when they thought a
joke was funny. In a study that compared healthy individuals with people who had damage to
their frontal lobes, the subjects with damaged frontal lobes were more likely to choose wrong
punch lines to written jokes and didn’t laugh or smile as much at funny cartoons or jokes.
E. Even though we may know more about what parts of the brain are responsible for humor, it
is still hard to explain why we don’t laugh or giggle when we tickle ourselves. Darwin theorized
within “The Expressions of the Emotions in Man and Animals” that there was a link between
tickling and laughter because of the anticipation of pleasure. Because we cannot tickle
ourselves and have caused laughter, Darwin speculated surprise from another person
touching a sensitive spot must have caused laughter. Some scientists believe that laughing
caused by tickling is a built-in reflex even babies have. If we tickle ourselves in the same spot
 SMARTCOM IELTS GEN 9.0
www.smartcom.vn

as our friend tickled us, we do not laugh as we did previously. The information sent to our
spinal cord and brain should be exactly the same. Apparently, for tickling to work, the brain
needs tension and surprise. When we tickle ourselves, we know exactly what will happen…
there is no tension or surprise. How the brain uses this information about tension and surprise
is still a mystery, but there is some evidence that the cerebellum may be involved. Because
one part of the brain tells another: “It’s just you. Don’t get excited”. Investigations suggest that
during self-tickling, the cerebellum tells an area called the somatosensory cortex what
sensation to expect, and that dampens the tickling sensation. It looks as if the killjoy is found in
the cerebellum. Further explorations to understand tickling and laughter were conducted by
Christenfeld and Harris. Within ‘The Mystery of Ticklish Laughter' and 'Can a Machine Tickle?'
they explained that people laughed equally whether tickled by a machine or by a person. The
participants were not aware that who or what was tickling them. However, the laughter was
equally resounded. It is suggested that tickling response is a reflex, which, like Darwin
suggested earlier, is dependent on the element of surprise.
F. Damage to any one part of the brain may affect one’s overall ability to process humor.
Peter Derks, a professor of psychology, conducted his research with a group of scientists at
NASA-Langley in Hampton. Using a sophisticated electroencephalogram (EEG), they
measured the brain activity of 10 people exposed to humorous stimuli. How quickly our brain
recognizes the incongruity that deals with most humor and attaches an abstract meaning to it
determines whether we laugh. However, different people find different jokes funny. That can
be due to a number of factors, including differences in personality, intelligence, mental state
and probably mood. But according to Derks, the majority of people recognize when a situation
is meant to be humorous. In a series of experiments, he noticed that several patients
recovering from brain injuries could not distinguish between something funny and something
not.
G. Dr. Shibata of the University of Rochester School of Medicine said our neurons get tickled
when we hear a joke. The brain’s ‘Funny bone' is located at the right frontal lobe just above
the right eye and appears critical to our ability to recognize a joke. Dr. Shibata gave his
patients MRI scans to measure brain activity, trying to find out what part of the brain is
particularly active while telling the punch line of a joke as opposed to the rest of the joke and
funny cartoons in comparison to parts of the cartoons that are not funny. The jokes “tickled”
the frontal lobes. The scans also showed activity in the nucleus accumbens, which is likely
related to our feeling of mirth after hearing a good joke and our “addiction” to humor. While his
research was about humor, the results could help lead to answers and solutions to
depression. Parts of the brain that are active during humor are actually abnormal in patients
with depression. Eventually, brain scans might be used to assess patients with depression and
other mood disorders. The research may also explain why some stroke victims lose their
sense of humor or suffer from other personality changes. The same part of the brain is also
associated with social and emotional judgment and planning.

Questions 27-33
The Reading Passage has 7 paragraphs, A-G.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the appropriate letter, A-G, in boxes 27-33 on your answer sheet.
NB you may use any letter more than once.
 SMARTCOM IELTS GEN 9.0
www.smartcom.vn

27. Location of a brain section essential to the recognition of jokes

28. Laughter enhances immunity
29. Individual differences and the appreciation of humor
30. Parts of the brain responsible for tickling reflex
31. Neuropsychological mechanisms by which humor and laughter work
32. The connection between tickling and nerve fibers
33. Patients with emotional disorders

Questions 34-37
Look at the following researchers (34-37) and findings (A-F).
Match each researcher with the correct finding(s).
Write your answers in boxes 34-37 on your answer sheet.
NB You may choose more than one finding for any of the researchers.

A. The surprise factor, combined with the anticipation of pleasure, causes laughter when
tickled.
B. Laughing caused by tickling is a built-in reflex even babies have.
C. People also laugh when tickled by a machine if they are not aware of it.
D. People have different tastes for jokes and humor.
E. Jokes and funny cartoons activate the frontal lobes.
F. Tickling sensations involve more than nerve fibers.

34. Darwin
35. Christenfeld and Harris
36. Yngve Zotterman
37. Peter Derks

Questions 38-40
Complete the summary below using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for
each blank.
Write your answers in boxes 38-40 on your answer sheet.

Researchers believe three brain components to be involved in the processing of humor and
laughter. Results from one study using brain 38 …………...… indicate that parts of the brain
responsible for 39 …………...…, movement and pleasure are involved through a
sophisticated pathway. Test subjects who suffered from frontal lobes damages had greater
chances of picking 40 …………...… of jokes or did not respond to funny cartoons or jokes.
 SMARTCOM IELTS GEN 9.0
www.smartcom.vn

VOCABULARY
1. Outstretch /ˈaʊt.stretʃ/ (v): duỗi ra, giang tay (C2) - Outstretched /ˈaʊt.stretʃt/ (adj): được duỗi ra
(C2)
2. Torso /ˈtɔːr.soʊ/ (n): thân người (C2)
3. Tickle /ˈtɪk.əl/ (v): làm cho ai đó cười hoặc nhột (B2) - Tickling /ˈtɪk.əl.ɪŋ/ (n): sự nhột (B2)
4. Hysterics /hɪˈster.ɪks/ (n): cơn cười không thể kiểm soát (C2) - Hysterical /hɪˈster.ɪ.kəl/ (adj):
điên cuồng, không thể kiểm soát (C2)
5. Chuckle /ˈtʃʌk.əl/ (v): cười khúc khích (C1) - Chuckles /ˈtʃʌk.əlz/ (n): tiếng cười khúc khích (C1)
6. Titter /ˈtɪt.ər/ (v): cười khúc khích (C2)
7. Sensation /senˈseɪ.ʃən/ (n): cảm giác (B2) - Sensate /ˈsen.seɪt/ (adj): có cảm giác (C2)
8. Itch /ɪtʃ/ (v): ngứa (B2) - Itching /ˈɪtʃ.ɪŋ/ (n): cảm giác ngứa (B2)
9. Giggle /ˈɡɪɡ.əl/ (v): cười khúc khích (C1) - Giggling /ˈɡɪɡ.lɪŋ/ (n): tiếng cười khúc khích (C1)
10. Spot /spɒt/ (n): điểm (C1)
11. Underarms /ˈʌn.dər.ɑːrmz/ (n): nách (C2)
12. Coordination /koʊˌɔːr.dɪˈneɪ.ʃən/ (n): sự phối hợp (C1)
13. Neurochemicals /ˌnjʊə.roʊˈkem.ɪ.kəlz/ (n): hóa chất thần kinh (C2)
14. Coordination /koʊˌɔːr.dɪˈneɪ.ʃən/ (n): sự phối hợp (C1) - Coordinate /koʊˈɔːr.dɪ.neɪt/ (v): phối
hợp (C1)
15. Infection /ɪnˈfek.ʃən/ (n): sự nhiễm trùng (B2) - Infect /ɪnˈfɛkt/ (v): nhiễm (C1) - Infectious /ɪn
ˈfɛk.ʃəs/ (adj): có thể lây nhiễm (C2)
16. Encompass /ɪnˈkʌm.pəs/ (v): bao gồm (C2) - Encompassment /ɪnˈkʌm.pə.smənt/ (n): sự bao
gồm (C2)
17. Undergo /ˌʌn.dərˈɡoʊ/ (v): trải qua (C1) - Underwent /ˌʌn.dərˈwɛnt/ (v): đã trải qua (C2)
18. Splitting /ˈsplɪt.ɪŋ/ (adj): gây cười đến mức không kiểm soát được (C2) - Split /splɪt/ (v): chia
ra, tách ra (B2)
19. Preliminary /prɪˈlɪm.ɪ.nər.i/ (adj): sơ bộ (C2) - Prelim /ˈprɪl.ɪm/ (n): phần sơ bộ (C2)
20. Indicate /ˈɪn.dɪ.keɪt/ (v): chỉ ra (B2) - Indicative /ɪnˈdɪk.tɪv/ (adj): chỉ ra, biểu thị (C2) -
Indication /ˌɪn.dɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/ (n): sự chỉ ra, dấu hiệu (C2)
21. Investigation /ɪnˌvɛs.tɪˈɡeɪ.ʃən/ (n): sự điều tra (B2) - Investigator /ɪnˈvɛs.tɪ.ɡeɪ.tər/ (n): người
điều tra (C2)
22. Activate /ˈæk.tɪ.veɪt/ (v): kích hoạt (C2) - Activation /ˌæk.tɪˈveɪ.ʃən/ (n): sự kích hoạt (C2)
Active /ˈæk.tɪv/ (adj): hoạt động, chủ động (B2)
23. Theorize /ˈθɪə.raɪz/ (v): đưa ra giả thuyết (C2) - Theory /ˈθɪə.ri/ (n): lý thuyết (B2) - Theoretical
/ˌθɪə.rəˈtɛk.tɪk/ (adj): về mặt lý thuyết (C2)
24. Anticipation /ænˌtɪs.ɪˈpeɪ.ʃən/ (n): sự mong đợi (C2) - Anticipate /ænˈtɪs.ɪ.peɪt/ (v): mong đợi,
dự đoán (B2) - Anticipatory /ænˈtɪs.ɪ.pə.tɔː.ri/ (adj): mang tính mong đợi (C2)
25. Speculate /ˈspɛk.jʊ.leɪt/ (v): suy đoán (C2) - Speculation /ˌspɛk.jʊˈleɪ.ʃən/ (n): sự suy đoán
(C2) - Speculative /ˈspɛk.jʊ.lə.tɪv/ (adj): mang tính suy đoán (C2)
26. Apparently /əˈpær.ənt.li/ (adv): hình như (C1) - Apparency /əˈpær.ən.si/ (n): sự rõ ràng, sự
hiển nhiên (C2)
27. Cerebellum /ˌser.əˈbel.əm/ (n): tiểu não (C2)
 SMARTCOM IELTS GEN 9.0
www.smartcom.vn

28. Dampen /ˈdæm.pən/ (v): làm giảm (C2)

29. Killjoy /ˈkɪl.dʒɔɪ/ (n): người làm hỏng niềm vui (C2)
30. Aware /əˈweər/ (adj): nhận thức (B2) - Awareness /əˈweə.nəs/ (n): sự nhận thức (C1) -
Unaware /ˌʌn.əˈweər/ (adj): không nhận thức (C2)
31. Resound /rɪˈzaʊnd/ (v): vang vọng (C2)
32. Conduct /kənˈdʌkt/ (v): thực hiện, tiến hành (C2) - Conductive /kənˈdʌk.tɪv/ (adj): có khả năng
dẫn (C2) - Conductor /kənˈdʌk.tər/ (n): người tiến hành, người chỉ huy (C2)
33. Electroencephalogram /ɪˌlɛk.trəʊ.ɪnˈsef.ə.lə.ɡræm/ (n): điện não đồ (C2)
34. Stimuli /ˈstɪm.jʊ.laɪ/ (n): các kích thích (C2) - Stimulate /ˈstɪm.jʊ.leɪt/ (v): kích thích (C2)
35. Incongruity /ˌɪn.kɒŋˈɡruː.ɪ.ti/ (n): sự không phù hợp (C2)
36. Distinguish /dɪˈstɪŋ.ɡwɪʃ/ (v): phân biệt (B2) - Distinction /dɪˈstɪŋk.ʃən/ (n): sự phân biệt (C2) -
Distinguished /dɪˈstɪŋ.ɡwɪʃt/ (adj): xuất sắc, kiệt xuất (C2)
37. Mirth /mɜːrθ/ (n): sự vui vẻ, sự hạnh phúc (C2)
38. Depression /dɪˈprɛʃ.ən/ (n): trầm cảm (B2) - Depress /dɪˈprɛs/ (v): làm chán nản, làm giảm (C1)
- Depressed /dɪˈprɛst/ (adj): bị trầm cảm (B2)
39. Abnormal /æbˈnɔːr.məl/ (adj): bất thường (C2)
40. Disorders /dɪsˈɔːr.dərz/ (n): rối loạn (C1)
41. Judgment /ˈdʒʌdʒ.mənt/ (n): phán xét (B2) - Judge /dʒʌdʒ/ (v): phán xét (B2) - Judgmental
/dʒʌdʒˈmen.təl/ (adj): hay phán xét, đánh giá (C2)
42. Enhance /ɪnˈhæns/ (v): nâng cao (C1) - Enhancement /ɪnˈhæns.mənt/ (n): sự nâng cao (C2) -
Enhanced /ɪnˈhænst/ (adj): được nâng cao (C2)
43. Sophisticate /səˈfɪs.tɪ.keɪt/ (v): làm tinh vi (C2) - Sophisticated /səˈfɪs.tɪ.keɪ.tɪd/ (adj): tinh vi,
phức tạp (C1) - Sophistication /səˌfɪs.tɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/ (n): sự tinh vi, sự phức tạp (C2)
44. Neuropsychological mechanisms /ˌnjʊə.rəʊˌsaɪ.kəˈlɒdʒ.ɪ.kəl ˈmɛk.ə.nɪ.zəmz/ (n):
cơ chế tâm lý thần kinh (C2)

USEFUL EXPRESSIONS
1. Bend away folding /bɛnd - əˈweɪ -ˈfoʊldɪŋ/ (phr): nghiêng người và gập lại (C2)
2. Inevitable occurs /ɪˈnɛv.ɪ.tə.bəl - əˈkɜrz/ (phr): điều không thể tránh khỏi xảy ra (C2)
3. Burst into laughter /bɜrst -ˈɪntu -ˈlæf.tər/ (phr): cười phá lên (C1)
4. At times /æt - taɪmz/ (phr): thỉnh thoảng (B2)
5. Nerve fibers /nɜrv -ˈfaɪbərz/ (phr): sợi dây thần kinh (C2)
6. Be associated with /bi - əˈsoʊ.si.eɪ.tɪd - wɪð/ (phr): có liên quan đến (C1)
7. Pain sensations /peɪn - sɛnˈseɪ.ʃənz/ (phr): cảm giác đau (C2)
8. Frontal lobe /ˈfrʌn.təl - loʊb/ (phr): thùy trán (C2)
9. Supplementary motor area /ˌsʌp.lɪˈmɛn.tər.i -ˈmoʊ.tər -ˈɛr.i.ə/ (phr): khu vực vận động bổ sung
(C2)
10. Punch lines /pʌnʧ - laɪnz/ (phr): câu kết thúc hài hước (C2)
11. Built-in reflex /bɪltɪn -ˈriː.flɛks/ (phr): phản xạ bẩm sinh (C2)
12. Spinal cord /ˈspaɪ.nəl - kɔrd/ (phr): tủy sống (B2)
13. Somatosensory cortex /ˌsoʊ.mə.təʊˈsɛn.sə.ri -ˈkɔr.tɛks/ (phr): vỏ não cảm giác (C2)
14. Be exposed to /bi - ɪkˈspoʊzd - tuː/ (phr): tiếp xúc với (B2)
15. Stroke victim /stroʊk -ˈvɪk.tɪm/ (phr): nạn nhân đột quỵ (C2)
SMARTCOM IELTS GEN 9.0
www.smartcom.vn