解放军文职招聘考试阅读理解C

 Imagine this situation. You pass a group of people. The people are talking to each other. You cannot hear what they are saying. But suddenly they start laughing. What would you think? Would you think they were laughing at something funny that one of them said? Or -- be honest with yourself -- would you think they were laughing at you? Yes, you.

Being laughed at is a common fear. But a major study published in 2009 found that this fear is not the same around the world. It is different from culture to culture.

People in Finland were the least likely to believe that people laughing in their presence were making fun of them. Less than ten percent of Finns in the study said they would think that, compared to eighty percent of people in Thailand.

Some people in the study said they felt unsure of themselves in social situations but hid their feelings of insecurity（局促不安）Others said they avoided social situations where they had been laughed at before.

The study found that people in Turkmenistan and Cambodia were more likely to be in the first group. They would hide their feelings of insecurity if they were around other people's laughter. But people in Iraq, Egypt and Jordan were more likely to try to avoid such situations if they felt they had been laughed at before.

Shy people often avoid situations that would force them into close contact（联系）with other people. They worry that something they say or do will make other people laugh at them. But some people worry much more than others. They may have an illness called gelotophobia. Gelos is a Greek word. It means laughter. Phobia means fear. This fear of laughter can be truly sad for those who live with it. It can affect how they lead their lives.

In the study, a team from the University of Zurich led more than ninety researchers from around the world. They wanted to understand the difference between normal shyness and true gelotophobia. Another purpose of the study was to compare the levels of fear of being laughed at in different cultures. The researchers surveyed（调查）more than twenty-two thousand people in forty-two different languages. The findings appeared in the scientific magazine Humor.

66. What did the study find?

A. Being laughed at is a common fear.

B. Being laughed at is different from culture to culture.

C. Only people in Turkmenistan would hide their feelings of insecurity if they were around other people's laughter.

D. The fear of being laughed at is different around the world.

67. In which country do most people not mind others’ laughing in their presence?

A. Iraq.    B. Jordan.    C. Thailand.    D. Finland.

68. Shy people often avoid situations that would force them into close contact with other people because _________.

A. they have a disorder called gelotophobia

B. It can affect how they lead their lives

C. they worry that something they say or do will be laughed at

D. they worry that all what they say or do will make other people laugh at them

69. The underlined word “it” in Paragraph6 refers to          .

A. laughter.    B. gelotophobia.    C. fear.   D. Phobia.

70. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A. The findings of the study appeared in a scientific magazine.

B. The researchers came from different countries.

C. Normal shyness and true gelotophobia are a little different.

D. The researchers wanted to know the differences between the levels of fear of being laughed at in different cultures.