In these gloomy, uncertain times, the ability to have a good laugh — especially at your own expense — may be essential for survival. But are people really capable of having a sense of humor about themselves? 　　

在低迷犹豫的时候，没有什么能比具有开怀大笑的能力更能帮助人恢复元气的了，特别是敢于自嘲的魄力。但人们真的能够对于自己也充满幽默么？

In the first-ever study of its kind, Ursula Beermann of the University of California, Berkeley, and Willibald Ruch of the University of Zurich studied 70 psychology students to gauge their ability to laugh at themselves. The findings support what has long been believed: that being able to laugh at oneself is not only a distinct trait, but is also linked with having an upbeat personality and good mood and may be the foundation for a good sense of humor.　　

在目前破天荒的首次相关研究中，美国加州大学的Ursula Beermann与苏黎世大学的Willibald Ruch研究了70为心理学学生的子超能力。结果证实了长期以来的一种看法：能有自嘲的人不仅具有鲜明的个性品质，同时还有更加积极向上的心态，这都是使得他们具有良好幽默感的基础条件。　　

Participants in the study were asked to rate their ability to see the humor in their own plight. They also designated one or two friends to rate them on the same characteristic.　　

参加这项测试的学生被要求对自己的逆境中所表现出来的幽默感进行评分，他们还指定了一到两个朋友，并对他们在相同方面的个性进行评分。　　

While the students were filling out these questionnaires on a computer, its camera surreptitiously photographed their faces. The pictures were then altered using Mac Photo Booth software to make them look like distorted, funhouse-mirror images.　　

尽管学生们是通过电脑回答调查问卷的，但电脑的摄像头同时记录下了他们的遍布表情。图像会经过软件的加工，呈现出类似于游乐场哈哈镜的效果。

Afterward, the study participants were asked to rate distorted photos of people they didn't know. Their own stretched-out images were randomly inserted into the sequence — and that's where the experiment really started. Participants were videotaped as they viewed the images to see whether they laughed or smiled at themselves. The videos were analyzed, using a well-studied rating system of emotional expression, to see how genuine the participants' expressions of humor were.　　

随后，受测者们还被要求对于这些素不相识的人们的“哈哈镜”照进行打分。他们自己的扭曲的图像会被打乱之后随即的插入，而这时实验才真正的开始。摄像头记录下了他们在看到自己的图像时会否开怀大笑或未向。然后，这段录像会被通过一种专门研究情感表情的系统进行评级，以便研究受测者表情上所体现出的幽默感。

Eighty percent of participants genuinely smiled or laughed at least once when seeing their own silly image. However, those who claimed to have the ability to laugh at themselves — and whose friends' assessments matched their own — genuinely laughed and smiled more often and more intensely than the others.　　

有百分之八的受测者在看到自己滑稽的图像时至少一次的微笑与大小。而这些被认为是有“敢笑”的魄力的人对于自己的评估，与他的朋友们的评价结果是基本吻合的，这种发自内心的笑会比其他人更加频繁，更加的强烈。　

Interestingly, however, people's sense of their own ability to laugh at themselves was only somewhat correlated with their friends' ratings, suggesting that people either think they're better at it than they actually are or that they want to present themselves this way.　　

有趣的是，人们对于自嘲能力的自我认定只打到了其朋友们的评价的一部分而已，这说明大家认为自己要比实际情况中更具有幽默感，冰鞋希望通过这样一种方式来展示自己。

The study found that people's ability to laugh at themselves had no bearing on how much they laughed or smiled in response to the distorted images of others — that suggests that the phenomenon is a distinct characteristic, one linked with your own mood and personality, rather than the tendency to simply find silly images funny. The finding also underscores the link between humor and humility.　　

这项实验这些敢于自嘲的人在看到别人扭曲的照片时同样也会笑得十分开心，说明这是一种平直，与一个人的心情与个性性格有关，而并不是仅仅因为图片真的很好笑。这项研究同样强调了幽默与谦逊之间的联系。　　

Participants who were able to laugh at themselves more also tended to be more cheerful and less serious overall, and were in better moods on the day of the experiment, the study found.　　

能够自嘲的受测者总体表现得更加的开朗，同时更加不拘小节。在参与实验的这一天中往往具有更好的心情。　　

Although studying people's sense of humor may seem like a trivial pursuit, it has important implications for health. Laughter, smiling and optimism are linked to better overall health. And "getting" certain types of jokes requires important social skills that can be impaired in conditions like autism and schizophrenia. Understanding the mechanics of humor may shed light on what goes wrong in those cases.　　

尽管研究人们的幽默感看起来似乎平淡无奇，但其对于健康的影响则相当重要。欢笑、微笑和乐观的态度都与整体的健康息息相关。要听懂某些笑话好需要有重要的社交技巧，这有助于避免自闭症与精神分裂症。了解幽默的“规则”有望帮助探寻在上述的情况中所出现了那些不好的苗头。　

And sometimes, we just need a reminder to take everything — including ourselves — less seriously.　

有的时候，我们需要常常提醒自己，在对待任何事物时，包括自己，都应该更加的放轻松些。

相关词汇学习：

1. gloomy adj. 阴暗的，忧闷的，前景黯淡的
2. psychology n. 心理，心理学
3. gauge n. 测量仪器，测量标准，轨距,，直径，口径 vt. 估计，判断，测量
4. plight n. 困境, 苦境
[同义词] predicament n. 困境 dilemma n.困境，进退两难
5. designate vt. 指定，标明，把...定名为, 选派
[同义辨析] appoint, designate, assign, name, nominate 这些动词均有“任命，委派”之意。
appoint: 通常指不经过选择的官方委任。
designate: 书面用语，侧重当权者或机构的选拔或任命，有时含强行指定的意味。
assign: 常指给一群人或个人分配、分派、指派或委派任务。
name: 普通用词，着重任命的结果，而不是过程。
nominate: 通常指为某一公职选择候选人，并将其提交给有决定权的人作最后决定。
6. surreptitiously adv. 偷偷摸摸地, 暗中地
[同义词] underground adj. 地下的, 秘密的 secretly adv.秘密地, 背地里