UNIT 3B
HA! HA!
LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE
WORD MENAING
1. implication –
imply, suggestion
2. immunity –
strength, body resistance ability
3. frequency – rate
at which something occurs
4. consequences –
results of actions
5. pleasant –
Enjoyable
6. humour – Quality
of being funny
7. bowling –
rolling a ball to knock down
8. crease – line
produced on paper by folding it
9. mirth – laughter
and happiness
10. anxiety – worry
11. alleviated –
removed, decrease
12. prescriptions –
written slip
B.2 Work in pairs
a. Try to think of any two things that make you laugh.
DO BY
SELF
b. How to improve upon a comedy to enhance humour and laughter?
There are
many ways through which we can improve humour and laughter through a play or
skit. The most important one being the humourous element in it. We need to
review its characters and funny dialogue. If a humour fails to bring laughter,
then we must review the style of presentation and delivery of speech. This
might enhance to bring about the intended result.
Ex. B.6 (Page: 79)
a. Read the sentence form
the passage and answer the question given below.
‘Laugh, and the
whole world laughs with you’ – this is an adage that has held true through time
not only because of the social implications of good humour and laughter, but
also because of the positive effects laughter has on a person’s mind and body.
Which of the following statements can be
derived based on the information provide din this sentence? Choose all the
options that you think are correct.
i. ‘Laugh, and the whole world
laughs with you’ is an adage which has been proven true over the course of time.
ii. Good humour and laughter have
social implications.
iv. Laughter has positive effects on
a person’s mind and body.
b. Which of the following
has NOT been mentioned as a benefit of laughter in the text?
iv. making us more intelligent
c. Which option correctly substitutes
the underlined word in this sentence from the text? It also creates a noticeable
effect on the people who we smile at.
i. evident
d. So,
how can we help ourselves smile more often, sincerely count our blessings, and
make an honest endeavour at bringing humour back into our conversations? Let us
see. Why not try a few of these?
Which of the following has NOT been suggested
as a method to bring humour back into our lives in the passage?
i. play pranks on our friends
B.7 Answer the following quesitons
a. “This downside – known as ‘the humour cliff’ – can have terrible
consequences for our personal and professional lives”, writes Reed Tucker in
the 22nd June 2022 – issue of The New York Post.
What is ‘the humour cliff’? Why do you think this name is used to
describe this phenomenon?
Some
surveys show that as children, we laugh numerous times a day, as adults, we
tend to be more serious and laugh with much less frequency. This lower
frequency of laughter in adults is known as ‘the humour cliff’. A cliff
is a mass of rock that rises vertical, or straight up-and-down. Due to the fact that lower frequency of
laughter might be harmful to a person’s life, this term ‘the humour cliff’, is
therefore used here.
b. List any three positive effects laughter has on a person’s mind
and body.
The three
positive effects of laughter on a person’s mind and body are:
(i) It
lowers the rate of the release of stress hormones.
(ii) It
reduces pain in muscles.
(iii) It
prevents cardiac disease.
c. What are the different
ways to combat ‘the humour cliff’?
There are
different ways to combat the humour cliff.
(i)
Smile: The first step is to smile. It draws people in and helps us communicate
with each other easily.
(ii) Count
our blessings: Every time we count our blessings, it leads to avoid negative
thoughts and we become happy.
(iii)
Bring humour back into conversation: Wherever we are, we need to take care of
ourselves. The more we think of, we have a right to be happy, the better off we
will be.
d. A smile or some laughter in the midst of all these will act as a
ray of sunshine amidst a volume of clouds for us. Comment on this.
A smile
or some laughter in the midst of all anxiety and tension beyond comfort acts as
a ray of sunshine that pierces through a volume of clouds. With such positive
effects or force on a person’s mind and body, it is capable of giving us the strength
to get through the toughest of situations. A smile, like sunshine, for no
reason, can reach out to anyone; creating a community happy and blessed. It
makes life comfortable.
e. How does smile add joy and zest to life?
From giving
us the joy that we deserve to offering the same of more to those that watch us
or participate in our laughter with us, this act affords joy and laughter to
one an all.
f. How does smile relieve stress?
Once the
stress caused by anxiety and tension is alleviated, we are bound to feel fresh
and more energetic. No medicines, no consultation – a smile will take care of
our stress, only if we are dare to smile.
g. How does smile improve mood?
More than
just a delay from melancholy and pain, laughter gives us the courage and
strength to find new sources of meaning and hope. Even in the most difficult of
times, a laugh – or even simply a smile – can a go long way toward making us
feel better.
h. ‘Laugh, and the whole world laughs with you’ – explain.
People
prefer cheerfulness in others. A person who is cheerful will have company, but
someone who is gloomy will often be alone. Ella Wheeler Wilcox, a poet of the
late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, is the author of this saying.
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