時差N小時:老人們仍能欣賞幽默嗎?

Maybe when people get older, sense of a humor isthe first thing to go.

也許，人年紀越大，越是幽默感至上。

Actually, research suggests that old folks, if they'rehealthy, canstill appreciate humor as much as ayounger person can.

事實上，研究 表明，和年輕人一樣，健康的老人們仍然欣賞幽默。

They still smile and laugh when they get the joke.

有人開玩笑依舊會面帶微笑或大笑。

However, there isevidence to suggest that with agewe may lose our ability to comprehend more complex forms of humor.

但是，研究也證實隨著年齡的增長，我們無法理解比較復雜形勢的幽默。

Scientists believe that the tools we need to get a complex joke are primarily located in thebrain's frontal lobes.

科學家相信，理解復雜玩笑主要靠的是腦前葉的功能。

People with damage to their right frontal lobe experience difficulty getting punchlines andprefer slapstick humor instead.

腦前葉右部受損會造成笑話中妙語的困擾，而這類人也更傾向于淺顯幽默。

There's also evidence that the functions located in the brain's frontal lobes may be the first todiminish with aging.

有證明顯示，腦前葉功能會隨著年老而最先退化。

This may explain why in a recent experiment older folks performed significantly worse thanyounger folks in comprehending more complex forms of humor.

這也解釋了最近的實驗中，年長者們在理解更復雜幽默上明顯不如年輕人。

Of course, it's also important to take into account such factors as social differences in the kindof humor people prefer, social setting, and health.

當然，綜合考慮其他因素也很重要：比如社會差異影響個體的幽默傾向、社會背景、健康狀況。

Maybe an elderly person would laugh at a joke if she were socializing with a group of herfriends,

也許，和朋友相處的一個老人會因為玩笑而大笑;

but not laugh with her neighbor whom she doesn't know well or finds annoying.

但是，和不熟悉或惱人的鄰里就不會大笑。