Do you chat with your dog and tell your cat secrets? Some of you doubt that it might be meaningless, while others hope that your pet understands. But what, and how much, do animals understand? For example, you know that animals are capable of experiencing pleasure, but do they experience humor? Do dogs or cats or any animal laugh in the same way that we laugh?

The reasons why human beings develop laughter are mysterious. Every human on the planet, despite the language they speak, does it. It’s something we develop before we can speak. So, while we don’t know why we do it, we do know we do it. But do animals laugh?

Monkeys vocalize enjoyment during chasing games or when they are being tickled (挠痒). Interestingly the apes that are more closely related to us, display delighted sounds most similar to human laughter. The fact suggests that laughter exists before any sort of speech. It’s reported that Koko, the famous gorilla (黑猩猩) that used sign language, once tied her keeper’s shoelaces together and then signed “chase me” showing her ability to make jokes.

But what about birds? Some clever birds have been seen to copy laughter and even make fun of other animals. It’s reported that one bird whistled and confused the family dog for joy. Crows (乌鸦) can use tools to locate food and pull the tails of predators (捕食性动物) to trick them while stealing food. But when there’s no food, it suggests the bird does it just for fun. So it’s possible that some birds have a sense of humor, and may even laugh, but we haven’t been able to identify it yet.

So how about the pets in our homes? Are they capable of laughing at us? There is evidence suggesting that dogs have developed a kind of laugh when they are enjoying themselves. Cats, on the other hand, were thought to show no emotions at all. You can be comforted that your cat isn’t laughing at you.

【小题1】What can we learn about laughter?

A．Animals are unable to laugh.

B．It’s developed before we can speak.

C．Why people develop laughter is clear.

D．Animals can understand why people laugh.

【小题2】What does the underlined word “vocalize” mean in Paragraph 3?

A．let out.

B．put out

C．figure out.

D．spread out.

【小题3】What will crows do when stealing food?

A．Laugh to please the predators.	B．Whistle to confuse the predators.
C．Pull the tails to cheat the predators.	D．Use tools to threaten the predators

【小题4】What can be inferred from the text?

A．Gorillas can use signs to make jokes.

B．Crows can steal food to treat the predators.

C．Dogs can copy laughter to make fun of cats.

D．Monkeys can chase other animals to tickle them.