Vocabulary: feeling pain 词汇：有关疼痛的词语

Perhaps because of traditional beliefs that men are tougher than women, it's common for British people these days to joke about men's weaknesses.

A man who complains he's ill with a cold might be told he just has 'man flu.' The implication is a woman keeps working when she has a cold, while a man exaggerates its effects, in order to get some sympathy and get out of doing any work.

According to the British saying, such a man is being 'a big girl's blouse,' a jokey way of saying he's not as manly and brave as he could be.

But now it seems maybe men aren't such big girl's blouses after all.

Researchers at Leeds Metropolitan University in England inflicted pain on 200 Libyan and British students, and studied how they responded. They found that although there was no difference in the unpleasantness of the pain, the men were much more stoical about it. They showed a higher pain threshold, and reported less pain afterwards.

The women showed more sensitivity. They tolerated less pain, and were happier to admit it hurt.

So why did the men put up with more pain than women? Gender stereotypes seem to be playing a part, with women expected to be sensitive and men feeling the pressure to show they're macho.

The research found that these gender differences were stronger in the Libyan students than the British ones. The Libyan men also had a higher pain threshold than British men. This suggests that cultural differences also play a part in how people cope with pain.

Research into pain is important, because it could help scientists develop better pain relief, and help people who live with chronic pain. Most pain killers are tested on men.