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Your Nose Knows 别说你懂鼻子

課文朗讀

課文中英文講解

繁體中文譯本

The next time you “stop and smell the roses,” consider the sense of smell itself. Our sense of smell is connected in somewhat mysterious ways to taste, memory, and even health. Yet smell remains the least understood sense.

下次当你停下脚步闻花香时，不妨仔细想想嗅觉这东西吧。我们的嗅觉与味觉、记忆甚至健康都有些神秘的关联，但它却是被了解最少的感官。

As is obvious to anyone with a cold, about 85 percent of what we perceive as taste is actually aroma, making our sense of smell critical for our enjoyment of food. Smell also plays an important in memory. The smell of something your mother used to cook or an old boyfriend or girlfriend’s perfume can bring back a rush of old feelings and memories.

任何一个感冒的人都知道，事实上我们尝到的味道约有百分之八十五都是气味，这使得嗅觉成为我们享用食物时不可或缺的条件。嗅觉对于我们记忆也扮演了一个重要的角色。某种母亲以前常煮的食物的味道，或是以前男朋友或女朋友的香水味，都可能突然唤起过去的感情或回忆。

However, the connection between smell and health is certainly less understood. Obviously, a good sense of smell alerts us to dangers like spoiled food or smoke from a fire. But smell can also be used in certain types of medical treatment. In a recent experiment, volunteers were given insulin to lower their blood sugar levels while being exposed to a certain smell at the same time. After five days, they were exposed to the smell only. Amazingly, their blood sugar levels still dropped.

然而，嗅觉与健康之间的关联，无疑地是比较不为人知的。很显然地，灵敏的嗅觉能警告我们有危险，好比说坏掉的食物或是火灾的烟味。而气味也可以被用于某些医疗上。在最近的一项实验中，自愿参加者被注射胰岛素来降低他们血糖值，同时让他们暴露在某种气味之中。五天之后则只让他们闻该种气味，令人惊讶的是，他们的血糖指数依旧下降了。

Other health applications include aromatherapy, which is the use of fragrant oils to promote physical and mental well-being. Aromatherapy has surged in popularity over the last several years. Many users say that essential oils have profound effects on their moods, emotions, and immune system.

嗅觉在健康方面的运用包含了芳香疗法，就是利用香精油来促进身心健康。芳香疗法在过去几年来变得大受欢迎，许多使用者表示，精油对他们的心境、情绪及免疫系统都有很深的影响。

Despite the deep and subtle influence smell has on our existence, exactly how smell works has become clearer only recently.

虽然嗅觉对我们的生活有很深远而微妙的影响，但是究竟嗅觉是如何运作的，到最近才变得比较明朗。

Vocabulary

perceive [pɚˋsiv] v. 察觉；感知

well-being [ˋwɛlˋbiɪŋ] n. 健康; 幸福

surge [sɝdʒ] n. 激增

profound [prəˋfaʊnd] adj. 深刻的

immune [ɪˋmjun] system（身体内的）免疫系统

subtle [ˋsʌt!] adj. 微妙的

scent [sɛnt] n. 气味，香味

More Information

aroma [əˋromə] n. 芳香，香气

bring back 带回 to remind of something.

rush [rʌʃ] n. 高峰期; 热潮; 激增

alert [əˋlɝt] v. 向…发出警报

insulin [ˋɪnsəlɪn] n. 胰岛素

expose [ɪkˋspoz] v. 使暴露于

aromatherapy [͵ærəməˋθɛrəpɪ] n. 芳香疗法

Reading Questions 

1. According to the article, whether we like a food or not mainly depends on ___

A. the way it feels

B. our past experience

C. how it tastes in our mouths

D. how it smells when we eat it

2. What does the author say about aromatherapy?

A. It isn’t as well-known as it used to be.

B. Essential oils have been proven by science to be ineffective.

C. People who use it claim that it can change their moods and emotions.

D. It doesn’t affect or improve physical heath.

3. What was the author’s purpose in writing this article?

A. To let us know about the role that smell plays in many aspects of our lives.

B. To emphasize the connection between food and good health.

C. To teach us how to make ourselves more attractive by using perfume.

D. To discuss the different kinds of scents that the sense of smell can identify.

課文中英文講解

In 1991, Richard Axel and Linda B. Buck published the first major paper describing how the sense of smell works. ___1___ then, they’ve separately published further research detailing these complicated processes in our bodies. In 2004, the two were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology ___2___ their groundbreaking discoveries.

1991年，里察艾克索以及琳达柏克发表了第一篇阐述嗅觉如何运作的重要论文。在那之后，他们分别发表了更深入的研究报告，详述嗅觉在体内运作的复杂过程。2004年，这两位科学家因其创新的发现获颁诺贝尔医学奖或生理学奖。

They discovered the human body has seven primary, and many lesser, types of smell receptors cells, Different odors activate different patterns of receptors, and this ___3___ the brain to recognize specific odors. Altogether, the human brain is able to differentiate around 10,000 odors. What is most ___4___ about this research is the amazing possibilities allowed by our deeper knowledge of smell.

他们发现人体有七种主要及其它次要的嗅觉受体细胞。不同的气味能活化不同种类的受体细胞，使得人脑能辨识特定的气味，人脑总共可以辨识大约一万种气味。这项研究最令人兴奋的一点就是，在我们更深入了解嗅觉之后随之而来的各种惊人可能性。

___5___ these findings, several adventurous companies are trying to develop products that will create a wide range of specific smells on demand. ___6___ a smell machine next to the computer on your desk – a kind of smell-o-vision. Visit a bakery’s website, and you’ll smell fresh ___7___. Play a driving video game, and you’ll smell burning rubber. Although such products are not commercially available yet, major telecommunications companies are becoming involved in the hope that this ___8___ the new frontier of human communication.

根据这些发现，数家大胆前卫的公司开始研发能够应要求产生各种特殊气味的产品。想象一下，一台类似气味电视的气味机就放在你桌上的计算机旁边。当你浏览一家面包店的网页，你就会闻到新鲜面包的香味。玩赛车电玩游戏时，你就会闻到轮胎高速磨擦产生的焦味。尽管市面上还买不到这样的产品，但是一些大型的电信公司都纷纷涉足该领域，期待这样的产品会引导人类通讯进入新境界。

Although we’ve partly unveiled the mystery of the sense of smell, we are surely getting only a first whiff of its full wonder.

虽然我们已揭开了嗅觉的部分神秘面纱，我们无疑地只是才刚开始进入他奇妙的领域里。

－By Mark Hammons & Iain Ferguson

Vocabulary

groundbreaking [ˋgraʊnd͵brekɪŋ] adj. 开创性的

odor [ˋodɚ] n. 气味

differentiate [͵dɪfəˋrɛnʃɪ͵et] v. 区别，区分

adventurous [ədˋvɛntʃərəs] adj. 爱冒险的；大胆的

telecommunication [͵tɛlɪkə͵mjunəˋkeʃən] n. 电信

frontier [frʌnˋtɪr] n.（探索活动的）新领域；未完全开拓的领域

unveil [ʌnˋvel] v. 揭露

More Information

physiology [͵fɪzɪˋɑlədʒɪ] n. 生理学

a wide range of 范围广泛的

on demand  一经要求

smell-o-vision 气味电视

involved [ɪnˋvɑlvd]  adj. 参与某活动[某事件]的; 与某活动[某事件]有关联的

in the hope  期望wishing for

whiff  [hwɪf] n. 一阵（微弱的）气味

Answer