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Why do People Get Motion Sickness? 每月一问：人为什么会晕车晕船？

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

Perhaps you’ve experienced motion sickness when traveling by car, boat, or airplane. You certainly felt nauseated during your ordeal, and maybe vexed that those around you weren’t affected. Why can motion sickness disable almost anyone – 90 percent of all people have suffered motion sickness – while in transit, but not every time they’re on the move?

或许你已经在搭车、坐船、或乘飞机时曾有晕车晕船的经验。当然整个过程必然作呕难过不适，而且或许还相当懊恼周边的人安然无恙未受影响。为什么晕车晕船会使人在舟车之际──几乎百分之九十的人──都挂了，但却又不是每一次都会如此。

Our balance, or equilibrium, is maintained by the central nervous system (CNS) as it constantly collects and compares data from our inner ears, skin pressure receptors, and muscle and joint sensory receptors. The CNS correlates these various signals generated by movement to create our sense of balance. When the CNS receives conflicting data, we sometimes experience motion sickness. For example, if you’re reading a book in the back seat of a moving car, your eyes and skin receptors detect motion, but your eyes see only unmoving pages; your CNS is receiving conflicting information, so motion sickness is possible.

人类能保持平衡是由中枢神经系统在维持，因为它不断在收集和比较从内耳、眼睛、皮肤触觉接受器、和肌肉关节感触接受器送来的讯息。中枢神经系统把人在移动状态所产生的各种讯息汇整后形成人类的平衡感。当中枢神经系统接受到的讯息互相冲突时，我们就可能会发生晕车晕船的现象。譬如，车行移动之际，你在后座看书，你的内耳和皮肤触觉接受到的是移动讯号，但是眼睛所见却是不移动的书页；中央神经系统接受到的讯息相抵触，晕车晕船的现象就可能因而产生。

Exactly why one person becomes motion sick when another does not in the same situation is unknown. The simplest short-term remedy is to remind your CNS that it’s moving by facing forward and gazing at the horizon. Fortunately, motion sickness diminishes over time as our CNS adjusts to inconsistent messages.

至于为什么同样状态下，甲会晕车晕船，而乙则否，至今仍然原因不明。最简单的暂时性补救方式就是向前看，注视着地平线之处，提醒自己的中枢神经系统现在是在移动状态中。幸运的是，晕车晕船的感觉会随着时间──因为中枢神经系统因应矛盾冲突的讯息逐渐适应之后──而逐渐减少。

Vocabulary

单词发音

nauseate [ˋnɔsɪet] v. 对……感到恶心

ordeal [ɔrˋdiəl] n. 严峻考验；苦难，折磨

vex [vɛks] v. 使生气；使痛苦；使烦恼；使困惑

transit [ˋtrænsɪt] n.〔人或货物的〕运输

equilibrium [͵ikwəˋlɪbrɪəm] n.〔相反的力量或影响〕平衡﹐均衡

correlate [ˋkɔrə͵let] v. 使相互关联

conflicting [kənˋflɪktɪŋ] adj. 相矛盾的；冲突的

remedy [ˋrɛmədɪ] n. 治疗；治疗法

gaze [gez] v. 凝视，注视，盯[Q][（+at/on/upon/into）]

Sentence of the Day

Motion sickness can lead to the Technicolor yawn.

晕车晕船会引起呕吐。

Technicolor yawn 呕吐; 恶心 vomiting

technicolor [ˋtɛknɪ͵kʌlɚ] adj.【幽默】色彩（过分）鲜艳的﹐艳丽多彩的

课文讲解

Lily, who usually gets seasick, is on the desk of a boat during rough seas with her Uncle Joe, a retired fisherman:  海象恶劣时，一向就很容易晕车晕船的莉莉和乔叔叔在一艘船的甲板上。乔叔叔是位退休的打渔人：

L: I’m glad I took a motion sickness pill this time! Even though the boat is rolling and pitching, feel fine. Hey, Uncle Joe: you’re looking a little green. You OK?

我很高兴这次我先吞下了止晕药！虽然船现在颠得很厉害，但是我没有感觉不舒服。嘿，乔叔叔，你看起来倒是有点脸色发青。你还好吗？

J: (vomits over the side of the boat) Oh, I can’t believe this! I’m so dizzy!

（向船缘外，吐了）噢，我真被它打败了！我觉得头很晕！

L: Don’t worry. This is normal. Even astronauts get motion sickness sometimes.

别担心，这是正常现象。连航天员有时也会晕的。

J: But Lily, I’m an old sea dog! I shouldn’t get seasick.

但是莉莉，我是海上老手啊！我不应该会晕船的。

L: Well, it’s been a while since you’ve been out to sea like this. Plus, like I already said, those chilidogs and coffee were a bad idea! Light foods and plenty of water are the ticket to avoiding motion sickness.

但是离你上一回在这样的大浪中出海，已经相隔很久。再者，就像我说的，你吃的那些辣味热狗和咖啡，恐怕都不是很好的东西。口味轻淡的食物和充足的水份最能够避免晕车晕船。

J: Ah, hogwash! Well, I’m going to stand out here in the fresh air and watch the horizon.

噢，全是废话！现在我要站在空气流通的地方，还可以看地平在线的风景。

L: In the meantime, I’ve got a flask of hot ginger tea here. Apparently, ginger is an effective antiemetic.

同时，我这儿有罐热姜茶。很明显地，姜是很好的抗吐剂。

J: There’s a new one! Maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks. While I’m sipping tea, you could head belowdecks.

那是新招！或许妳可以教老狗新把戏呢。我在喝茶的时候，妳可以到底舱去。

L: Nah, Those diesel fumes below make me queasy. I’ll stay out here with you until you’re back on an even keel.

才不要，下面的柴油味熏得我想呕吐。我和你一起待在这儿，一直等到你感觉平稳舒服为止。

－by Margaret Mack

Vocabulary

单词发音

seasick [ˋsi͵sik] adj. 晕船的

rough [rʌf] adj. 狂暴的；剧烈的

pitch [pɪtʃ] v.（船只等）前后颠簸，摇晃

green [grin] adj. （脸色等）发青的

dizzy [ˋdɪzɪ] adj. 头晕目眩的

astronaut [ˋæstrə͵nɔt] n. 航天员，宇航员

chilidog [tʃɪlɪ͵dɑg] n. 涂有辣椒酱的热狗

hogwash [ˋhɑg͵wɑʃ] n. 蠢话﹐废话﹐胡言乱语

flask [flæsk] n.【英】保温瓶

antiemetic [æntɪɪˋmetɪk] n. 抗吐剂；止吐药

belowdecks [bɪlo'dɛks] adv. 在船舱内，在甲板下

diesel [ˋdiz!] n. 柴油引擎

fume [fjum] n.（有害，浓烈，或难闻的）烟，气

queasy [ˋkwizɪ] adj.（感到）恶心的﹐想呕吐的

on an even keel  (指船)不倾斜, 平稳; 【喻】(生活)稳定  calm and not likely to change suddenly

Sentence of the Day

Uncle Joe has lost his sea legs.

乔叔叔不再是海上老手了。

sea legs  不晕船; 行船摇摆时仍能平稳行走的人