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Expressive Genes 表情会遗传？

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Has anyone told you that when you are angry, you scrunch your eyebrows together just like your father does? Scientists used to think the reason for this likeness was that children imitated their parents. However, a new study led by Ph.D. student Gili Peleg has found that facial expressions, especially negative ones, are inherited ___1___ learned.

有没有人跟你说过，你生气皱眉的表情和你父亲一模一样？以往科学家认为这种相似的原因是儿童模仿父母亲。然而，一项由博士生姬莉．佩雷格主导的新研究发现，脸部表情，特别是负面表情，是遗传而非学习而来。

Peleg and her team compared the facial expressions of twenty-one volunteers who were born ___2___ with thirty of their family members. They were all videotaped as they talked about happy, sad and frustrating incidents in their lives. They were also observed as they ___3___ their attention on puzzles, listened to a disgusting story, and were surprised by a question that made no sense. Researchers reported that the family resemblance ___4___ facial responses was significant. The most obvious similarities were in angry faces, ___5___ by expressions of surprise, disgust, joy, sadness and concentration.

佩雷格与其团队比较了21位天生眼盲的自愿受试者和他们30位家人的面部表情。他们谈论生活中快乐、悲伤和挫折事件的过程都被录像下来。当他们专注于猜谜、听恶心故事和惊讶于无理的问题时，也受到观察。研究者指出，家人间脸部反应的相似度非常显着。最明显的相似处是生气的脸，其次依序为惊讶、恶心、喜悦、悲伤和专注等种种表情。

Peleg surmises that negative emotions are probably more pronounced because they are sometimes used in situations ___6___ a person is dealing with something that is potentially life-threatening. Alternatively, negative expressions may be easier to differentiate from positive ones because they require more muscles to create.

佩雷格推测，负面情绪之所以较明显，是因为此类情感有时是在应付威胁生命的事情时显现。或者，因为做负面表情需要较多肌肉，所以更易与正面表情做区隔。

Peleg does not believe that blind people learn to imitate their families’ expressions through touch, ___7___ some people have suggested. In fact, one of the volunteers didn’t meet his biological mother until he was eighteen, and still, the similarities between their expressions were amazing!

佩雷格不认为盲眼人士是像某些人所以为的，透过触摸而模仿家人脸部表情。事实上，有一位自愿受试者直到18岁才初次见到生母，但他们表情的相似度依然惊人！

−by Amy Gittelson

Vocabulary

单词发音

volunteer [͵vɑlənˋtɪr] n. 志愿者

videotape [ˋvɪdɪoˋtep] v. 录像

disgusting [dɪsˋgʌstɪŋ] adj. 令人恶心的; 使人极其反感的; 令人厌恶的

make sense 合理; 有意义

concentration [͵kɑnsɛnˋtreʃən] n. 专心，专注

surmise [sɚˋmaɪz] v. 推测；猜测，臆测[+that]

alternatively [ɔlˋtɝnə͵tɪvlɪ] adv. 或者 on the other hand, if not

differentiate [͵dɪfəˋrɛnʃɪ͵et] v. 区分；鉴别[（+from）]

More Information

单词发音

scrunch [skrʌntʃ] v. 缩紧

eyebrow [ˋaɪ͵braʊ] n. 眉，眉毛

likeness [ˋlaɪknɪs] n. 相像，相似

imitate [ˋɪmə͵tet] v. 模仿

incident [ˋɪnsədnt] n.〔尤指不平常的〕事件

resemblance [rɪˋzɛmbləns] n. 相似；相貌相似

pronounced [prəˋnaʊnst] adj. 明显的，显著的

biological mother  亲生母亲

Answer