英语科普小文章

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　　随着科普教育的发展，科普阅读也越来越受到重视。

　　英语科普小文章

　　我们会低估自己的重量

　　In a world full of mirrors, what I"m about to tell you may be a surprise. But many overweight people do not know they"re obese. They underestimate their weight, according to a study in the journal Body Image.

　　在这如同明镜一般的社会里，我即将告诉你的事情可能会让你感到吃惊。《身体意象》杂志组织的研究显示，许多超重的人都不知道他们自己过度肥胖，而是低估了自己的重量。

　　Researchers documented the height, weight and body mass index of more than 3,500 Mexican undergraduate students. Then they questioned the students about their weights. The reported poundage differed significantly from reality, especially among males.

　　调查人员记录了3 500名墨西哥大学肄业生的身高、体重和体质指数。然后他们向学生询问其体重。学生们的回答与真实情况相去甚远，尤其是男性。

　　More than 33 percent of the males were overweight or obese but less than 17 percent characterized themselves as being in either category. And though more than 27 percent of the women were overweight or obese, only 21 percent believed they were. The heavier the student the more likely they were to underestimate their weight.

　　超过33%的男性超重或者是极度肥胖，然而如此描述自己的人低于17%。尽管超过27%的女性超重或者是过度肥胖，真正相信这一情况的只有21%。越胖的学生越容易低估自己的体重。

　　The study took place in Mexico because that country has the highest rates of obesity and diabetes in the world. But undergrads in the U.S. are even more likely to underestimate their weight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The researchers note that recognizing a weight problem early on is crucial for weight control as people age. Or you can wind up buying a bigger belt every year.

　　墨西哥拥有世界上最高的肥胖率和糖尿病率，因此研究特意选在墨西哥展开。但是美国疾病预防控制中心显示，美国的肄业生更容易低估他们的体重。研究者指出，及早地认识到体重问题对成长过程中体重控制起到决定性作用。要不然你就年复一年“衣带渐瘦终不悔”吧!

　　英语科普小文章2

　　记忆力不由年纪决定

　　Senior citizens, don"t believe the hype. Because a new study finds that older folks who accept that seniors" memories get worse do worse on memory tests. The finding was published in the journal Experimental Aging Research.

　　老年人们，不要相信那些年纪越老记忆力越差的说法，因为最近一项新的研究发现，那些接受这种说法的老年人真的“自暴自弃”，在记忆力测试中一塌糊涂。这个发现发表在《老龄化实验研究》这份期刊上。

　　Scientists interested in the effects of stereotype on memory enlisted 103 seniors between 60-and 82-years-old to take a memory test. Before the test, some subjects were told that the test checked the effects of age on memory. Researchers call this a threat—it reminds participants of the stereotype. That group was also asked to write down their age after reading the instructions, again homing in on the stereotype. The other group was told that the test controlled for biases. This could make them feel more secure. Researchers also gave participants a stigma consciousness questionnaire to test how strongly they bought into negative stereotypes.

　　一些关注老龄化对记忆力影响的科学家们邀请了103位年纪在60岁和82岁之间的老年人参与了一次记忆力测试。在测试前，一组老年人被告知这次实验的目的就是测试年龄对记忆力的影响。科学家们把这个称为“消极暗示”，让参与者们把年龄和记忆力联系到了一起。这组老年人也被要求在阅读完测试说明之后写下自己的年纪，再次强调了先前的暗示。另一组老年人则被告知，这次实验的目的是纠正年纪越大记忆力越差的说法，这属于“积极暗示”。科学家们也向参与者们提供了一份自我意识的测试问卷，以调查他们对老龄化消极作用的看法。

　　The results: participants who got reminded of their age and the old age, poor memory stereotype did significantly worse. Those who say they feel stigmatized also performed more poorly. So your memory may function better just by believing that it will. In which case, you really will eventually figure out where you left your car keys.

　　实验的结果是：那些被暗示“上了年纪记忆力就会变差”的人在记忆测试中明显表现的更糟糕;那些觉得老龄化消极作用大的人也表现得比没有这种看法的人更差。所以，你相信自己的记忆力能有多好，它就有多好。那么，下次你就不用为找不见车钥匙而着急了，只要相信自己能想起来，你最终会找到的。

　　英语科普小文章3

　　清新气味让你更慷慨

　　When you"re done listening to this podcast, grab whatever product you use to clean. Maybe it"ssomething that smells really citrusy. Do a bit of cleaning. Then take a few deep breaths. Believeit or not the odds are now higher that you"ll make decisions that are both more fair and moregenerous than you would have without smelling the cleanser. That"s according to researchpublished in the journal Psychological Science.

　　当你聆听这段音频时(按：要收听原文音频，请点击原文链接)，请随手拿起你平时用来做清洁的物品，那上边可能就带着一种柑橘香。把它洗干净，然后做几次深呼吸。信不信由你，你现在做决定时会比没闻到清洁剂味道之前更公正更慷慨，这是发表在《心理科学》杂志上的一篇研究报告宣称的。

　　Study subjects were tested in two different rooms. One room had recently been spritzed withcitrus-scented glass cleaner. The first test evaluated fairness—how much real money theparticipants were willing to share with an anonymous partner in another room. Participants inthe clean-smelling room offered twice as much cash.

　　研究者让实验志愿者们分别在两个不同的房间接受测试，其中一个房间最近刚刚喷洒过柑橘味的空气清新剂。第一项测试是用来评估这种气味对受试者公正性和慷慨度的影响，问题是——你愿意掏出多少现金送给另一个房间内的实验搭档?喷洒过空气清新剂房间内的受试者掏出的钱是另一个房间受试者提供的现金额的两倍。

　　In the second test, subjects gauged how interested they were in volunteering for Habitat forHumanity and in donating money. Those in the clean-smelling room said they were significantlymore interested in volunteering and almost three times more likely to donate money.

　　在第二项测试中，实验志愿者们被问及对做公益志愿者和慈善捐款的兴趣如何。那些身处空气清新房间内的受试者表现得更积极主动，自称愿意捐款的人数是另一个房间的三倍之多。

　　Researchers claim that clean smells thus promote moral behavior. And that schools,workplaces and stores could take advantage of the finding. So if you"re being virtuous, maybeyou"re following the rules because you"re following your nose.

　　研究者们据此称，清新的气味有助于提高人们的道德情操。这样，像学校、工作场所或是商店这样的地方就能好好利用这一发现。如果有一天你变得高尚起来，很可能是受了自己鼻子的指引。