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(单词翻译)

This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Christie Nicholson . Got a minute?

 

The lure1 of gambling2 clearly comes from the chance of winning. But how exciting is it to almost win? A study in the February 12th issue of the journal Neuron looked at gambler’s brains’ reactions to “near misses,” such as when you get two cherries out of three at a slot machine. While gamblers describe near misses as more unpleasant than full misses, almost winning significantly increased the desire to keep gambling.

 

Fifteen subjects underwent brain scans as they gambled. Near misses activated3 the brains’ ventral striatum and anterior4 insula areas, which were also activated during random5 wins. The insula has been associated with drug craving6 and other addictive7 behaviors.

 

Interestingly, this effect only happened when gamblers had control of the lever. The inverse8 occurred when a computer took control. In that case, the near misses significantly demotivated the gambler to keep playing, and it was the complete misses that kept momentum9 alive. So next time, when you nearly get three cherries and you’re hyped up to try again, remember this is not like working on your golf swing—your odds10 at the slot machine don’t get better with practice.

 

Thanks for the minute for Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Christie Nicholson.

 


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1 lure l8Gz2     
n.吸引人的东西,诱惑物;vt.引诱,吸引
参考例句:
  • Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
  • He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。
2 gambling ch4xH     
n.赌博;投机
参考例句:
  • They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
  • The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。
3 activated c3905c37f4127686d512a7665206852e     
adj. 激活的 动词activate的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • The canister is filled with activated charcoal.蒸气回收罐中充满了活性炭。
4 anterior mecyi     
adj.较早的;在前的
参考例句:
  • We've already finished the work anterior to the schedule.我们已经提前完成了工作。
  • The anterior part of a fish contains the head and gills.鱼的前部包括头和鳃。
5 random HT9xd     
adj.随机的;任意的;n.偶然的(或随便的)行动
参考例句:
  • The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
  • On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查,发现肉变质了。
6 craving zvlz3e     
n.渴望,热望
参考例句:
  • a craving for chocolate 非常想吃巧克力
  • She skipped normal meals to satisfy her craving for chocolate and crisps. 她不吃正餐,以便满足自己吃巧克力和炸薯片的渴望。
7 addictive hJbyL     
adj.(吸毒等)使成瘾的,成为习惯的
参考例句:
  • The problem with video game is that they're addictive.电子游戏机的问题在于它们会使人上瘾。
  • Cigarettes are highly addictive.香烟很容易使人上瘾。
8 inverse GR6zs     
adj.相反的,倒转的,反转的;n.相反之物;v.倒转
参考例句:
  • Evil is the inverse of good.恶是善的反面。
  • When the direct approach failed he tried the inverse.当直接方法失败时,他尝试相反的做法。
9 momentum DjZy8     
n.动力,冲力,势头;动量
参考例句:
  • We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
  • The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。
10 odds n5czT     
n.让步,机率,可能性,比率;胜败优劣之别
参考例句:
  • The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
  • Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗?

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