在线英语听力室

英文书摘精选 为什么指甲擦过黑板的声音让人讨厌?

时间:2018-03-27 07:28:00

搜索关注在线英语听力室公众号:tingroom,领取免费英语资料大礼包。

(单词翻译)

We’ll be kind–we won’t use any sound effects on today’s program. Instead, imagine your eighth-grade classroom, and your childhood nemesis1 creeping quietly to the chalkboard. He shapes his hand like a claw, grins evilly, and slowly, torturously2, drags his fingernails down the chalkboard.
我们会很友善地对待你-在今天的项目中我们不会使用任何声音效果。只是请想象一下你八年级的课堂,你童年时代的克星静静地站在黑板前。他把手看起来像爪子一样,恶作剧地笑着,然后慢慢地、折磨人地从黑板上划过。

Fingernails
手指甲

Ah, you just winced3, didn’t you? Even without the sound effect. Have you ever wondered why the sound of scraping a chalkboard seems so terrible to the human ear?
啊,你在畏缩,是不是?即使没有声音影响着你。你有没有想过为什么指甲划过黑板的声音听起来如此让人难受?

The Study
研究

A group of scientists from Northwestern University once tried to answer this question. Test subjects were asked to listen to a variety of disturbing sounds and rate them according to their reaction. Not surprisingly, scraping chalkboards with a three-pronged gardening tool rated as the single most disturbing sound. It beat out metal scraping against rusty4 metal, styrofoam blocks squeaking5 together, and a variety of other sounds.
一群来自西北大学的科学家曾经尝试解答这个问题。实验组的成员被要求去听各种扰人的声音,然后(科学家)根据他们的反应进行评估。不出意外,一个三叉的园艺工具划过黑板的声音被认为是唯一一个最扰人的声音。它击败了金属和铁块摩擦的声音,泡沫塑料块挤压发出的声音,以及很多其他种类的声音。

As it turns out, chalkboard scraping is actually a pretty complicated noise. In addition to the high squeal6, there are lower tones as well. Experimenting further, the scientists found that it’s not really the volume or highest squeals7 that makes this sound so unpleasant, but the lowest tones that make us cringe.
事实证明,摩擦黑板的声音确实是一个相当复杂的声音。除了高分贝声,也有低音调声。通过进一步实验科学家发现,并非是音量或者高分贝让人感到不愉快,而是最低音让人畏缩。

But why do we cringe at all? There are several interesting theories. For example, the frequency patterns of this sound resemble the warning cries of macaque monkeys. Could our reaction be an evolutionary8 holdover, hardwired into our brains? The lower frequencies may also be close to the resonant9 frequencies of certain bones in our skulls10.
但是我们到底为什么畏缩?关于这个有几个有趣的理论。比如,这种声音的频率模式类似猕猴的警告啼声一样。我们的反应会不会是一种进化后的残留反应,这种反应在我们的头脑中驻留下来?这种低频率也许和我们头骨中的特定几块骨头的核磁共振频率接近。

The jury’s still out on this one, so more testing needs to be done. Any volunteers?
在此件事情上,最后结论还待分晓,还需要做更多试验。有人想加入吗?


分享到:


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 nemesis m51zt     
n.给以报应者,复仇者,难以对付的敌手
参考例句:
  • Uncritical trust is my nemesis.盲目的相信一切害了我自己。
  • Inward suffering is the worst of Nemesis.内心的痛苦是最厉害的惩罚。
2 torturously ec6cae6484fbbdcec9ec939980939ef8     
参考例句:
  • So you have the option to torturously pursue everything – if you don't understand Me. 所以你有痛苦地追求一切事物的选择---如果你不明白我。 来自互联网
  • The pilgrimage to the destiny is in itself torturously unending and heroically rewarding. 希望能在此遇到更多志同道合,热爱教育的朋友们。 来自互联网
3 winced 7be9a27cb0995f7f6019956af354c6e4     
赶紧避开,畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He winced as the dog nipped his ankle. 狗咬了他的脚腕子,疼得他龇牙咧嘴。
  • He winced as a sharp pain shot through his left leg. 他左腿一阵剧痛疼得他直龇牙咧嘴。
4 rusty hYlxq     
adj.生锈的;锈色的;荒废了的
参考例句:
  • The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
  • I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用,我的法语又荒疏了。
5 squeaking 467e7b45c42df668cdd7afec9e998feb     
v.短促地尖叫( squeak的现在分词 );吱吱叫;告密;充当告密者
参考例句:
  • Squeaking floorboards should be screwed down. 踏上去咯咯作响的地板应用螺钉钉住。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Can you hear the mice squeaking? 你听到老鼠吱吱叫吗? 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 squeal 3Foyg     
v.发出长而尖的声音;n.长而尖的声音
参考例句:
  • The children gave a squeal of fright.孩子们发出惊吓的尖叫声。
  • There was a squeal of brakes as the car suddenly stopped.小汽车突然停下来时,车闸发出尖叫声。
7 squeals 4754a49a0816ef203d1dddc615bc7983     
n.长而尖锐的叫声( squeal的名词复数 )v.长声尖叫,用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • There was an outburst of squeals from the cage. 铁笼子里传来一阵吱吱的叫声。 来自英汉文学
  • There were squeals of excitement from the children. 孩子们兴奋得大声尖叫。 来自辞典例句
8 evolutionary Ctqz7m     
adj.进化的;演化的,演变的;[生]进化论的
参考例句:
  • Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
  • These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。
9 resonant TBCzC     
adj.(声音)洪亮的,共鸣的
参考例句:
  • She has a resonant voice.她的嗓子真亮。
  • He responded with a resonant laugh.他报以洪亮的笑声。
10 skulls d44073bc27628272fdd5bac11adb1ab5     
颅骨( skull的名词复数 ); 脑袋; 脑子; 脑瓜
参考例句:
  • One of the women's skulls found exceeds in capacity that of the average man of today. 现已发现的女性颅骨中,其中有一个的脑容量超过了今天的普通男子。
  • We could make a whole plain white with skulls in the moonlight! 我们便能令月光下的平原变白,遍布白色的骷髅!

本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交,仅供参考,部分栏目没有内容,如果您有更合适的内容,欢迎 点击提交 分享给大家。