有沒有某種氣味一下就喚起了你對舊人舊事的記憶？氣味與我們的性格和記憶之間似乎存在著心理層面的聯(lián)系。我們出生時，大腦中處理氣味的區(qū)域是空的，人們對氣味的反應是后天習得的，因此也就各不相同。有一些研究甚至表明，某些氣味會影響我們的認知。本期節(jié)目探討氣味的力量。

詞匯：smell 氣味

Have you ever caught a?whiff?of something and been strongly reminded of a person or place? It seems there is a deep?psychological?link between?smells, our personality and our memory. Some research even suggests that smells can influence our?cognition.

你是否曾經(jīng)聞到某種味道，就強烈地想起一個人或一個地方?似乎氣味、我們的個性和我們的記憶之間有很深的心理聯(lián)系。一些研究甚至表明，氣味可以影響我們的認知。

So, why do smells?take us back? Roja Dove, a?perfumer, told the BBC that when we are born, the?olfactory bulb, which is the area in our brain that processes smell, is empty. Therefore, our responses to smell are learnt and very personal to the individual. This means that when we smell an?odour?again, the original and unique memory comes?flooding back?because of the association.

那么，為什么氣味會把我們帶回過去呢?香水師羅哈·達夫告訴BBC，當我們出生時，大腦中處理氣味的嗅球是空的。因此，我們對氣味的反應是習得的，而且非常個人化。這意味著，當我們再次聞到一種氣味時，原始和獨特的記憶會因為這種聯(lián)系而涌回來。

Our awareness of smells is primarily?unconscious, according to Andreas Keller from the Department of Philosophy at City University of New York. This means we are not actively aware of them unless they are extremely strong. But,?low-level?smells are still?picked up?because the?scent receptors?in our brain are so powerful that we unconsciously register them. In fact, various studies have found the olfactory bulb sends more?neurons?to more areas of our brain than our?hearing?or?vision.

根據(jù)紐約城市大學哲學系的安德里亞斯·凱勒的研究，我們對氣味的感知主要是無意識的。這意味著我們不會主動意識到它們，除非它們非常強大。但是，低水平的氣味仍然可以被捕捉到，因為我們大腦中的氣味感受器非常強大，我們會無意識地識別它們。事實上，各種研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，嗅球比聽覺或視覺發(fā)送更多的神經(jīng)元到我們大腦的更多區(qū)域。

Research suggests that the power of smell can also affect how the brain performs, especially when it comes to the?aroma?of?essential oils.?Mark Moss, from the Department of Psychology at Northumbria University, found that?sage?and?peppermint?show general positive effects on cognition while the smell of?rosemary?can enhance our memory. He also investigated?lavender?which he says "tends to impair memory and slow down reaction time. But research by others have [has] shown it to be useful in reducing pre-treatment anxiety in dental and medical situations".

研究表明，嗅覺的力量也可以影響大腦的表現(xiàn)，尤其是當涉及到精油的香氣時。諾森比亞大學心理學系的馬克·莫斯發(fā)現(xiàn)，鼠尾草和薄荷對認知能力有普遍的積極作用，而迷迭香的氣味可以增強我們的記憶力。他還研究了薰衣草，他說，薰衣草“傾向于損害記憶，減緩反應時間?！钡渌说难芯勘砻鳎鼘p少牙科和醫(yī)療狀況的治療前焦慮是有用的。”

So, don't take your nose for granted. It really is powerful!

所以，不要把你的鼻子視為理所當然。它真的很強大!

詞匯表

whiff （一股）氣味
psychological 心理的
smell 氣味
cognition 認知
take (someone) back 喚起（某人的）記憶
perfumer 調香師，香水調配師
olfactory bulb 嗅球
odour （尤指難聞的）氣味
flood back （回憶）涌現(xiàn)
unconscious 無意識的
low-level 低水平的，（此處指氣味）淡薄的
pick up 捕捉
scent receptor 嗅覺感受器
neuron 神經(jīng)元
hearing 聽覺
vision 視覺
aroma 香氣，芳香
essential oil 精油
sage 鼠尾草
peppermint 胡椒薄荷
rosemary 迷迭香
lavender 薰衣草

測驗與練習

1.?閱讀課文并回答問題。

1. Why are responses to smell so personal?

2. True or False??The olfactory bulb helps us process smells.

3. Why are we not actively aware of smells unless they are extremely strong?

4. True or False??Rosemary and lavender can help our memory.

5. How can lavender help in dental and medical situations?

2.?選擇意思恰當?shù)膯卧~或詞組來完成下列句子。

1. He has worked as a _______ since the 90s.? ?

whiff? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? scent? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? aroma? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? perfumer

2. Memories _______ when I saw my childhood home again.? ? ??

picked up? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? smelled? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?took back? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? flooded back

3. This song has a very _______ meaning to us. We danced to it at our wedding.

psychological? ? ? ? ? ? ? unconscious? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? low-level? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?personal

4. My _______ is getting worse. I think I need new glasses.

cognition? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? receptor? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? hearing? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? vision

5. We noticed a really horrible _______ as we entered the room.

peppermint? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? odour? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? lavender? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?rosemary

答案

1.?閱讀課文并回答問題。?

1. Why are responses to smell so personal?

When we are born, the olfactory bulb is empty. Therefore, our responses to smells are learnt.

2. True or False??The olfactory bulb helps us process smells.

True. The olfactory bulb is the area in our brain that processes smell.

3. Why are we not actively aware of smells unless they are extremely strong?

Because our awareness of smells is primarily unconscious.

4. True or False??Rosemary and lavender can help our memory.

False. Rosemary can enhance our memory but lavender "tends to impair memory and slow down reaction time".

5. How can lavender help in dental and medical situations?

Mark Moss said that research by others has shown it to be useful in reducing pre-treatment anxiety.

2.?選擇意思恰當?shù)膯卧~或詞組來完成下列句子。

1. He has worked as a?perfumer?since the 90s.??

2. Memories?flooded back?when I saw my childhood home again.? ? ?

3. This song has a very?personal?meaning to us. We danced to it at our wedding.

4. My?vision?is getting worse. I think I need new glasses.

5. We noticed a really horrible?odour?as we entered the room

文章來源BBC，侵權刪。