月球是地球唯一的天然衛(wèi)星。月有陰晴圓缺，不論我們?nèi)庋凼欠窨吹靡?，月亮每晚都在天空升起。月亮能控制地球上的潮汐，但它也能影響生活在地球上的人類嗎？本?“隨身英語” 解讀月亮是否會影響人類行為的理論。

詞匯：The Moon and behaviours 月亮；人類行為

It’s more than 384,000km from Earth. We can see it most nights. And it’s not made of cheese! I am, of course, talking about the Moon. Astronauts have taken giant steps to explore this natural?satellite?floating in space, but despite it being?out of reach?for most of us, it still moves us in?mysterious?ways.

它距離地球超過38.4萬公里。我們大多數(shù)晚上都能看到它。而且它不是奶酪做的!當然，我說的是月球。宇航員已經(jīng)邁出了巨大的一步來探索這顆漂浮在太空中的天然衛(wèi)星，盡管它對我們大多數(shù)人來說是遙不可及的，但它仍然以神秘的方式感動著我們。

The Moon, obviously, provides?moonlight. A?full moon, seen roughly once a month, can light up our way on an otherwise dark night. But while this?lunar?light can be impressive to look at, it can affect our?sleeping patterns. One study showed that during or around the full moon, those studied spent less time in?deep sleep, slept for less time and reported having poorer sleep, despite sleeping in a dark room not exposed to moonlight.

顯然，月亮提供了月光。大約一個月一次的滿月，可以在漆黑的夜晚照亮我們的道路。但是，雖然月球的光線看起來令人印象深刻，但它會影響我們的睡眠模式。一項研究表明，在滿月期間或前后，盡管睡在沒有月光的黑暗房間里，但研究對象的深度睡眠時間更短，睡眠時間更短，睡眠質(zhì)量也更差。

There are many theories about how the Moon can affect other things too. One study suggested animals are more likely to bite us during a full moon. And?many moons ago, it was thought the Moon induced?lunacy?– the word derives from the Latin word ‘lunaticus’, meaning ‘moonstruck’, and evolved from the idea that?celestial?changes could cause periods of?insanity. Even winemakers look to the Moon when planting and pruning grapevines. They will avoid a full moon at all costs because, although the added moisture in the soil at this time may give a fuller and juicier grape, the additional water is thought to dilute the taste of the fruit, which results in a less successful vintage.

關(guān)于月球如何影響其他事物也有很多理論。一項研究表明，滿月時動物更有可能咬人。許多年前，人們認為月亮會導致精神錯亂——這個詞來自拉丁語“l(fā)unaticus”，意思是“被月亮擊中”，并從天體變化可能導致精神錯亂的觀點演變而來。甚至釀酒師在種植和修剪葡萄藤時也會仰望月亮。他們會不惜一切代價避免滿月，因為盡管此時土壤中增加的水分可能會使葡萄更飽滿多汁，但人們認為額外的水分會稀釋水果的味道，從而導致葡萄收成不佳。

The Moon might affect our?behaviour?too. Writing about this for BBC Future, Claudia Hammond explains one interesting theory. Just as the Moon’s?gravitational pull?affects the tides, it?exerts?its?influence?on the water in our bodies. But she points out “the Moon is smaller than the Earth, so its gravitational pull is correspondingly less powerful. What’s more, it exerts the same?force?on us regardless of whether it’s new or full.” Research into?ancient myths?about the effects of the?lunar cycle?on us is ongoing. So, like the Moon being made of cheese, we must be careful what we believe!

月球也可能影響我們的行為。克勞迪婭·哈蒙德在為BBC Future撰文時解釋了一個有趣的理論。就像月球的引力影響潮汐一樣，它對我們體內(nèi)的水也有影響。但她指出，“月球比地球小，所以它的引力相對較小。更重要的是，它對我們施加的力是一樣的，不管它是新的還是完整的?！标P(guān)于月亮周期對人類影響的古代神話研究正在進行中。所以，就像月亮是奶酪做的一樣，我們必須小心我們的信仰!

詞匯表

satellite 衛(wèi)星
out of reach 遙不可及的
mysterious 難以理解的，神秘的
moonlight 月光
full moon 滿月
lunar 月亮的，月球的
sleeping patterns 睡眠模式
deep sleep 深度睡眠
many moons ago 很久以前
lunacy 愚蠢的行為
moonstruck 瘋狂的
celestial 天外的，天空的
insanity 失去理智，精神錯亂
behaviour 行為，舉止
gravitational pull 引力
exert influence 施加影響
force 影響
ancient myths 古代神話
lunar cycle 月亮周期

測驗與練習

1.?閱讀課文并回答問題。

1. According to one study, what type of moon caused people to sleep less?

2. What were thought to bite more during a full moon?

3. What is it about the Moon that affects the tides in the oceans?

4. True or false??Recently, people thought changes in the Moon induced lunacy.

2.?選擇意思恰當?shù)膯卧~或詞組來完成下列句子。

1. The water sparkled under the _______.

lunarlight? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?moonlight? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? celestiallight? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? moonstruck

2. His music was _______ by some the great jazz artists.

influence? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?influenced? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? influencing? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? influential

3. His bad _______ led him to being expelled from school.

insanity? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?lunacy? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? behaviour? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? myths

4. _______, I used to play football on this pitch.

Many moon ago? ? ? ?Manys moon ago? ? ? ? Many ago moons? ? ? ?Many moons ago

5. Playing by the railway line is complete _______.

lunacy? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?mysterious? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? celestial? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? lunar

答案

1.?閱讀課文并回答問題。?

1. According to one study, what type of moon caused people to sleep less?
One study showed that during or around a full moon, those studied spent less?time in deep sleep, slept for less time and reported having poorer sleep.

2. What were thought to bite more during a full moon?
One study suggested animals are more likely to bite us during a full moon.

3. What is it about the Moon that affects the tides in the oceans?
The?gravitational pull of the Moon affects the tides.

4. True or false??Recently, people thought changes in the Moon induced lunacy.
False. A long time ago (many moons ago), it was thought the celestial changes induced lunacy.

2.?選擇意思恰當?shù)膯卧~或詞組來完成下列句子。

1. The water sparkled under the?moonlight.

2. His music was?influenced?by some the great jazz artists.

3. His bad?behaviour?led him to being expelled from school.

4.?Many moons ago, I used to play football on this pitch.

5. Playing by the railway line is complete?lunacy.

文章來源BBC，侵權(quán)刪，本文僅用于英語學習。