文/劳拉·米尔斯译/陈玉洁王勇

解密生活小谜题

文/劳拉·米尔斯译/陈玉洁王勇

Why songs get stuck in our heads, why do we see faces everywhere and why our voices sound so different on tape？为什么音乐会在脑海中回荡？为什么在任何地方都看到人脸？为什么我们的声音录下来之后听来如此不同？

如果你曾经想过咖啡为什么很容易溢出来，吐司为什么很容易烤焦，甚至纳闷为什么我们的大脑会分神去思考这些问题，那么科学会给你答案。

If you have ever wondered why coffee spills so easily, toasts burns so easily, or even why your mind wanders to think about these ideas, science has the answers.

[2]专家通过烤吐司、测量“耳虫”这些奇怪的实验，为我们揭示了生活中一些小谜题的答案。

[2] From bizarre experiments involving burning toast and measuring ‘ear worms’, experts are able to provide the answers to life’s little mysteries.

[3]我们搜集了一些最令人困惑的日常难题，希望借此来解释周围的世界，比如为什么我们的声音自己听起来是如此不同。

[3] We have rounded up1round up 搜集。some of the most confusing daily conundrums2conundrum难题。to explain the world around us, including why our voices sound so different in our heads.

我的声音听起来真是那样吗？

[4]照镜子时，反射的图像是一种镜像，所以我们每天看到的是左右脸相反的自己。

Do I really sound like that?

[4] When you look in a mirror, there fl ected image is a mirror image, so we see ourselves every single day back to front.

[5]如果我们的脸是对称的，那也就无关紧要了。但是因为总是有点儿不对称，这也就意味着我们在脑海中储存的自己的肖像与实际相比是左右脸相反的，当我们看到自己正常呈现的样貌时，就会觉得奇怪。

[5] If our faces were symmetrical this would not matter, but because there are little asymmetries3asymmetry不对称。, it means that we mentally store a backwards picture of what we look like, and when we see our image the right way round4the right way round 正确的方法。, it can look strange.

[6]我们自己的声音听起来可能更奇怪。

我们听别人讲话时，声音以振动的形式在空气中传播，最后撞击耳膜使其振动。这使得内耳的淋巴液流动，从而拂动耳蜗毛细胞，将信号传递给大脑。

[6] The sound of our own voice can be even stranger.

When we hear someone else speaking, the sounds travel through the air as vibrations5vibration振动。, hitting the eardrum and causing it to vibrate. This moves fluid in the inner ear, which pushes against hairs and sends signals to the brain.

[7]我们自己讲话时，声音则是以另外一种方式传到耳朵。

我们不仅接收空气中的振动，同时还在感知自身大脑内部的振动。

我们利用声带和舌头发声时，头部和颈部的软组织振动，同时面部的骨头也在振动。

[7] When we speak, the sound reaches our ear in a different way.

Not only are we picking up the vibrations in the air, we are also detecting vibrations inside our own head.

As we make the sounds with our vocal cords and tongue, the soft tissues in our head and neck vibrate, and so too do the bones in the face.

[8]这些额外的振动使得我们的声音听起来更为低沉。

因此听自己的录音时，我们听不出这些低音，结果声音听起来音调更高，可能真的很怪异。

[8] These additional vibrations make our voice sound lower.

So when we hear our recorded voice, we don’t get these undertones6un-dertone低音。, and the higher-pitched version can seem very odd indeed.

为什么湿的织物看起来颜色更深？

[9]织物弄湿后颜色有明显变化，这一现象我们视为理所当然，其实可以归结为某种有趣的科学原理。

Why does wet fabric look darker?

[9] It is easy to take for granted, but the distinctive colour change of wet fabric is actually down to some interesting science.

[10]物质反射的光线量取决于“折射率”这一特性，它决定光线如何穿透一种物质。

织物弄湿后，照射在上面的光线必须从水中穿过，而不是从空气中穿过，而这会改变光线的路径。

[10] The amount of light re fl ected by a material depends on a property called the “index of refraction”, which determines how light moves through a material.

When fabric gets wet, the light hitting the material has to travel through water instead of air, and this alters its path.

[11]光线在水中的传播速度要缓慢得多，碰到湿的织物时，光线会折射。

这样更多的光线在织物内部散射开来，而不是反射回人的眼睛，从而使颜色显得更深。

[11] Light moves much more slowly through water and, when it hits damp fabric, it bends.

Rather than reflecting back out towards the eye, more light gets scattered within the fabric, making the colour appear darker.

为什么吐司会烤焦？

[12]短短几秒钟的时间，吐司可能会从原色变为烧焦的颜色，甚至变成黑色，但是很多人可能也纳闷，什么原因使得吐司这么容易烤焦。我们可以从它的化学成分中找到问题的答案。

Why does toast burn?

[12] Toast can go from pasty white to charred and black in just a few seconds, but what many people may ponder what makes it so prone to burning. The answer can be found in its chemistry.

[13]最常见的面包是用面粉、酵母和水制作而成。

面粉含有碳水化合物，而碳水化合物则包含长链糖类和蛋白质——蛋白质是长链氨基酸。这些都是美拉德反应的关键要素。

[13] Bread in its simplest form is made from wheat fl our, yeast and water.

The flour contains carbohydrates, which are long chains of sugars and proteins—long chains of amino acids7amino acid〈生化〉氨基酸。—and these are the key ingredients of a chemical reaction known as the Maillard reaction8一种普遍的非酶褐变现象，应用于食品香精的生产。.

[14]面包中的糖分（包括葡萄糖、果糖、麦芽糖和乳糖）含有称作醛类的化学基团。温度高于140℃（285℉）时，这些基团开始与小麦蛋白氨基酸中的氨基发生反应。

这是把面包变为吐司的第一步。

[14] The sugars in bread, which include glucose, fructose, maltose and lactose, contain chemical groups called aldehydes. At temperatures above around 140ºC (285ºF), these groups start to react with the amino groups (NH2) found on amino acids in the wheat proteins.

This is the fi rst step in the process of turning bread into toast.

[15]这些反应的产物状态并不稳定，很快就会重新生成称作阿马多利化合物的化学成分。这些反应进一步深入，生成气味和口感独特的有色化合物。

[15] The products of these reactions are unstable and quickly rearrange into chemicals called Amadori compounds. These then go on to react even further, making a variety of colourful compounds with distinctive smells and tastes.

[16]面包从烤黄到烤焦的速度取决于其成分。

不同的糖类和氨基酸发生美拉德反应时，会生成口感不同气味相异的分子。但一般来说，面包片越干，反应速度就越快，吐司烤成褐色进而烤焦的速度也就越快。

[16] The rate at which bread turns to toast, and then to charcoal, depends on its composition.

Various sugars and amino acids produce different flavour and odour molecules when they undergo the Maillard reaction. But in general, the drier the slice, the faster these reactions occur and the quicker the toast will brown and then burn.

[17]碱性面包，比如用小苏打烤制的那种面包，要比酸性面包更容易烤焦。表面涂有牛奶或鸡蛋的面包也会更快地变色，因为这类面包的表层含有额外的蛋白质。

[17] Alkaline breads, such as those made with baking soda, should brown faster than acidic ones and breads and buns glazed9glaze使表面光滑；浇糖浆（或糖汁）于（食物）的表面。with milk or egg will colour more quickly thanks to the extra protein content on the surface.

[18]专家提醒在烤制水果吐司时，我们要尤为谨慎，因为如果面包在烤面包机中烘烤时间过长，糖类就会融化变焦，进而变成又硬又脆的碳。

[18] Experts have warned people to pay close attention when making toast with fruity bread because the sugars will start to caramelise10caramelise使成焦糖。and turn to crunchy carbon if left in the toaster too long.

我们为什么在任何地方都看到人脸？

[19]从切片吐司上的宗教人物，到火星上的外星人，人脸会突然出现在最为奇怪的地方。

Why do we see faces everywhere?

[19] From religious figures on slices of toast to aliens on Mars, faces pop up in the strangest of places.

[20]这种现象称为幻想性视错觉。这种情况是大脑中称作梭状回面孔区的部分造成的，这部分专门负责识别人脸。

如果我们看到某样东西与人脸哪怕略微相似，那么大脑的这一区域就会开始发挥作用。

[20] The phenomenon is known as pareidolia and happens thanks to a part of the brain called the fusiform face area, which is specially adapted to detect faces.

If we see something that even vaguely resembles a human visage11visage面貌；脸。, it lights up.

[21]多伦多大学的研究人员发现，这种快速加工过程发生在脑额叶前部皮层和后视觉皮层区域。前者负责我们期待看到的对象，后者负责我们实际看到的情况。

[21] Researchers at the University of Toronto found that this rapid processing occurs in the prefrontal cortex, which handles what we expect to see and the posterior visual cortex, which processes what we actually see.

[22]如果人们认为他们看到的应该是一张人脸，那么大脑就会进行相应的处理。

[22] When people believe that they should see a face, their brain will do the rest.

为什么音乐总在脑海回荡？我们该如何摆脱？

[23]这种恼人的现象在科学文献中有很多称呼，比如想象中的音乐、非自主音乐想象、侵入式歌曲，或让人稍感不适的“耳虫”。

Why do songs get stuck in our heads and how do we banish them?

[23] This irritating phenomenon hasmany names in the scientific literature—imagined music, involuntary musical imagery, intrusive12intrusive造成干扰的。songs, or slightly disconcertingly13disconcertingly令人不安地。, “earworms”.

[24]听到歌曲在脑海中循环播放是很常见的现象，很多人都曾经历过。对很多人来说，这种情况至少每周出现一次。

[24] Hearing a song played on a loop inside our own brain is very common and the majority of people have experienced it. For many it is at least a weekly occurrence.

[25]弹奏音乐、听歌和唱歌都会使这种现象变得更为频繁。尽管人们常在感觉厌烦时提起它，这种现象并不总是令人不快。

[25] Playing music, listening to songs and singing can make it happen more often and although people most often mention it when it becomes an irritation, it is not always unpleasant.

[26]耳虫和自发性的回忆往事、走神是一类情况，似乎是不能有意识控制的侵入式思维。

应对耳虫最常见的一种方式似乎是听之任之，不予理会，享受音乐，让思绪流淌。

[26] Earworms fall into the same category as spontaneous recollections of memories and mind wandering and seem to be intrusive thoughts that are beyond our conscious control.

One of the most popular ways to deal with an earworm seems to be just to leave it alone; enjoy the song and allow the thought to pass.

[27]这种方法如果无效，那么分散注意力是另一种常见的解决之道，还有人甚至跟着曲调哼唱起来，通过听到真实的声音，来摆脱脑海中挥之不去的旋律。

[27] If that fails, distraction is another popular coping strategy, or some people even resort to engaging with the tune, listening to it in real life to get out of the loop inside their head.

[28]但还有一大难题需要克服。我们越是关注自己为此付出的努力是否奏效，大脑就越有可能再次循环这首歌。

[28] However, there is a major problem to be overcome; the more we focus on whether our attempts to get rid of the song have been successful, the more the brain is likely to go back to looping the song again.

[29]心理学家丹尼尔·韦格纳在他的著名论文“具有讽刺意味的精神控制过程”中，曾经探讨过这种观点。

[29] This is an idea famously explored by psychologist Daniel Wegnerin his paper, Ironic Processes of Mental Control.

他指出，检验自己是否成功摆脱某种想法的时候，或许会让它再次出现。

He pointed out that by monitoring whether or not you have managed to successfully get rid of a thought, you might just trigger it to start up again.

做变形词游戏：西华盛顿大学的研究表明，变形词游戏有助于缓解耳虫带来的压力。跟非常复杂的任务相比，挑战性小的游戏效果更好。

Doing an anagram:Studies performed at Western Washington University showed that anagrams14anagram相同字母的异序词（如Elvis和lives）。could provide some relief from earworms. Puzzles that aren’t too challenging proved more successful than trying very complicated tasks.

嚼口香糖：雷丁大学的研究人员尝试在志愿者听完朗朗上口的歌曲后，给他们一些口香糖。他们认为下巴的活动会干扰短期记忆，影响大脑想象声音的能力。

Chewing some gum:Researchers at the University of Reading tried giving chewing gum to volunteers after they had listened to catchy songs. Movement of the jaw is thought to interfere with short-term memory and the ability to imagine sounds in your head.

换首歌曲：从芬兰和英国开展的研究看，小部分参与者称使用“治愈”歌曲可以缓解“耳虫”带来的烦躁情绪；他们通过倾听深受喜爱的经典歌曲，摆脱了脑中循环的那首恼人的歌曲。

Replacing the song:In studies peerr--formed in Finland and England, a small percentage of participants reported using‘cure’ songs to relieve the frustration of an earworm; by listening to well-liked classics, they distracted themselves from the unwanted15unwanted不需要的；讨厌的。song in their head.

玩数独：西华盛顿大学的研究人员推断，做些复杂的非言语任务也有助于驱除耳虫。简单的数独游戏效果最好，较难的游戏则会让大脑分神。 □

Solving a sudoku16sudoku数独，九宫格游戏。:Western Waasshh--ington University researchers reasoned that performing complex non-verbal tasks could also help to keep earworms away. Easy sudokus were most effective, while challenging puzzles prompted the mind to wander.

Life’s Niggling Little Mysteries Revealed

ByLaura Mears

（译者单位：上海理工大学外语学院）