男女不同的大脑那些事儿
The male brain, the female brain
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.
大家好，欢迎来到BBC6分钟英语。
I’m Finn and with me is Rob. Hi Rob.
我是Finn，和我一起的是Rob。你好Rob。
Hi Finn.
你好，Finn。
Rob, I have a question for you. Are you good at reading maps?
Rob，我有个问题问你。你擅长看地图吗？
I have to say, I am, I really enjoy reading maps and I understand them well.
不得不承认我很擅长，我真的很喜欢看地图，并能读懂它。
That's interesting.
这很有趣。
And today we're talking about new research into the differences between men's and women's brains,
今天我们来探讨下男女大脑之间的不同，
and looking at some vocabulary about brains and thinking.
看一些跟大脑和思考相关的词汇。
Now, this research says that men are better at some things, like reading maps.
现在，这个研究里面说男人擅长某些东西，比如看地图。
Yes, well, I'm good at reading maps and even my wife would agree.
是的，我擅长看地图这件事我妻子也会同意的。
She makes me do all the map reading in the car.
在车里她会让我一直看地图。
But women are better at other things – like remembering faces.
但女人对其他的事情做的更好--比如记人。
That's according to this research.
那些都是根据这个研究说的。
And before we look at it, I have a question about this incredible and mysterious thing – the human brain.
在我们看这个研究前，对于这个难以置信的、神秘的东西--人类的大脑我有个问题。
Rob, you're a brainy – that is, an intelligent guy, but how much does the average human brain weigh? Is it:
Rob，你很聪明，是个聪明的家伙，但是你知道人类大脑平均有多重吗？是：
a) 1.4 kg
a） 1.4 kg
b) 2.2 kg
b) 2.2 kg
c) 3.6 kg
c) 3.6 kg
I'll have to use my brain for this.
我用我的大脑思考下。
I'm really racking my brains - that means to think very hard.
我真的在绞尽脑汁的想-这对我来说真的很难。
Right, well, I think: c) 3.6 kg.
好吧，我觉得是c)03.6kg.
OK we'll find out if you're right later on.
OK,一会我告诉你是否正确。
Now this research was by a team from the University of Pennsylvania in the US.
这项研究是由美国宾夕法尼亚大学的一个团队发出的。
They looked at the brains of nearly 1,000 men and women and found they are 'wired differently'.
他们观察了近1000名男女的大脑，发现它们“连接不同”
Yes – so they are connected in different ways.
是的--他们是由不同的方式连接的。
Let's listen to Dr Ruben Gur talking about the connections in each hemisphere - each half or each side - of the brain.
让我们听一下Ruben Gur博士对于左右大脑的连接的解释。
What's the difference between men and women?
男女之间的区别是什么？
What we found was that in males, the stronger connections run within each hemisphere, within each half of the brain.
我们发现在男人的大脑里每个半脑之间的连接很强烈。
In women the stronger connections are between the two sides of the brain.
而女人则是两个半球间的连接更强烈。
So: men have better links – that's stronger connections - inside each half of the brain.
因此：男人在每个半球里连接更为强烈。
So the connections inside the right hemisphere are good, and the connections inside the left hemisphere are good too.
因此右半球内连接很好，左半球内的连接也很好。
But women have stronger connections between each side – the links are better going from one side to the other, from left to right.
但是女人在两个半球间的联系更为强烈--从一个半球到另一半球间的连接，从左半球到右半球。
But what does that mean?
但那又意味着什么？
Well, they say these differences might explain why men are better at learning and performing a single task,
呃，他们说这些不同之处或许可以解释为什么男人更擅长做一件事，
like cycling or navigating – that's reading maps and finding your way around.
像骑车或导航--指读地图查找附近的路。
And it explains why women are often better at multi-tasking – that's doing several things at once.
这也解释了女人为何会更擅长一心多用--同时做几件不同的事。
The research also showed women are better at remembering words, faces and information about other people,
这项研究也表明女人更擅长记单词、认人和与人相关的其他信息。
and they also had longer attention spans – that means they could concentrate on a task for longer without becoming distracted.
并且他们能更长时间的集中注意力--也就是说他们可以在一件事上全神贯注不被打扰。
Rob? Rob? Are you there?
Rob? Rob?你在吗?
Ah sorry. I was miles away.
不好意思我走神了。
You might be right Finn!
你或许是对的Finn！
But not everyone agrees with this research.
但并不是每个人都认同这项研究。
No, Professor Heidi Johansen-Berg from the University of Oxford says the connections inside the brain are not 'hard-wired':
是的， 来自牛津大学的Heidi Johansen-Berg教授认为大脑里面的连接并不是硬连接的；
in other words, that means they are not permanently fixed and they keep changing.
换句话说，他们并不是永久固定的，他们是一直改变的。
She said the brain is very complex –
她说人类的大脑是十分复杂的--
so you can't make generalisations about it –
你不能一句话就可以概括--
generalisations are statements that are often true but based on a limited amount of information.
概括一般是真实的信息，但这些信息有限。
But overall I think it's an interesting idea.
但整体来说我认为这是意见有趣的事。
We asked our audience on social media what they thought about the study.
我们问询观众在社会媒体上说他们对这项研究的看法。
Cremildo from Mozambique said he's a man and agrees with the survey,
来自 Mozambique的Cremildo 说他是男人，他认同这项调查，
and he admires his mother who is able to do a lot of things by herself.
他很崇拜他妈妈，他妈妈是一位自己一个人可以做很多事的人。
Pen Pae from Thailand says it depends on the individual –
来自泰国的Pen Pae 认为这因人而异--
she's good at reading maps and multi-tasking – but don't ask her about language or driving.
她很擅长看地图和一心多用--但她不擅长语言和开车。
And Hana Potki from Iran agrees – she said it took her five times to pass her driving test!
来自伊朗的Hana Potki认同--她说她驾照考试考了五次!
Now Rob, earlier I asked you if you knew how heavy the human brain is, on average:
Rob，之前我问你是否知道人类大脑的平均重量：
And I said c) a heavy 3.6 kg.
我选的是c）3.6kg。
Very very heavy brain and a lot heavier than the average human brain.
非常非常重的大脑，比人类的平均脑重重多了。
The answer was in fact a) 1.4 kg.
答案实际上是a）1.4kg。
This compares with the average of 7 kg for whales and 1.4 for dolphins.
鲸鱼的平均脑重是7kg，海豚的是1.4kg。
Albert Einstein's brain was only 1.2 kg; that'slower than average, so size isn't everything.
阿尔伯特 · 爱因斯坦的大脑是仅 1.2 公斤 ；低于平均脑重，因此尺寸不是万能的。
Now, Rob, before we go – would you remind us of today's brain-related words?
现在Rob，在我们继续之前，可以提醒下今天跟大脑相关的一些词汇吗？
Of course. We had: brainy ;rack my brains ;hemisphere
当然可以。相关的词汇有： brainy --聪明的;rack my brains--绞尽脑汁 ;hemisphere--半球
navigating ;multi-tasking ;attention spans
navigating--导航 ;multi-tasking--多个任务 ;attention spans--注意力
hard-wired ;generalisations
:hard-wired--硬连线 ;generalisations--概括
Great. Thank you Rob.
很好，谢谢你Rob。
And thanks everyone for listening. Join us again for more 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.
谢谢各位的收听。欢迎再次加入我们的BBC6分钟英语。
Bye.
拜~
Goodbye.
再见啦。