为什么看到别人打哈欠会让你打哈欠？
Why does seeing someone yawn make you yawn?
Hello. This is 6 Minute English, I’m Georgina.
大家好，这里是六分钟英语，我是乔治娜。
And I’m Rob.
我是罗伯。
What do you do when you’re tired, Rob?
罗伯，你疲惫时会做什么？
Mm, well, I go to bed.
呃，好吧，我会上床睡觉。
Before that?
在那之前呢？
Erm, I clean my teeth?
呃，刷牙？
But what does your body do to tell you you’re tired?
但是你的身体会做什么来告诉你你累了？
Right, well these days I just kind of fall asleep in front of the TV.
是的，这些天我在电视机前看着电视就睡着了。
Yes, but, OK – what am I doing now?
是的，但是，好吧，我现在在做什么？
Oh yes, hang on – yes, you’ve set me off - yawning,
哦，是的，等等——是的，你触发了我做那件事——打哈欠，
yes yawning is a sign that we are tired! Or bored!
是的，打哈欠是我们累了或者感到无聊的一个标志。
Are you tired or bored now?
你现在是累了还是感到无聊？
No, not particularly.
不，不见得。
So, why did you just yawn?
那你刚刚为什么打哈欠？
Well, because you did!
好吧，因为你打哈欠了。
That’s the thing about yawns.
那就是和打哈欠相关的。
They are contagious – they can spread from one person to another.
它们会传染，可以从一个人传染给另一个人。
And that’s what we’re looking at in this programme.
那就是我们在这个节目中要研究的。
But first, today’s question.
但首先是今天的问题。
What biological function does yawning have?
打哈欠有什么生物学功能？
Essentially, why do we yawn?
本质上，我们为什么打哈欠？
Is it: A: To take in more oxygen, B: To get rid of carbon dioxide from our body, C: No one really knows?
是A：吸入更多氧气，B：排出体内二氧化碳，还是C：没人知道？
What do you think, Rob?
你觉得呢，罗伯？
Ah – I know this.
啊——我知道。
We yawn to take in more oxygen.
我们打哈欠是为了吸入更多氧气。
I’m pretty sure that’s it.
我相当确定就是这样。
OK.
好的。
We’ll see if you’re correct at the end of the programme.
我们将在节目最后来看看你是否回答正确。
John Drury is a researcher from Sussex University.
约翰·德鲁里是苏塞克斯大学的一名研究员。
On the BBC Radio 4 series All in The Mind he spoke about yawning and why it is contagious.
在BBC广播4频道的系列节目All in the Mind中，他谈到了打哈欠以及它为什么会传染。
Which animal does he mention will also catch a yawn from its owner?
他提到哪种动物也会被主人传染打呵欠？
Yawning is actually a difficult case when it comes to these contagious behaviours.
就这些会传染的行为而言，打哈欠实际上是一个复杂的例子。
It is the most contagious behaviour.
它是最具传染性的行为。
It’s meant to be automatic, it’s something that you can’t stop.
那指的是它是自动的，是你无法阻止的。
Dogs yawn when their owners yawn, animals yawn to each other.
狗在主人打哈欠时也打哈欠，动物之间也会互相打哈欠。
It happens whether you want to or not.
不管你愿不愿意，它都会发生。
These kind of effects have been found for other kinds of behaviour,
这些影响已经在其它类型的行为中被发现，
so really we were trying to push it as far as we could and see if there is a cognitive element to this influence behaviour.
所以我们真的试图尽可能对它进行研究，看看这种影响行为是否存在认知因素。
Which animal might yawn when its owner does?
哪种动物会在主人打哈欠的时候打哈欠？
Dogs!
狗狗！
Dogs can catch a yawn from their owners.
狗狗会被主人传染打呵欠。
Yes, yawning is a very contagious behaviour.
是的，打哈欠是一种传染性很强的行为。
The use of the word behaviour here is interesting.
这里使用“行为”这个词很有趣。
Normally it is an uncountable noun to describe the way we act,
通常情况下它是一个不可数名词，用来描述我们的行为方式，
either in a good or a bad way.
无论是好是坏。
We talk about, for example, dogs’ or children’s behaviour being good or bad.
例如，我们说狗狗或孩子的行为是好是坏。
But it’s also used as a countable noun,
但它也可以用作可数名词，
when we are talking about a particular action that, for example, an animal makes in particular situations.
例如，但当我们谈到动物在特定情况下所做的特定行为时。
These behaviours are often not conscious,
这些行为通常是无意识的，
but are an automatic response to a situation.
但却是对某种情况的自动反应。
And the researchers were looking to see if there was a cognitive side to the behaviour.
研究员想看看该行为是否有认知方面的原因。
Which means they are looking at the mental process – what is happening in the mind to make us yawn,
这意味着他们会观察心理过程——大脑中发生了什么让我们打哈欠，
particularly when someone else yawns.
特别是当别人打哈欠时。
Let’s listen again.
让我们再听一遍。
Yawning is actually a difficult case when it comes to these contagious behaviours.
就这些会传染的行为而言，打哈欠实际上是一个复杂的例子。
It is the most contagious behaviour.
它是最具传染性的行为。
It’s meant to be automatic, it’s something that you can’t stop.
那指的是它是自动的，是你无法阻止的。
Dogs yawn when their owners yawn, animals yawn to each other.
狗在主人打哈欠时也打哈欠，动物之间也会互相打哈欠。
It happens whether you want to or not.
不管你愿不愿意，它都会发生。
These kind of effects have been found for other kinds of behaviour,
这些影响已经在其它类型的行为中被发现，
so really we were trying to push it as far as we could and see if there is a cognitive element to this influence behaviour.
所以我们真的试图尽可能对它进行研究，看看这种影响行为是否存在认知因素。
The research discovered that contagious yawning is connected with our social group and how close we feel to the people in it.
研究发现，传染性打哈欠与我们的社会群体以及我们与其中的人的亲密程度有关。
Here’s John Drury again.
再听听约翰·德鲁里说了什么。
So, the more that you identify with the in-group target, the more likely you are to copy their behaviour.
所以，你越认同群体内的目标对象，你就越有可能模仿他们的行为。
What we do when we see a behaviour is that at some level,
在某种程度上，我们看到一种行为时所做的就是，
we are making a judgement about whether the person exhibiting that behaviour,
我们在判断那个人是否表现出那种行为，
whether it’s an emotion, or a scratching behaviour, or anything is relevant.
无论是一种情绪，还是抓挠行为，或者其它什么相关的。
Does their behaviour indicate to us how we should behave?
他们的行为是否表明我们应该如何行事？
So, essentially, yawning is more contagious if we identify with the person who yawns first.
所以，从本质上讲，如果我们认同第一个打哈欠的人，打哈欠就更有传染性。
If we feel close to, and belong in, the same group as the person who exhibits the behaviour – the person who does the yawning,
如果我们感觉自己和表现出该行为的人——打哈欠的人——很亲近，属于同一群体，
we are likely to yawn too.
那么我们很可能也会打哈欠。
So, you are less likely to yawn if a stranger yawns than if someone in your close family or circle of friends yawns.
所以，陌生人打呵欠时你打呵欠的可能性，要比你亲近的家人或朋友圈里的人打呵欠时你打哈欠的可能性小。
Let’s listen again.
再听一遍。
So, the more that you identify with the in-group target,
所以，你越认同群体内的目标对象，
the more likely you are to copy their behaviour.
你就越有可能模仿他们的行为。
What we do when we see a behaviour is that at some level,
在某种程度上，我们看到一种行为时所做的就是，
we are making a judgement about whether the person exhibiting that behaviour,
我们在判断那个人是否表现出那种行为，
whether it’s an emotion, or a scratching behaviour, or anything is relevant.
无论是一种情绪，还是抓挠行为，或者其它什么相关的。
Does their behaviour indicate to us how we should behave?
他们的行为是否表明我们应该如何行事？
Right, before we review the vocabulary, let’s have the answer to our quiz.
好的，在我们复习词汇之前，让我们先来揭晓今天测验问题的答案。
Why do we yawn?
我们为什么打哈欠？
Is it: A: To take in more oxygen, B: To get rid of carbon dioxide from our body or C: No one really knows?
是A：吸入更多氧气，B：排出体内二氧化碳，还是C：没人知道？
Rob, what did you say?
罗伯，你说什么？
Well, I was pretty sure it’s A - to take in more oxygen.
好的，我很确定是A选项——吸收更多氧气。
There is, in fact, no clear biological reason for yawning that is agreed upon.
事实上，打哈欠没有公认的明确生物学原因。
So no one really knows.
所以没人真正知道。
We’ve been talking about yawning.
我们一直在谈论打哈欠。
The action of opening our mouths wide open and stretching our eardrums when tired or bored.
当我们感到疲倦或无聊时，张大嘴巴并拉伸耳膜的动作。
Yawning can also be contagious.
打哈欠也会传染。
This means it can pass from one person to another.
这是说它可以从一个人传染给另一个人。
And a yawn can be described as a behaviour
打哈欠可以被描述为一种行为
– a particular kind of automatic action in response to a particular situation.
——一种特殊情况下的自动反应。
The word cognitive is related to our mental processes - the way our minds work.
“认知的”这个词和我们的心理过程有关，也就是我们大脑工作的方式。
If you identify with a particular group,
如果你认同一个特定的群体，
you feel close to that group and feel that you belong in that group.
你会觉得和那个群体很亲近，觉得自己属于那个群体。
And finally, to exhibit a behaviour is to actually do that particular behaviour.
最后，表现出一种行为就是实际上做出那种特定行为。
And before we all start yawning, it’s time for us to go.
在我们开始打哈欠之前，是时候结束本期节目了。
Do join us again soon and you can always find us online, on social media and on the BBC Learning English app.
欢迎你的下次参与，你可以在网上、社交媒体和BBC教学英语应用程序上找到我们。
Bye for now.
再见了。
Byebye!
拜拜！