英语听力文摘 English Digest 575、性和暴力为什么常在一起？

 　　Sex And Violence

 

　　Did you ever stopped to wonder why sex and violence so often go hand in hand? How come nobody complains about violence and gardening, say, or sex and bowling¹?

 

　　There may be a biological basis for this, as we can see when we look at other species. In his book Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, Carl Sagan points to the blue heron when considering this question. The male blue heron will emit a call that attracts females. When one arrives and shows interest in mating, however, the male drives her away and may even attack her.

 

　　Once she is gone he cries out again for her return. This behavior continues until eventually the male is able to mate without fighting. Some of the behaviors appropriate for sex are apparently² similar to those for aggression³, and the two can become confused.

 

　　Another example is tropical fish, which use their coloration to show sexual receptiveness. The female display for sexual readiness can look a lot like the male display for aggression. The biologist Konrad Lorenz has documented how frequently the male fish will become angered and charge the female, or another nearby male, displaying all the behaviors appropriate to aggression rather than courtship.

 

　　This kind of link between sex and violence is seen through many different species, and we may wonder if human beings don’t share a little in the confusion. If so, it’s up to us to distinguish very carefully between what’s passion and what’s aggression.

 

　　性和暴力为什么常在一起？

 

　　你有没有静下来思考过，为什么性和暴力总是紧密联系在一起的呢？为什么不是暴力和园艺之间有关系，或者性和保龄球存在联系呢？

 

　　当我们观察其他物种的时候，可能会察觉到这其中含有生理因素。在考虑这个问题时，Carl Sagan在他的书“被遗忘祖先的影子”中谈到了蓝鹭。雄性蓝鹭会发出叫声来吸引雌性注意。但当雌性蓝鹭飞来示意交配时，雄性蓝鹭会驱赶它甚至还会发起攻击。

 

　　一旦雌鹭飞走，雄性蓝鹭又会再次发出叫声请求雌鹭回来。这种行为会一直持续直到雄鹭最终停止打斗进行交配为止。动物的一些交配行为显然与暴力行为很像。二者很容易混淆。

 

　　另一个例子是热带鱼，它们通过改变身体颜色来表达交配的意愿。雌性鱼表示有意交配时呈现的颜色和雄性发怒时很像。生物学家Konrad Lorenz记录了雄鱼发怒攻击雌鱼或周围雄鱼的频率，雄鱼所表现出的行为更像是暴力，而非求爱行为。

 

　　很多不同物种间都存在性和暴力的这种联系。我们可能会好奇人类对此是否也会产生混淆。如果是的话，那么我们就应该仔细的区分开什么是激情什么是暴力。

1 bowling   

n.保龄球运动

参考例句：

• Bowling is a popular sport with young and old.保龄球是老少都爱的运动。
• Which sport do you 1ike most,golf or bowling?你最喜欢什么运动，高尔夫还是保龄球？

2 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

3 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。