英语听力文摘 English Digest 651 为何会形成黑眼圈

 　　Why Do Dark Circles Form Under My Eyes?

　　It’s eleven o’clock Sunday morning, and you’ve just woken up after a late night of carousing¹. You stumble out of bed, brace² yourself on the bathroom sink and blink into the mirror.

图片1

　　There, under your eyes, are dark, puffy patches that make you look like an NFL linebacker. I need more sleep, you think, fingering the dark spots. And so you stumble back to bed.

　　Do I Need More Sleep?

　　You may indeed need to sleep a bit longer, but despite the common misconception, dark circles and puffiness under or around your eyes appear to have little to do with lack of sleep.

　　In fact, what seems to be a fairly common and hence supposedly explainable phenomenon remains³ something of a mystery to scientists.

　　Mystery

　　What scientists do know is that the skin under the eyes is very thin and sensitive. When for a variety of reasons blood and other fluids accumulate in the area under your eyes, the delicacy⁴ of the skin makes the fluid’s color partly visible. This is what appears to account for the dark patches.

　　Allergies⁵ may also be to blame. An allergic⁶ reaction can cause cells under the skin of the eyes to release histamine, a chemical that causes fluid accumulation and swelling⁷. This is what appears to cause puffy eyes.

　　And finally, there is heredity. Do your parents have dark circles under their eyes? If so, you may have found the source for your own dark circles.

　　为何会形成黑眼圈？

　　现在是周日上午11点，而你刚从前一晚的狂欢过后醒来。你跌跌撞撞地走下床，双手撑在盥洗台上，睡眼惺忪地看向镜子。

　　看到了吗，你眼睛下面那深色浮肿的眼袋，让你看起来像美国橄榄球联盟的后卫队员。用手抚摸着黑眼袋，你想，我需要更多的睡眠。于是你又踉跄着回到床上。

　　我需要更多睡眠吗？

　　也许你的确需要多睡一会儿，尽管有着普遍的误解，但眼周或眼底的黑眼圈和浮肿似乎与睡眠不足没有太大的关系。

　　事实上，这个看起来相当容易解释的常见现象对科学家们来说却仍然是个谜。

　　谜题

　　科学家们所知道的是，眼底的皮肤非常薄，非常敏感。当由于种种原因，血液和其他液体在眼底部位积聚时，这层细腻的皮肤就会使得液体的颜色浮现出来。这似乎才是黑眼圈形成的原因。

　　过敏也是可能的原因之一。过敏反应导致眼底皮肤细胞释放出组胺，这种化学物质会引起积液和皮肤肿胀。这似乎才是眼袋形成的原因。

　　最后还有遗传因素的影响。你的父母是否有黑眼圈？如果有，也许你就能够找到你有黑眼圈的原因。

1 carousing   

v.痛饮，闹饮欢宴( carouse的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• During the next nine years he alternated between service in several armies and carousing in Paris. 在那以后的九年里，他时而在几个军队中服役，时而在巴黎狂欢作乐。 来自辞典例句
• In his youth George W. Bush had a reputation for carousing. 小布什在年轻时有好玩的名声。 来自互联网

2 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 delicacy   

n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴

参考例句：

• We admired the delicacy of the craftsmanship.我们佩服工艺师精巧的手艺。
• He sensed the delicacy of the situation.他感觉到了形势的微妙。

5 allergies   

n.[医]过敏症；[口]厌恶，反感；（对食物、花粉、虫咬等的）过敏症( allergy的名词复数 )；变态反应，变应性

参考例句：

• Food allergies can result in an enormous variety of different symptoms. 食物过敏会引发很多不同的症状。 来自辞典例句
• Let us, however, examine one of the most common allergies; hayfever. 现在让我们来看看最常见的变态反应的一种--枯草热。 来自辞典例句

6 allergic   

adj.过敏的，变态的

参考例句：

• Alice is allergic to the fur of cats.艾丽斯对猫的皮毛过敏。
• Many people are allergic to airborne pollutants such as pollen.许多人对空气传播的污染物过敏，比如花粉。

7 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。