时差N小时 迷失在书里

Yael: Hey Don, what are you reading? Don? Don!

雅艾尔：嘿，唐，你在读什么？唐？唐！

Don: Huh?

唐：哈？

Yael: I asked what book you're reading.

雅艾尔：我问你在看什么书。

Don: Oh, sorry. I guess I was lost in the story.

唐：啊，对不起。我刚才对这个故事太入迷了。

Yael: That's OK. That's what a good story will do, right? In fact, there's a study that explains what's going on the brain when we get caught up in a story.

雅艾尔：没关系。好故事总是会让人入迷，不是吗？事实上，有一项研究解释了我们被好故事吸引时大脑的活动。

Don: Do tell.

唐：请讲。

Yael: Basically, according to the study, when you read a story that engages you, your brain creates detailed¹ and vivid simulations of the details in the story.

雅艾尔：根据这项研究，基本来说当你被一篇故事吸引时，大脑会详细生动地模拟故事情节。

Don: You mean that when I'm reading, my brain is activated² as though I'm actually doing the things I'm reading about?

唐：你是说在我读书时，大脑会被激活，仿佛我正在做读到的事情？

Yael: Or observing them, or imagining them. The point is that reading isn't a passive activity where the brain is just processing language. It's much more dynamic and active. So if you're reading a book about baseball, say, the brain reacts in ways similar to how it would if you were actually playing baseball, or watching a game, or imagining yourself hitting a ball, or whatever.

雅艾尔：或者观察，想象着你读到的事情。重点是读书不是一项被动的活动，而大脑也不只是在单纯地处理语言。读书是更为动态的，积极的。比如说，当你正在读一本关于棒球的书时，大脑的反应跟你在真正打棒球，看比赛或者想象自己在打球时的大脑反应相似。

Don: Interesting. How was this studied?

唐：很有趣。怎么研究出来的呢？

Yael: That's interesting, too. The researchers studied readers' brains using an MRI scanner. But because the readers had to remain perfectly³ still, their heads were immobilized as they read the story one word at a time on a computer screen.

雅艾尔：那也很有趣。研究人员通过核磁共振扫描仪来研究读者的大脑活动。但由于读者需要保持绝对静止，在他们一字一句阅读电脑屏幕上的故事时，他们的头就被固定住了。

Don: That's hardly a typical reading experience.

唐：这样的阅读经历真是独特啊。

Yael: True. But even reading stories in that strange, one-word-at-a-time way, the readers'brains were still activated to create mental simulations of the story.

雅艾尔：当然，但是即使是以这种奇怪的，一字一句的方式阅读，读者的脑子仍然被激活，仍然会从心理上模拟故事情节。

Don: So what does this mean?

唐：因此这意味着什么呢？

Yael: Maybe that being lost in a good book doesn't mean you're zoned⁴ out. It's more like your brain is tuned⁵ in.

雅艾尔：也许迷失在一本好书里并不意味着你迷糊了。看起来更像是大脑在收听。

1 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

2 activated   

adj. 激活的 动词activate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The canister is filled with activated charcoal.蒸气回收罐中充满了活性炭。

3 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

4 zoned   

adj.划成区域的，束带的v.（飞机、汽车等）急速移动( zoom的现在分词 )；（价格、费用等）急升，猛涨

参考例句：

• This small town has been zoned as a shopping area. 这个小镇已划作商业区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They zoned the house into sleeping, sitting and dining rooms. 他们将房子区分成卧室、客厅和餐厅。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 tuned   

adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 这个度假胜地适合各种口味，老少皆宜。
• The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出开始前都应将乐器调好音。 来自《简明英汉词典》