你知道数学成绩提高的法宝吗？

 Bribing your child with a chocolate bar to finish his or her maths homework is an excellent idea, according to researchers who claim that the yummy treat could improve the brain's ability to do the most  "dreadful" subject.

研究人员指出，用一块巧克力贿赂孩子完成数学作业是个不错的主意，因为这种甜蜜的诱惑可以提高脑部的运算能力，借以应对最可怕的题目。

The study, presented at the British Psychological¹ Society annual conference, is great news for students who binge on chocolate when revising for exams.

该项研究成果在英国心理学会的年度会议上发布，它对喜欢吃巧克力应考的学生来说无疑是非常好的消息。

For the study 30 volunteers were asked to count backwards² in groups of three from a random³ number between 800 and 999 generated⁴ by a computer.

研究者对30名志愿者进行试验，通过电脑从数字800至999之间随机选取数字，要求他们进行以三为单位的递减减法运算。

The findings⁵ show that they could do the calculations⁶ more quickly and more accurately⁷ after they had been given the drink.

研究发现，参加试验者在喝了含黄烷醇的饮料后，他们计算的速度和准确率都有所提高。

However, the same was not true when the group was asked to count backwards in groups of seven, which the researchers described as a more complex task, requiring a slightly different part of the brain.

不过，当志愿者进行以七为单位的递减减法运算时，这一差距不是那么明显。因为后者属于更为复杂的运算，它和前者使用到的大脑部分有所不同。

The findings also show that the volunteers did not get as tired doing the calculations if they had been given the cocoa drink, despite being asked to do them over and over for an hour.

研究同时发现，如果志愿者饮用了可可饮料，即使他们不停地做上一个小时的运算，也不容易产生疲劳感。

The flavanols work by increasing the flow of blood into the brain. Dark chocolate contains higher quantaties of the chemical than plain or milk chocolate.

黄烷醇能够促进大脑的血液循环。黑巧克力比原味巧克力和牛奶巧克力的黄烷醇含量更高。

Prof David Kennedy at Northumbria University said that chocolate could be beneficial for mentally challenging tasks.

诺森比亚大学教授戴维·肯尼迪说：“对于那些耗费脑力的事情，巧克力或许能起到作用。”

The researchers gave the volunteers a total of 500mg of flavanol.

研究者让志愿者饮用了大约500毫克的黄烷醇。

Although the amount was too great to be found naturally in the diet, researchers said that people should ensure that they have lots of flavanols.

尽管这一剂量在日常饮食中很难达到，研究者们还是建议人们尽量多地摄取黄烷醇。

Emma Wightman, one of the study's lead researchers, said: "You can get bars of chocolate that have 100mg of flavanol, and we are also going to look at the effect of lower doses of flavanol on the brain."

该项研究的其中一个主导人艾玛·怀特曼说：“让人吃上几条总共含有100毫克黄烷醇的巧克力，我们现在就是想知道低剂量的黄烷醇会对大脑产生怎样的作用。”

"The more fruit and vegetables and things that are high in flavanols the better that is for your brain in the long run."

“长期来讲，多食用含黄烷醇的水果和蔬菜对大脑会有促进作用。”

1 psychological   

adj.心理的，精神上的

参考例句：

• Work also provides psychological well-being.工作还能使人身心健康。
• The psychological advantage of direct control is impressive.直接控制所收到的心理效果很大。

2 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

3 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

4 generated   

a.生成的

参考例句：

• It is generated by some specified means. 这是由某些未加说明的方法产生的。
• It generated much excitement and frenetic activity. 这使人们非常激动并导致了狂热的行动。

5 findings   

n.发现物( finding的名词复数 )；调查（或研究）的结果；（陪审团的）裁决

参考例句：

• It behoves us to study these findings carefully. 我们理应认真研究这些发现。
• Their findings have been widely disseminated . 他们的研究成果已经广为传播。

6 calculations   

n.计算( calculation的名词复数 )；盘算；自私的打算；推断

参考例句：

• We can exclude the possibility of total loss from our calculations. 我们可以在预测中把彻底失败的可能性排除在外。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He scored out both calculations and did them again. 他把两个计算结果都划掉，又把它们计算了一遍。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。