托福阅读背景之“虚拟现实法治疗抑郁症”

 　阿凡达疗法，是科学家受阿凡达的“化身”技术启发，将虚拟现实用在抑郁症治疗上的一种新型技术。技术的关键是让患者把一个虚拟的自己当成自己的“化身”，让虚拟成人安慰自己，从而摆脱抑郁症的困扰。

　　Patients wore a virtual reality headset to see from the perspective of a life-size 'avatar' or virtual body. Seeing this virtual body in a mirror moving in the same way as their own body typically produces the illusion that this is their own body. This is called 'embodiment'.

　　患者头戴一个虚拟现实头盔后， 可看到一个与自己大小一样并动作同步的虚拟形象，会把这个形象看做自己的“化身”，以他/她的视角来看待外物。

　　While embodied¹ in an adult avatar, participants were trained to express compassion² towards a distressed³ virtual child.

　　在“化身”为成人阿凡达后，。研究人员让患者通过这个“化身”安慰一个虚拟出来的悲伤男孩，

　　As they talked to the child it appeared to gradually stop crying and respond positively⁴ to the compassion.

　　在患者与这名男孩交谈后，男孩逐渐不再哭泣，对安慰作出积极回应。

　　After a few minutes the patients were embodied in the virtual child and saw the adult avatar deliver their own compassionate⁵ words and gestures to them.

　　几分钟后，研究人员让患者把这个虚拟男孩当做自己的“化身”，让虚拟成人安慰虚拟男孩。

　　This brief eight-minute scenario⁶ was repeated three times at weekly intervals⁷, and patients were followed up a month later. Of the 15 participants, nine reported reduced depressive symptoms a month after the therapy.

　　这个过程持续8分钟，每星期重复3次。一个月后，9名患者症状减轻，其中4名显著减轻。

　　Virtual reality has also previously⁸ been used to treat psychological disorders¹⁰ including phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder⁹, but this research focused on a new application for promoting emotional well-being¹¹.

　　虚拟现实技术此前已被用于治疗多种心理障碍，如恐惧症、创伤后应激障碍等，但此次研究聚焦于改善患者心理健康这一新领域。

1 embodied   

v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含

参考例句：

• a politician who embodied the hopes of black youth 代表黑人青年希望的政治家
• The heroic deeds of him embodied the glorious tradition of the troops. 他的英雄事迹体现了军队的光荣传统。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

3 distressed   

痛苦的

参考例句：

• He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。
• The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。

4 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

5 compassionate   

adj.有同情心的，表示同情的

参考例句：

• She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。
• The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。

6 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

7 intervals   

n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息

参考例句：

• The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴，有阵雨。
• Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。

8 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

9 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

10 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。