国家地理 移植的脸如何改变了一名女子的生活(4)

Look in the mirror again. Think about what you can do with that face. You can kiss the ones you love, bite into an apple, sing, and sigh. You can smell freshly cut grass. You can gaze at your newborn and touch your cheek to his. Beyond showing (or not showing) our emotions, faces enhance our ability to communicate with language. We smile, we wrinkle our noses, we wink¹, we grimace², we perform countless³ expressions as we converse⁴, often without even realizing it.

再照照镜子，想想你能用这张脸做什么。你可以亲吻你爱的人、咬一口苹果、唱歌、叹气。你可以闻到刚割下的青草的味道。你可以凝视你的新生儿，抚摸他的脸颊。除了表达（或不表达）我们的情感外，面部表情还能增强我们与语言交流的能力。我们微笑，我们皱着鼻子，我们眨着眼睛，我们做着鬼脸，当我们交谈的时候，我们做出了无数的表情，常常连自己都没有意识到。

Now visualize⁵ what goes on beneath that astonishing face. We have 43 mimetic muscles to express emotion and articulate speech. We have four major muscles on each side of the face that move the jaws⁶ and complex lingual⁷ muscles that assist in swallowing and speech. The face is also made up of layers of blood vessels⁸, sensory⁹ and motor nerves, cartilage, bone, and fat. Cranial nerves control the motor muscles and transmit sensory information to the brain, enabling us to see, smell, taste, hear, and feel sensation on the skin.

现在想象一下那张惊人的脸下面发生了什么。我们有43块模仿肌肉来表达情感和语言。我们的面部两侧各有4块主要肌肉，它们活动着下颚和复杂的舌肌，帮助吞咽和说话。面部也由血管、感觉和运动神经、软骨、骨骼以及脂肪组成。颅神经控制运动肌肉，将感官信息传递给大脑，使我们能够看到、闻到、尝到、听到和感受到皮肤上的感觉。

Go back to the mirror one more time. Look at your incredible face. Imagine what it would mean to lose it.

再回到镜子前，看看你那张不可思议的脸。想象一下失去它将意味着什么。

1 wink   

n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁

参考例句：

• He tipped me the wink not to buy at that price.他眨眼暗示我按那个价格就不要买。
• The satellite disappeared in a wink.瞬息之间，那颗卫星就消失了。

2 grimace   

v.做鬼脸，面部歪扭

参考例句：

• The boy stole a look at his father with grimace.那男孩扮着鬼脸偷看了他父亲一眼。
• Thomas made a grimace after he had tasted the wine.托马斯尝了那葡萄酒后做了个鬼脸。

3 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

4 converse   

vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反

参考例句：

• He can converse in three languages.他可以用3种语言谈话。
• I wanted to appear friendly and approachable but I think I gave the converse impression.我想显得友好、平易近人些,却发觉给人的印象恰恰相反。

5 visualize   

vt.使看得见，使具体化，想象，设想

参考例句：

• I remember meeting the man before but I can't visualize him.我记得以前见过那个人，但他的样子我想不起来了。
• She couldn't visualize flying through space.她无法想像在太空中飞行的景象。

6 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

7 lingual   

adj.语言的；舌的

参考例句：

• Over here,they're not even lingual.在这，他们甚至什么话都说不来。
• Its brilliant elegant lingual art can be called"Great works".它那璀灿优美的语言艺术，真可谓“天地妙文”。

8 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 sensory   

adj.知觉的，感觉的，知觉器官的

参考例句：

• Human powers of sensory discrimination are limited.人类感官分辨能力有限。
• The sensory system may undergo long-term adaptation in alien environments.感觉系统对陌生的环境可能经过长时期才能适应。