时差N小时 人类大脑为何沟壑密布(上)

"Dear A Moment of Science, I know the human brain is an incredible thing, the most complex object in the known universe.

亲爱的科学一刻，我知道人类大脑是个神奇的存在，是已知宇宙中最复杂的物体。

But, honestly, it's not much to look at. Just a big, gray, foldy lump. And what's with all those folds?

不过，老实说人脑的外观十分普通。只是一个灰色、布满沟壑的大型团状物。这些沟壑有什么作用呢？

Why does the brain look a lot like a scrunched¹ up piece of paper?"

为什么大脑看起来像一团被揉乱的纸张？

Well, in fact our brains, and the brains of some other animals, have a lot more in common with a balled up piece of paper than you might think.

其实，人类大脑和一些动物的大脑一样，除了褶皱得像团纸一样还有很多相似之处。

First, though, it's worth mentioning that not all brains look the same.

首先，需要强调的是并非所有大脑都长得一样。

Some animals, including rats and mice, have smooth brains. No folds or wrinkles.

例如老鼠等一些动物的大脑很平整，并没有沟壑和褶皱。

Humans and other animals, such as pigs, have brains with many folds.

人类的大脑与猪等动物的大脑都布满沟壑。

1 scrunched   

v.发出喀嚓声( scrunch的过去式和过去分词 )；蜷缩；压；挤压

参考例句：

• The snow scrunched underfoot. 雪在脚下发出嘎吱嘎吱的声音。
• He scrunched up the piece of paper and threw it at me. 他把那张纸揉成一个小团，朝我扔过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》