新奇事件簿 时差问题或将解决

Everybody who flies long distances hates jet¹ lag². Traveling across different time zones upsets your body clock. People can have jet lag for three or four days after getting off the airplane. You can be wide awake at 3.00am and ready for bed after lunch. That might soon be over. Researchers from Kyoto University in Japan are close to making a drug for jet lag. They said the drug can help people change to a new time zone in just 24 hours. Head researcher Yoshiaki Yamaguchi said his team has found the body's "reset³ button" in the brain. This controls how the body adjusts to changing sleep patterns. New drugs could "press" the reset button to make jet lag less troublesome.

长途飞行乘客都痛恨时差问题。穿越不同时区会扰乱你的生物钟。下飞机以后，人们的时差感会持续3-4天的时间。你可能在凌晨三点钟还精力充沛，并准备在吃完午餐后上床睡觉。这样的事情或许马上就要结束了。来自日本东京大学的研究人员正在为时差问题研究药物。他们称这种药物能够帮助乘客在短短24小时之内更换时区。研究组长嘉明山口称他的小组已经在人类的大脑中发现了“重置键”。这种物质能够控制身体，调节不同的睡眠模式。新型药物将有可能“按下”重置键，减少因时差问题带来的痛苦。

The jet-lag drug could also have other health benefits. People who work different shifts⁴ and night workers could take the drug. This means these workers will not be so stressed from working at irregular or unsociable hours. Airline pilots and cabin⁵ crew could be among those who most benefit from the new drug. The drug might also be useful for people with insomnia⁶ (the inability to sleep). Wikipedia says jet lag usually happens after a change of three time zones or more. Some people get it after just a single time zone difference. It usually takes one day to recover from crossing one time zone. Jet lag is only a few decades old. It happened after people started flying in jet airplanes.

这种时差药物还对身体有益。需要倒班以及上夜班的人群也能够服用此药物。这就意味着这种药物将帮助那些工作时间不规律的人群减轻压力。飞行员和机组人员或许是最受益的人群。这种药物还可能对患有失眠症的人群有用。维基百科称时差通常会发生在跨越三个时区之后。许多人会在跨越一个时区之后就出现时差问题。跨越一个时差的人群需要一天来恢复。时差问题只有短短几十年的历史。而它只发生在人们坐飞机之后。

1 jet   

n.喷气发动机，喷气式飞机；v.喷出，喷射

参考例句：

• Put a match to the jet to light the gas.将火柴放在煤气喷嘴上点燃煤气。
• I don't see the jet of your plan.我不明白你的计划的要点。

2 lag   

vi.走得慢，落后；n.滞后，(时间上的)间隔

参考例句：

• Ten minutes later,some of runners in the race began to lag.十分钟后，有些参赛的人开始落后了。
• There is a time lag of about fifteen years.时间上有一段约15年的间隔。

3 reset   

v.重新安排，复位；n.重新放置；重放之物

参考例句：

• As soon as you arrive at your destination,step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.你一到达目的地，就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
• He is recovering from an operation to reset his arm.他做了一个手臂复位手术，正在恢复。

4 shifts   

n.转换( shift的名词复数 )；切换键；（汽车等的）变速；更换v.改变( shift的第三人称单数 )；去掉；摆脱掉；换挡

参考例句：

• The action of the novel shifts from Paris to London. 小说情节从巴黎移到了伦敦。
• I work split shifts in a busy restaurant. 我在一家繁忙的餐馆上间隔班。

5 cabin   

n.(结构简单的)小木屋；船舱，机舱

参考例句：

• They threw up a new cabin in a couple of hours.在几小时之内他们就建起了一座新的小屋。
• It's very hot in the cabin;let's go on deck.舱室内很热，我们到甲板上去吧。

6 insomnia   

n.失眠，失眠症

参考例句：

• Worries and tenseness can lead to insomnia.忧虑和紧张会导致失眠。
• He is suffering from insomnia.他患失眠症。