TED演讲:和老年痴呆症说再见(3)

 　　How many people here are 40 years old or older? You're afraid to admit it now. 在座的有多少人已经四十多岁了？你不想承认了吗？

　　This initial step into the disease, this presence of amyloid plaques² accumulating, can already be found in your brains. 老年痴呆症的起步，淀粉样斑块的累积，也许已经在你的大脑初步产生。

　　The only way we could be sure of this would be through a PET scan, because at this point, you are blissfully unaware³. 我们唯一能确认的方式是PET扫描，因为现在你对此毫无知觉。

　　You're not showing any impairments in memory, language, or cognition ... yet. 你还没有任何记忆、语言或是认知方面的问题... 现在还没有。

　　We think it takes at least 15 to 20 years of amyloid plaque¹ accumulation before it reaches a tipping point, 我们认为淀粉样斑块的累积至少需要15至20年时间才会到达它的临界点，

　　then triggering a molecular⁴ cascade⁵ that causes the clinical symptoms of the disease. 随后引发分子的连锁反应，导致了这一疾病的临床症状。

　　Prior to the tipping point, your lapses⁶ in memory might include things like, 在这一临界点之前，你的记忆衰退可能会像这样：

　　"Why did I come in this room?" or "Oh ... what's his name?" or "Where did I put my keys?" “我为什么到这间屋子来？”或是“呃，他叫什么来着？”或是“我把钥匙放哪了？”

　　Now, before you all start freaking out again, 现在，在你们惊慌失措之前，

　　because I know half of you did at least one of those in the last 24 hours -- these are all normal kinds of forgetting. 我知道你们中的半数在过去的24小时内至少有过上述之一，这些都是正常的遗忘类型。

　　In fact, I would argue that these examples might not even involve your memory, 实际上，我的看法是这些示例，甚至都与你的记忆没什么关系，

　　because you didn't pay attention to where you put your keys in the first place. 因为起初你并没有在意你把钥匙放在哪里。

　　After the tipping point, the glitches⁷ in memory, language and cognition are different. 在临界点之后，记忆、语言和认知的偏差是不一样的。

　　Instead of eventually finding your keys in your coat pocket or on the table by the door, 最后发现钥匙并不在你的大衣口袋，或是不在门边的桌上，

　　you find them in the refrigerator, or you find them and you think, "What are these for?" 你在冰箱里找到了你的钥匙，或者你找到钥匙后想，“这玩意是干嘛的？”

1 plaque   

n.饰板，匾，(医)血小板

参考例句：

• There is a commemorative plaque to the artist in the village hall.村公所里有一块纪念该艺术家的牌匾。
• Some Latin words were engraved on the plaque. 牌匾上刻着些拉丁文。

2 plaques   

（纪念性的）匾牌( plaque的名词复数 )； 纪念匾； 牙斑； 空斑

参考例句：

• Primary plaques were detectable in 16 to 20 hours. 在16到20小时内可查出原发溶斑。
• The gondoliers wore green and white livery and silver plaques on their chests. 船夫们穿着白绿两色的制服，胸前别着银质徽章。

3 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

4 molecular   

adj.分子的；克分子的

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms.这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。
• For the pressure to become zero, molecular bombardment must cease.当压强趋近于零时，分子的碰撞就停止了。

5 cascade   

n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下

参考例句：

• She watched the magnificent waterfall cascade down the mountainside.她看着壮观的瀑布从山坡上倾泻而下。
• Her hair fell over her shoulders in a cascade of curls.她的卷发像瀑布一样垂在肩上。

6 lapses   

n.失误，过失( lapse的名词复数 )；小毛病；行为失检；偏离正道v.退步( lapse的第三人称单数 )；陷入；倒退；丧失

参考例句：

• He sometimes lapses from good behavior. 他有时行为失检。 来自辞典例句
• He could forgive attacks of nerves, panic, bad unexplainable actions, all sorts of lapses. 他可以宽恕突然发作的歇斯底里，惊慌失措，恶劣的莫名其妙的动作，各种各样的失误。 来自辞典例句

7 glitches   

n.小过失，差错( glitch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Manufacturing glitches have limited the factory's output. 生产中的故障影响了该厂的产量。 来自辞典例句
• Another kind of period variation,\"Glitches,\" are seen in several pulsars. 在几个脉冲星中还看到了周期的另一种变化，即“自转突快”现象。 来自辞典例句