TED演讲:安慰剂效应的力量(2)

 　　Nowadays, it's less common to use placebos² this way because of ethical³ concerns. 如今，通过安慰剂的这种方法已经不常见了，因为涉及到道德问题。

　　If it's possible to compare a new drug against an older version,  只要将新药和以前的药或者其他存在的药对比，

　　or another existing drug, that's preferable to simply giving someone no treatment at all, especially if they have a serious ailment⁴. 就比完全不给病人提供治疗要好，尤其是病人患有十分严重疾病时候。

　　In these cases, placebos are often used as a control to fine-tune the trial 在这些情况下，安慰剂常用于控制变量来微调试验，

　　so that the effects of the new versus⁵ the old or alternative drug can be precisely⁶ compared. 这样新药的效果能够与以前的药或者其他代替药更准确的比较。

　　But of course, we know the placebos exert their own influence, too. 当然，我们知道安慰剂也发挥着其自身的作用。

　　Thanks to the placebo¹ effect, patients have experienced relief from a range of ailments⁷, 多亏了安慰剂效应，很多病的病人病情得到缓解，

　　including heart problems, asthma⁸, and severe pain, even though all they'd received was a fake drug or sham⁹ surgery. 包括心脏问题、哮喘还有剧痛，即使他们只是服用了假药或者经历了假手术。

　　We're still trying to understand how. 我们仍在尝试去理解其背后的原因。

　　Some believe that instead of being real, the placebo effect is merely confused with other factors, 有些人认为安慰剂的效果都不是真的，仅仅是被其他因素所迷惑了，

　　like patients trying to please doctors by falsely reporting improvements. 只是病人为了取悦医生而错误地报告病情。

　　On the other hand, researchers think that if a person believes a fake treatment is real, 另一方面，研究人员认为，如果一个人相信假药的可行性，

　　their expectations of recovery actually do trigger physiological¹⁰ factors that improve their symptoms. 他们的对康复的期待程度才是触发心理因素的关键，是改善病症的关键。

　　Placebos seem to be capable of causing measurable change in blood pressure, heart rate, and the release of pain-reducing chemicals, like endorphins. 安慰剂看起来是可以对血压、心率以及减轻痛觉的化学物质释放有显著作用的，就像安多芬。

　　That explains why subjects in pain studies often say placebos ease their discomfort¹¹. 这也解释了为什么实验对象在痛觉研究时经常感觉安慰剂缓解了他们的不适。

　　Placebos may even reduce levels of stress hormones¹², like adrenaline, which can slow the harmful effects of an ailment. 安慰剂甚至能够降低应激激素水平，如肾上腺素，它是可以缓解病症不良反应的。

　　So shouldn't we celebrate the placebo's bizarre benefits? 所以我们应不应该庆幸安慰剂的神奇功效呢？

　　Not necessarily. If somebody believes a fake treatment has cured them, they may miss out on drugs or therapies that are proven to work. 不一定。如果有的人相信假的治疗方法可以治愈他们，他们可能会忽略真正被证明有效的药物和治疗。

　　Plus, the positive effects may fade over time, and often do. 另外，这些有效的作用可能会随着时间的流逝而消失，而且普遍都是。

　　Placebos also cloud clinical results, making scientists even more motivated to discover how they wield¹³ such power over us. 安慰剂总是影响诊断结果，使得科学家们更有动力研究安慰剂是如何产生如此巨大影响的。

　　Despite everything we know about the human body, there are still some strange and enduring mysteries, like the placebo effect. 尽管我们了解人体的各个方面，但仍有很多奇怪的仍然存在的未解之谜，比如安慰剂效应。

　　So what other undiscovered marvels¹⁴ might we contain? 那么我们还有些什么没有被发现的奇迹呢？

　　It's easy to investigate the world around us and forget that one of its most fascinating subjects lies right behind our eyes. 探索这个世界很容易，人们也很容易遗忘这个世界上最迷人的事物就是我们自己。

1 placebo   

n.安慰剂；宽慰话

参考例句：

• The placebo has been found to work with a lot of different cases.人们已发现安慰剂能在很多不同的病例中发挥作用。
• The placebo effect refers to all the observable behaviors caused by placebo.安慰剂效应是指由安慰剂所引起的可观察的行为。

2 placebos   

n.（给无实际治疗需要者的）安慰剂( placebo的名词复数 )；安慰物；宽心话；（试验药物用的）无效对照剂

参考例句：

• But, eventually, I think they were just kind of like placebos. 但是后来，我想它们只是安慰剂（安慰剂：没有任何药效的药） 来自电影对白
• But comparable numbers of those who received placebos also improved. 但是吃安慰剂的人的病情也改善了。 来自互联网

3 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

4 ailment   

n.疾病，小病

参考例句：

• I don't have even the slightest ailment.我什么毛病也没有。
• He got timely treatment for his ailment.他的病得到了及时治疗。

5 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

6 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

7 ailments   

疾病（尤指慢性病），不适( ailment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His ailments include a mild heart attack and arthritis. 他患有轻度心脏病和关节炎。
• He hospitalizes patients for minor ailments. 他把只有小病的患者也送进医院。

8 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。

9 sham   

n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的)

参考例句：

• They cunningly played the game of sham peace.他们狡滑地玩弄假和平的把戏。
• His love was a mere sham.他的爱情是虚假的。

10 physiological   

adj.生理学的，生理学上的

参考例句：

• He bought a physiological book.他买了一本生理学方面的书。
• Every individual has a physiological requirement for each nutrient.每个人对每种营养成分都有一种生理上的需要。

11 discomfort   

n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便

参考例句：

• One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
• She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。

12 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

13 wield   

vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等)

参考例句：

• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。
• People may wield the power in a democracy.在民主国家里，人民可以行使权力。

14 marvels   

n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 )；令人惊奇的事物（或事例）；不平凡的成果；成就v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The doctor's treatment has worked marvels : the patient has recovered completely. 该医生妙手回春，病人已完全康复。 来自辞典例句
• Nevertheless he revels in a catalogue of marvels. 可他还是兴致勃勃地罗列了一堆怪诞不经的事物。 来自辞典例句