趣味青春英语 第6期:Lesser of two evils

 　　Idiom:

　　Lesser¹ of two evils ( unpleasant option, but not as bad as other )

　　Hit the book:

　　Question: Is happiness nature or nurture²?

　　Eating ice cream really does make you happy. Scientists have found that a spoonful of the cold stuff lights up the same pleasure centre in the brain as winning money or listening to your favourite music.

　　Neuroscientists at the Institute of Psychiatry³ in London scanned the brains of people eating vanilla⁴ ice cream. They found an immediate⁵ effect on parts of the brain known to activate⁶ when people enjoy themselves; these include the orbitofrontal cortex, the "processing" area at the front of the brain.

　　Sports releases happy chemicals into your brain.

　　Dopamine, a chemical that plays a role in happiness, is a neurotransmitter in the brain that's necessary for feelings of pleasure and happiness.

　　Many studies suggest that as we age, we're constantly losing our stores of dopamine, which is why we need to constantly seek out experiences that release dopamine.

　　The best way to increase your brain’s dopamine production? Exercise. So run, lift, jump, play — and get happy.

　　Cone

　　Dessert

　　Positive

　　Quality

　　In a great mood

　　Euphoria

1 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

2 nurture   

n.养育，照顾，教育；滋养，营养品；vt.养育，给与营养物，教养，扶持

参考例句：

• The tree grows well in his nurture.在他的培育下这棵树长得很好。
• The two sisters had received very different nurture.这俩个姊妹接受过极不同的教育。

3 psychiatry   

n.精神病学，精神病疗法

参考例句：

• The study appeared in the Amercian science Journal of Psychiatry.这个研究发表在美国精神病学的杂志上。
• A physician is someone who specializes in psychiatry.精神病专家是专门从事精神病治疗的人。

4 vanilla   

n.香子兰，香草

参考例句：

• He used to love milk flavoured with vanilla.他过去常爱喝带香草味的牛奶。
• I added a dollop of vanilla ice-cream to the pie.我在馅饼里加了一块香草冰激凌。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 activate   

vt.使活动起来，使开始起作用

参考例句：

• We must activate the youth to study.我们要激励青年去学习。
• These push buttons can activate the elevator.这些按钮能启动电梯。