我们为什么会打哈欠？

 　　Almost all animals with a spine¹ yawn.Penguins² do it as a mating ritual,snakes do it to realign their jaws³ after a meal and guinea pigs do it to display anger,So why exactly do humans yawn?And is yawning actually contagious⁴?

　　几乎所有的有脊椎动物都会打哈欠。企鹅以此为求偶仪式，餐后蛇借此来整理下颌，荷兰猪借此表达愤怒。那么人为什么要打哈欠呢？哈欠有传染性吗？

　　If you are anything like us,you may have even yawned at the title of this video.The truth is:the first time you yawned was likely as a fetus⁵.Babies begin to yawn during the second trimester and though the reason why still unknown,it may have to do with proper brain development.In adults,yawns were commonly thought to draw more exygens into the lungs making you feel less tired,but new researches states that this may not be the case.

　　如果你和我们一样 看到视频名字时可能就已经打哈欠了。其实 你第一次打哈欠应该是在胎儿时期。婴儿会在3-6月开始打哈欠 尽管原因尚不明了，但这可能和大脑发育有关。而成人打哈欠常被认为是要向肺部充入更多氧气 来缓解疲劳，不过 新研究却另有其词。

　　Scientists now believe that yawning has developed a way of physiologically⁶ cooling your brain.Much like a computer,you brain work best at a certain temperature,and tries to avoid overheating.And it turns out,yawning increases your heart rate,blood flow and the use of muscles in your face,which are all essential to cool your brain.

　　科学家认为 打哈欠是在通过 生理的方式给大脑降温。和电脑一样 人脑也有特定的最佳工作温度，并且也会防止自身过热。事实上 打哈欠可以提升心率 血液流速 并动用脸上的肌肉 它对大脑降温来说都是必不可少的。

　　On top of that,deeply inhaling⁷ cold air can alter the temperature of the blood in our head.But,why is your brain hot in the first place?Well,both exhaustion⁸ and sleep deprivation⁹ are known to increase overall brain temperature,which explains why yawning occurs more in these states.

　　更重要的是 深呼吸冷空气 可以调整大脑内血液温度。不过  大脑原先怎么会过热呢？身心疲惫和睡眠缺乏都会导致 大脑温度升高，这就解释了为什么这些情况下人更爱打哈欠。

　　Researchers have even found participants who place warm packs on their heads yawn 41% of the time while watching others yawn,as opposed to 9% with a cold pack on their head,So if your head is already cold,you will yawn less.But,what about contagious,or social yawning?Humans,primates,and even dogs finding yawningcontagious and it's most likely linked to empathy.Contagiousyawning begins in children around the age of 4-5,and this is when empathetic behavior,along with the ability to identifying emotions,begin to develop.

　　研究者发现 头上放了热水袋的参与者 在看其他 人打哈欠时 有41%的时候也会打哈欠，而头上放了冷水袋的只有9%。因此 大脑越“冷静” 哈欠就越少。不过 受他人传染的哈欠是怎么回事？人类 灵长类 甚至犬类都会被传染打哈欠 这很可能与“共情”有关。儿童在4-5岁的时候开始被哈欠传染，同一时期 同情性行为，以及辨识情绪的能力开始逐渐发育。

　　In fact,children with empathy related disorders,such as autism,yawn less and response to videos of people yawning comparing to other children.Research also suggest that you are more likely to copy the yawn of someone socially or genetically¹⁰ close to you.Even dogs are more likely to copy the yawns of their owner as opposed to the yawn of a stranger.

　　事实上 患有与共情相关疾病的儿童 如自闭症，在观看打哈欠视频的时候 比其他孩子打哈欠更少。研究表明 当身边有亲人或者朋友打哈欠时 你更容易被传染。甚至狗相对于陌生人 更容易受主人哈欠的传染。

　　Finally,mirror neurons also play a role,In our brain,mirror neuron fire when we perform a specific action view someone else doing the action,or even just hear someone talk about the action.They are important brain cells that are used for learning,self-awareness,and relating to others,When we view someone else yawn,the mirror neurons in our brain become activated¹¹ in a similar way,and as a result we copy the yawn.

　　最后 镜像神经元对此也有功劳。在我们大脑内 镜像神经元会在我们看到他人 做出特定动作时产生冲动，甚至仅在听别人说到动作时也会。它们是重要的脑神经细胞 作用于学习 自我意识，以及于他人相处。当我们看到其他人打哈欠时 大脑内的镜像神经元 进入类似的活跃状态 使得我们被传染 打了哈欠。

　　So although yawning may occur in people who are literally¹² hot-headed,contagiousyawning allows us to be cool with the people around us.

　　因此 头脑发热的人可能会打哈欠，传染性的哈欠也是让我们与周围的人冷静相处。

1 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

2 penguins   

n.企鹅( penguin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why can penguins live in cold environment? 为什么企鹅能生活在寒冷的环境中？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Whales, seals, penguins, and turtles have flippers. 鲸、海豹，企鹅和海龟均有鳍形肢。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

4 contagious   

adj.传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
• He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。

5 fetus   

n.胎，胎儿

参考例句：

• In the fetus,blood cells are formed in different sites at different ages.胎儿的血细胞在不同时期生成在不同的部位。
• No one knows why a fetus is not automatically rejected by the mother's immune system. 没有人知道为什么母亲的免疫系统不会自动排斥胎儿。

6 physiologically   

ad.生理上，在生理学上

参考例句：

• Therefore, the liver and gallbladder cannot be completely separated physiologically and pathologically. 因此，肝胆在生理和病理上不能完全分离。
• Therefore, the liver and gallbladder are closely related physiologically and pathologically. 因此，肝胆在生理和病理上紧密联系。

7 inhaling   

v.吸入( inhale的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was treated for the effects of inhaling smoke. 他因吸入烟尘而接受治疗。 来自辞典例句
• The long-term effects of inhaling contaminated air is unknown. 长期吸入被污染空气的影响还无从知晓。 来自互联网

8 exhaustion   

n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述

参考例句：

• She slept the sleep of exhaustion.她因疲劳而酣睡。
• His exhaustion was obvious when he fell asleep standing.他站着睡着了，显然是太累了。

9 deprivation   

n.匮乏；丧失；夺去，贫困

参考例句：

• Many studies make it clear that sleep deprivation is dangerous.多实验都证实了睡眠被剥夺是危险的。
• Missing the holiday was a great deprivation.错过假日是极大的损失。

10 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

11 activated   

adj. 激活的 动词activate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The canister is filled with activated charcoal.蒸气回收罐中充满了活性炭。

12 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。