缓解疲劳，闻咖啡比喝咖啡更好

 清晨起来，一杯新鲜的研磨咖啡可以让人精力充沛。

A cup of freshly ground coffee is what it takes to get some people moving in the morning.

但一项最新的研究表明，这种功效可能是咖啡的香气而不是咖啡本身产生的。

But, according to a study, it may be the aroma¹ rather than the coffee itself that does the trick.

研究人员相信，烘培咖啡豆的香气可以安抚紧张的神经

Researchers believe that the aroma of roasted coffee beans can soothe² frayed³ nerves -

而且只是一点点香气就可以缓解整夜失眠对大脑造成的影响。

and that just the whiff could be enough to reverse the effects of a poor night's sleep on the brain.

香气: 仅仅闻咖啡比喝一杯咖啡更能帮助缓解疲劳

Aroma: Just smelling coffee can help cure tiredness better than drinking a cup

他们说，早晚有一天可以通过提取咖啡中的化学物质并释放到空气中，来缓解人们的疲劳。

They said that chemicals extracted from coffee and pumped into the air may one day be used as a way of reviving tired people.

日本筑波的科学家们把16只小白鼠放到有1英寸深的水的笼子里，这样保证它们24小时不睡觉。

Scientists in Tsukuba, Japan, kept 16 laboratory rats awake for 24 hours, by keeping them in a cage filled with an inch of water,

然后，将一半的老鼠放在烘培咖啡的香气中。

then exposed half of them to the smell of roasted coffee.

在对小白鼠大脑取样后，他们发现咖啡的气味，增强了关键基因的活动，这种基因活动可以促进体内细胞存活，并且减少焦虑。

After taking samples of the rats' brains, they found that the smell of coffee boosted the activity of key genes⁴ that promote cell survival in the body and reduce anxiety.

领导日本筑波研究团队的益男教授说，当人们为了熬夜而喝咖啡时，

Professor Yoshinori Masuo, who led the study in Tsukuba, Japan, said that when people drink coffee to stay up all night,

仅仅是咖啡的味道就会减轻由不睡觉而产生的压力。

just the smell of the coffee could alleviate⁵ some of the stress caused by sleeplessness⁶.

他补充说：'闻咖啡豆的气味要比喝咖啡更好。但是否其他食物的气味会产生类似效应呢？这还需要进一步的研究。

He added: 'Is it better for us to smell coffee bean aroma than to drink coffee, or would any other food-related odour produce similar effects? Further studies are needed.'

1 aroma   

n.香气，芬芳，芳香

参考例句：

• The whole house was filled with the aroma of coffee.满屋子都是咖啡的香味。
• The air was heavy with the aroma of the paddy fields.稻花飘香。

2 soothe   

v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承

参考例句：

• I've managed to soothe him down a bit.我想方设法使他平静了一点。
• This medicine should soothe your sore throat.这种药会减轻你的喉痛。

3 frayed   

adj.磨损的v.（使布、绳等）磨损，磨破( fray的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His shirt was frayed. 他的衬衫穿破了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The argument frayed their nerves. 争辩使他们不快。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

5 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

6 sleeplessness   

n.失眠，警觉

参考例句：

• Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness. 现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The doctors were puzzled by this strange continuous sleeplessness. 医生们对他的奇异的不眠感到疑惑。 来自英语晨读30分（高三）