英语听力文摘 English Digest 214、动作与大脑

　　Word Up, Brain
新发展起来的大脑皮层在调节机能上起着主要作用；而皮层下各级脑部及脊髓虽也有发展，但在机能上已从属于大脑皮层。高等动物一旦失去大脑皮层，就不能维持其正常的生命活动。人类的大脑皮层更产生了新的飞跃，有了抽象思维的能力，成为意识活动的物质基础。人类大脑皮层的神经细胞约有140亿个，面积约2200平方厘米，主要含有锥体形细胞、梭形细胞和星形细胞（颗粒细胞）及神经纤维。按细胞与纤维排列情况可分为多层，自皮层表面到髓质大致分为六层。皮层的神经元之间联系十分广泛和复杂，在皮层的不同部位，各层的厚薄、各种神经细胞的分布和纤维的疏密都有差异。根据皮层的不同特点和功能，可将皮层分为若干区。机体的各种功能在皮层具有定位关系，如运动区、感觉区等。

　　Learn about the motor cortex and its functions on this Moment of Science.
We are going to perform a little experiment.Ready?Go ahead and tap your foot. What just happened? Well, you were able to move your foot thanks to the motor cortex(大脑皮层运动区)–a strip¹ of tissue（组织） running from ear to ear across the surface of the brain that is responsible for controlling voluntary movement（随意性运动）. The instant you decided² to move your foot, the part of your brain’s motor cortex responsible for sending commands to the foot went into action.
Now, if you’re somewhere where you have access to a paper and pen or pencil, write down the word “kick”, and then read it to yourself. Guess what? Your brain just（1） lit up（（使）兴奋起来） as though you were actually about to make a kicking motion³.
According to a recent study, it turns out that merely reading words that describe actions, like “kick,” “jump,” or “run” makes your motor cortex（2） kick up（踢起） its feet, so to speak. When you read action verbs, blood rushes to the corresponding⁴ part of your motor cortex and neurons（神经元） start firing as though you were actually doing that action.
Ok, so the motor cortex is really cool. But so what?
Well, besides the motor cortex, according to the study, other parts of the brain involved with learning⁵ new actions and understanding language also get revved⁶ up（跃跃欲试的） when we read action verbs. This means that understanding language seems to involve different areas of the brain （3）pitching in（协力，做贡献） to help us learn words together with the actions they describe. With more research, scientists may be able to use this knowledge to help treat language disorders⁷ and related⁸ problems,and that would be truly cool.
注释：
（1）light up
1.照亮, 亮起来
The room suddenly lit up.
房间的灯突然亮了。
2.点烟, 开始吸烟
He struck a match and lit up.
他划着一根火柴, 点火抽烟。
3.(使)变得喜悦, (使)兴奋起来
Her face lit up when she heard the news.
当她听到这个消息时, 她的脸上闪出喜悦的光彩。
4.开街灯或车灯
Drivers who forget to light up at night often cause accidents.
晚上忘记开车灯的司机常常出车祸。
（2）kick up
1.踢起
She kicked the sand up.
她踢起沙子。
2.引起
The boys were kicking up a terrific⁹ row.
这些男孩在起哄。
3.抬高
Benson signaled the auctioneer quietly and kicked the bid up another thousand dollars.
本森悄悄地向拍卖人做了个手势, 然后把出价又抬高了1000美元。
4.发生故障; 变得不听话
He felt his stomach started to kick up.
他感到胃开始不舒服了。
（3）pitch in
1.动手做,使劲做
After the Christmas dinner, we all pitched in to clean up the house.
圣诞晚餐后,我们全都动手帮助清理房子。
They all pitched in and finished the work within two hours.
他们全部努力地做,两小时内就把工作完成了。
2.协力,做出贡献
We all pitched in to buy Uncle George a birthday present.
我们大家出钱给乔治叔叔买生日礼物。

1 strip   

n.长条，条状；连环漫画；n.脱衣舞；vt.脱衣，剥夺；挤干(牛奶)；vt.拆卸；去除(烟叶的茎)；vi.脱衣，表演脱衣舞；剥落

参考例句：

• I need one more strip of cloth to finish this decoration.我还要一根布条来完成这个装饰品。
• We had to strip the old paint from the doors.我们只好把门上的旧漆刮掉。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 motion   

n.打手势，示意，移动，动作，提议，大便；v.运动，向...打手势，示意

参考例句：

• She could feel the rolling motion of the ship under her feet.她能感觉到脚下船在晃动。
• Don't open the door while the train is in motion.列车运行时，请勿打开车门。

4 corresponding   

adj.符合的，一致的，相同的，相应的，相当的

参考例句：

• We shall take the corresponding measures.我们将采取相应措施。
• Finally,some corresponding advices are put forword based on the above experiments.最后提出了几个相应的建议。

5 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

6 revved   

v.（使）加速( rev的过去式和过去分词 )；（数量、活动等）激增；（使发动机）快速旋转；（使）活跃起来

参考例句：

• The taxi driver revved up his engine. 出租车司机把发动机发动起来。
• The car revved up and roared away. 汽车发动起来，然后轰鸣着开走了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。

9 terrific   

adj.可怕的，极好的，非常的

参考例句：

• The game was terrific.那场比赛棒极了。
• Darren drove at a terrific speed.达伦以惊人的速度驾车。