【英语时差8,16】辣椒为什么那么辣？（下）

So the brain receives confusing signals. It’s not sure if you’re just being exposed to moderate warmth or being burned. So to be safe the nervous system responds to the more severe stimulus¹: pain. The brain tells the body to react the same as if it’s being subjected to a burn, that is, pain, sweating, and flushing. You respond to the brain’s message by gulping² a cool drink to quench³ the perceived burn. Of course, we humans are a strange breed. We have taken a response that normally signals danger and made it pleasurable. I guess that’s no surprise, since we are also the species that bungee jumps and sky dives.

1 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

2 gulping   

v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的现在分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住

参考例句：

• She crawled onto the river bank and lay there gulping in air. 她爬上河岸，躺在那里喘着粗气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• And you'll even feel excited gulping down a glass. 你甚至可以感觉到激动下一杯。 来自互联网

3 quench   

vt.熄灭，扑灭；压制

参考例句：

• The firemen were unable to quench the fire.消防人员无法扑灭这场大火。
• Having a bottle of soft drink is not enough to quench my thirst.喝一瓶汽水不够解渴。