【英语时差8,16】催眠和牙医术

 Don: Time to go again to the A Moment of Science mailbag. A listener writes: Dear Ya?l and Don, I really, really, really hate going to the dentist. If I need a filling or root canal, I'm literally¹ terrified. What can I do to make the experience less frightening? Ya?l: That's a good question. I'm sure many of our listeners share similar fears. So you might want to try hypnosis. D: Wait. What does hypnosis have to do with going to the dentist? Y: Well, you know how dentists use nitrous oxide² to sedate³ patients? D: Laughing gas? Y: Right. So, some dentists believe that laughing gas makes patients more suggestible. In other words, going under the gas makes you more open to being hypnotized and made to believe that the treatment won't be painful, that you should relax, and so on. D: Is this a real phenomenon, or is it just something that a few dentists think is true? Y: That's what scientists at University College, London wanted to figure out. So they had thirty study participants breathe through gas masks. Some inhaled⁴ regular air and some received nitrous oxide. Then the participants were tested for imaginative⁵ suggestibility. For example, they were told to imagine tasting something sour, and that the sour taste in their mouth would get stronger. The study found that laughing gas increased imaginative suggestibility by about ten percent. D: Interesting. So maybe hypnosis is the cure for dental⁶ phobia. Y: Maybe. More research needs to be done to see if different amounts of nitrous oxide work better than others. But it seems to be a positive step towards making dental work less frightening.

1 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。

2 oxide   

n.氧化物

参考例句：

• Oxide is usually seen in our daily life.在我们的日常生活中氧化物很常见。
• How can you get rid of this oxide coating?你们该怎样除去这些氧化皮？

3 sedate   

adj.沉着的，镇静的，安静的

参考例句：

• After the accident,the doctor gave her some pills to sedate her.事故发生后，医生让她服了些药片使她镇静下来。
• We spent a sedate evening at home.我们在家里过了一个恬静的夜晚。

4 inhaled   

v.吸入( inhale的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. 她合上双眼，深深吸了一口气。
• Janet inhaled sharply when she saw him. 珍妮特看到他时猛地吸了口气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 imaginative   

adj.富有想象力的，爱想象的

参考例句：

• The imaginative child made up fairy stories.这个想像力丰富的孩子自己编神话故事。
• Scott was an imaginative writer.司格特是位富于想象力的作家。

6 dental   

adj.牙齿的，牙科的

参考例句：

• You can get free dental treatment.你可以得到免费的牙齿治疗。
• I had undergone a major dental operation.我经受了一次牙科大手术。