【英语时差8,16】煎饼里的艾维斯（上）

You’ve heard the stories: somebody in Texas is about to take a bite out of his burrito when he realizes that the face of Elvis is looking up at him from the wrinkly surface of the dough¹. This actually happens a lot. From religious figures to Princess Di, famous folks pop up in warped² glass, oil stains, tree trunks…you name it. It’s safe to assume that Elvis isn’t really in anyone’s burrito. A fascinating scientific question, then, is: why do people think he is? Science writer Michael Shermer has a hypothesis. For human beings, the ability to recognize pattern is paramount³. After all, nature does have patterns in it, and those of our ancestors who were successful at spotting them lived longer, and left more descendants. They did this by being right more often than they were wrong.

1 dough   

n.生面团；钱，现款

参考例句：

• She formed the dough into squares.她把生面团捏成四方块。
• The baker is kneading dough.那位面包师在揉面。

2 warped   

adj.反常的；乖戾的；（变）弯曲的；变形的v.弄弯，变歪( warp的过去式和过去分词 )；使（行为等）不合情理，使乖戾，

参考例句：

• a warped sense of humour 畸形的幽默感
• The board has warped. 木板翘了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 paramount   

a.最重要的，最高权力的

参考例句：

• My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。