纪录片《饮食变迁》 第33期:肥胖是进化的根源

This could explain why large parts of the

这就可以解释 为什么大多数人

population have a tendency to lay down fat stores easily.

都有易于储存脂肪的倾向

It's only very recently in

这是个在人类历史上

human history that this has become a problem.

近期才显露的问题

Now, the feast¹ is constant.

现在 食物充足才是常态

You have food available every corner,

我们随处都可以找到食物

very cheap, very palatable²,

价格不贵而且美味可口

and this is really a perfect mixture

综合以上情况

to provide the expression of these

那些基因就会表现为

genes³ and confer⁴ obesity⁵ and weight gain to these people.

人们的肥胖以及体重增加

So if evolution was selecting for fatness,

如果说肥胖是进化的选择

the question remained as

那么依然存在一个问题

to what was compelling those individuals to put on the pounds.

是什么在迫使着人们增加体重

Scientists suddenly clocked that maybe what they should

科学家忽然注意到 也许他们应该

be looking at was what was

关注究竟是什么

driving us to eat so much - our appetite.

在促使我们不断进食 即我们的食欲

Proving its importance was a different matter.

证明它的重要性则是另外一回事

But what followed was a

接下来要说的

complex tale of scientific detective work,

是一个复杂的科学探索工作故事

involving a German boy with

这其中包括一个

an unusual brain condition and a fat mouse.

大脑与众不同的德国男孩 和一只肥老鼠

The idea that there's an evolutionary-based,

生物渴望食物是基于进化本能

biological drive to eat is clearly an interesting idea.

是有生物性驱力的 这是个有趣的设想

But until recently, it just remained that, just an idea.

不过在不久之前 这还仅仅是一个设想

Most people believed that our appetites were controlled

大多数人都相信 我们的食欲是完全被

entirely⁶ by willpower and voluntary action.

毅力和自主行为控制着的

We've discovered in the last few

我们近几年才发现

years that our brains are actually hard-wired to eat.

我们的大脑对食物有着根深蒂固的渴望

1 feast   

n.盛宴，筵席，节日

参考例句：

• After the feast she spent a week dieting to salve her conscience.大吃了一顿之后，她花了一周时间节食以安慰自己。
• You shouldn't have troubled yourself to prepare such a feast!你不该准备这样丰盛的饭菜，这样太麻烦你了！

2 palatable   

adj.可口的，美味的；惬意的

参考例句：

• The truth is not always very palatable.事实真相并非尽如人意。
• This wine is palatable and not very expensive.这种酒味道不错，价钱也不算贵。

3 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

4 confer   

vt.授予（某人）（学位或头衔）；vi.讨论，商谈

参考例句：

• They often confer together.他们经常在一起协商。
• I'll confer with him on the subject.我将和他商议这件事。

5 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

6 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。