时差N小时 鸟儿睡觉也唱歌

Don: I was awakened¹ this morning by a flock of birds outside my bedroom window. They were singing up a storm at five in the morning. Somebody ought to blast music in the ears of birds when they're sleeping. See how they like it.

唐：今天早上我被卧室窗外的一群鸟惊醒了，才五点钟它们就开始喧闹了。人们应该在鸟儿睡觉的时候往它们耳朵里灌些音乐才对——当然了，这些音乐应该是他们自己所喜欢的。

Yael: Well, actually, scientists have done just that, and there's reason to believe birds already have music on the brain when they're sleeping. Scientists believe that birds dream about their songs. The key is a structure in birds' brains that controls the nerves that make singing possible. Not only does this structure control the bird's singing, but it also responds to sounds. What's interesting is that this structure has been shown to be significantly more responsive to sound, especially to recordings² of the bird's own voice, when the bird is asleep. Even when scientists aren't playing recordings of the bird's own songs to its sleeping brain, this structure shows bursts of activity throughout the duration of the creature's sleep cycle. So it seems the bird is hearing music in its head.

耶尔：哦，实际上，科学家们已经做到了这一点。而且，我们有理由相信，鸟儿即使睡觉时脑袋里也在萦绕着旋律。科学家们认为，鸟儿就是睡觉时也在唱歌。其中的关键是，鸟儿的脑部具有一种结构，这种结构用来控制歌唱神经。这种结构不但可以控制鸟儿的歌唱，还对各种声音特别敏感。有趣的是，证明显示，当鸟儿睡着时，这种结构尤其对鸟儿自己的声音反应强烈。即使科学家们不向睡着的鸟儿播放它们自己的叫声，这种结构的阵发性活动也会贯穿于鸟儿的整个睡眠周期。因此，这如同鸟儿在聆听它们脑中的音乐一样。

D: That's peculiar³ alright, but why would a bird want to dream about what he sings all day?

唐：这太神奇了。但是，鸟儿为何做梦还在唱？他们都唱了一整天了。

Y: The theory is that dreaming about its songs helps the bird learn its songs and possibly improve them. As with most activities in life, birds learn to sing by studying and practicing. To be good singers they need to listen to songs and reproduce them. Scientists believe that when the bird sleeps it might be re-playing songs from the day, possibly memorizing the songs and trying out variations on the tunes⁴.

耶尔：理论认为，睡梦中唱歌有助于鸟儿学习并提升歌唱技巧。鸟儿生活中的大部分活动都用于学习和练习歌唱。一个好歌手需要不断地聆听歌曲并且不断的做出改进。科学家们认为，鸟儿睡觉时脑中可能在重播它们白天所唱的歌曲——可能是在背诵歌曲并尝试不同的曲调变化。

1 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

3 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

4 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》