评论
打印
Recording Two
录音二
In 1984，the World Chess Championship was called off abruptly, due to the withered frame of a player who was competing for the title.
1984年，世界国际象棋锦标赛突然被取消，原因是一名争冠棋手在比赛过程中身形迅速消瘦。
He wasn't alone in experiencing the extreme physical effects of the game.
经受这项运动带给身体极端影响的不止他一人。
Elite players can reportedly burn up to an absurd 6 ,000 calories in one day.
据说精英棋手一天可消耗高达6000卡路里的热量。
Does that mean that thinking harder is a simple route to losing weight?
这是否意味着冥思苦想是一条简单的减肥之路?
Well, when the body is at rest, we know that the brain uses up a startling 20% to 25% of the body's overall energy.
嗯，我们知道，当身体处于休息状态时，大脑会惊人地消耗掉身体总能量的20%到25%。
This level of utilization actually makes the brain the most energy-expensive organ in the body,
这种利用程度实际上使大脑成为身体中能量消耗最高的器官，
and yet it makes up only 2% of the body's weight overall.
然而它只占身体总重量的2%。
So the more we put this organ to work, the more calories we'll burn?
那么我们让这个器官工作得越多，燃烧的卡路里就会越多吗？
Technically, the answer is yes, for cognitively difficult tasks.
严格来说，对于难度高的认知活动，答案是肯定的。
What counts as a "difficult" mental task varies between individuals.
什么样的脑力劳动被算作“难度高”因人而异。
But generally, it could be described as something that the brain cannot solve easily using previously learned routines, or tasks that change the conditions continuously.
但一般来说，它可以被描述为“大脑依靠先前习得的常规模式无法轻易解决的任务，或是不断改变情形的任务”。
However, deep thinking will not burn off the calories gained from eating a sugary snack.
然而，深度思考并不能燃尽吃甜食获得的热量。
Because in relation to the brain s huge overall energy usage, which is devoted to a multitude of tasks, the energy required just to think harder is actually comparatively tiny.
因为相比大脑用于众多活动消耗的巨大总能量，只进行冥思苦想所需的能量实际上相对极少。
We're unconscious of most of what uses up the brain's energy.
我们无法察觉消耗掉大脑能量的大多数活动。
A lot of that activity is unrelated to conscious activities like learning how to sing or play the guitar.
这些活动很大一部分都与学唱歌或弹吉他等有意识的活动无关。
The brain is able to allocate blood (and thus energy) to particular regions that are being active at that point.
大脑能够将血液(以及其携带的能量)分配到某刻处于活跃状态的特定区域。
But the overall energy availability in the brain is thought to be constant.
但大脑中可利用的总能量被认为是恒定的。
So, while there might be significant increases in energy use at localized regions of the brain when we perform difficult cognitive tasks,
所以，尽管当我们进行困难的认知活动时，大脑局部区域的能量消耗可能会显著增加，
when it comes to the whole brain's energy budget overall, these activities don't significantly alter it.
但当涉及到整个大脑的能量总收支时，这些活动不会对其有太大改变。
So, why did the chess champion grow too skinny to compete in his chess competition?
那么，为什么这位国际象棋冠军争夺者很快瘦削到无法参加比赛呢？
The general consensus is that it mostly comes down to stress and reduced food consumption, not mental exhaustion.
普遍的共识是，这主要归结于压力和食物摄取的减少，而不是脑力耗竭。
Keeping your body pumped up for action for long periods of time is very energy demanding.
长时间使你的身体充满活力是需要大量能量的。
If you can't eat as often or as much as you can or would normally- then you might lose weight.
如果你不能尽可能或像平时一样吃那么多、那么勤，那么你很可能会体重下降。
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the recording you have just heard.
请根据你刚刚听到的录音回答19至21题。
Question 19: What did the second experiment in the new research find about solitude?
问题19:关于孤独，这项新研究的第二个实验发现了什么?
Question 20: What does the speaker say about the consumption of the brain' s energy?
问题20:关于大脑能量的消耗，说话者说了什么?
Question 21: What do we learn about the overall energy availability in the brain?
问题21:关于大脑的整体能量可用性，我们了解到了什么?
