双语：过度迷恋甜食是大脑的“噩梦”

英语自学网

　　Next time you're craving a bar of chocolate, give in. Your waistline might
not thank you for it - but your brain will。
        　　当下次你特别想吃巧克力的时候，请一定要放弃，你的腰围可能不会因此受益，可你的大脑却会受益颇多。
        　　Research has revealed that obsessing over a sweet treat is such a drain on
the brain that it makes it difficult to concentrate on other tasks。
        　　此前有研究证明，过度迷恋甜食对大脑消耗特别大，会让人无法集中精力做好工作。
        　　Fighting an all- consuming desire for chocolate HobNobs or strawberry ice
cream can have consequences ranging from simple memory lapses to car crashes,
say scientists。
        　　然而这次科学家们又说，就算在心理上对甜食的渴求也会让你遭遇各种各样的不测——小到健忘，大到车祸!
        　　The research centres on cravings for specific foods and brands。
        　　此项实验选取几种特定食物为研究重点。
        　　Someone experiencing a craving isn't just hungry, they want to eat a
particular brand of biscuits or flavour of ice cream - and nothing else will
do。
        　　有的人想吃东西时不一定是因为饿，而可能是对某种食物垂涎已久，比如某个牌子的饼干或者某种心仪的冰激凌等。
        　　The Australian research team set out to see whether the intensity of these
desires affects our ability to concentrate on other things。
        　　澳大利亚的研究机构想通过这项实验来验证，人们对食物的渴求是否会影响其专注其他事物的注意力。
        　　They found that volunteers whose favourite chocolate bar was unwrapped and
within their reach while they sat a series of tests had slower reactions and
poorer memories than those who did the same tests in a chocolate-free zone。
        　　他们征集了一些热衷吃巧克力的志愿者，并把他们分成两组，一组只能看着没打开包装的巧克力，另一组却可以自由地享用巧克力。结果显示，第一组的人比第二组反应更慢，记忆力也相对下降了。
        　　The researchers, from Melbourne's Flinders University believe that when we
crave a food we draw a mental picture of it。
        　　来自墨尔本弗林德斯河大学的研究者相信，当我们渴求某种食物的时候，会同时在头脑中浮现出食物的样子。
        　　Writing in the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science, the
researchers, from Melbourne's Flinders University, said: 'Although cognitive
effects of individual food cravings are likely to be small, in practice even
small reductions in cognitive resources have the potential to compromise optimal
performance in everyday situations, thereby reducing work efficiency or
increasing the likelihood of accidents.'
        　　这种幻化现象会“占用”大脑的计算和记忆功能。研究者在心理学杂志上写到，虽然渴求食物这种现象看似很微弱，但引起的间接影响很大，会降低工作效率甚至发生交通事故。
        　　But the researchers also believe that when we crave a food we draw a mental
picture of it - and that filling the brain with competing images, such as
visualising a rainbow, can ease cravings。
        　　但同时研究者也认为，当我们在头脑中幻化食物图像的时候，就像一个人想象彩虹就能感觉到美好一样，可以减轻那种渴求程度。