《趣味科普學英語》介紹
《趣味科普學英語》精選內容有趣的科普類話題，短短幾分鐘，讓你收穫的不僅僅是英語的提升，還有知識層面的擴充。真的是一舉多得！
導讀
除了聽，耳朵還有很多其他作用，讓我們一起來了解一下。
視頻
瀏覽器版本過低，暫不支持視頻播放
謝謝收看，獲取本文音視頻、中英文文本等更多英語學習資源在弓重浩：不背英語 希望可以幫助你提高英語水平。
中英文文本
We have noses to smell,
鼻子用來嗅
eyes to see, and ears to hear, right?
眼睛用來看 耳朵用來聽 沒錯吧？
Well, actually, your ears are responsible for much more than just hearing.
然而實際上 耳朵的作用遠不僅於此
In fact, they can even help you taste.
事實上 耳朵還能幫助品嘗味道
And that’s all thanks to what’s inside.
這些都歸功於耳朵的內部構造
We think of ears as these flappy appendages that stick out of our heads.
人們認為耳朵是突起於腦袋兩側的附屬物
But the most important structures
然而它最重要的結構
are actually on the inside,
其實是在內部
and they’re known as the inner and middle ear.
即所說的內耳和中耳
Iram Ahmad: Inside your middle ear is the nerve that moves the muscles of your face.
中耳內部有神經 負責臉部肌肉的運動
Narrator: Aka the facial nerve.
也就是所謂的面神經
And if it becomes inflamed or injured,
如果它發炎或者受損
say, from a nasty ear infection,
比如說 耳部受到嚴重感染後
you can lose control of the muscles in your face.
你會無法掌控面部肌肉的活動
But it could actually get worse.
而且事情有可能更糟
Ahmad: Now, along that facial nerve there is a taste nerve.
和面神經相伴的 還有味覺神經
It’s called chorda tympani.
名為鼓索
Narrator: That’s right, the nerve for taste
沒錯 負責味覺的神經
runs right through your middle ear.
穿過中耳內部
And if that nerve gets damaged,
當它受損時
you could alter or even lose your sense of taste permanently.
可能會導致味覺改變或永久喪失
By the way, not only are your ears incredibly important for tasting food,
還有 不光是耳朵在味覺上起重要作用
but what you’re listening to
你所聽到的聲音
can also change your food’s flavor.
還可以改變你感知到的食物味道
For example, research has shown that
比如 研究表明
white noise can dull saltiness but enhance crunchiness.
白噪音能使食物嘗起來不那麼鹹 但會更脆
And in one study, volunteers perceived
另一個試驗中 志願者發現
a dish to be eggier when they listened to the sound of clucking chickens.
當聽到小雞咯咯叫時 食物嘗起來會帶有雞蛋味
But whether it’s the sound of chickens
不管是雞的咯咯叫
or my beautiful voice,
還是我美妙的嗓音
it all enters your ear through the cochlea,
所有聲音都通過耳蝸傳遞進去
a shell-like structure in the inner ear.
耳蝸是位於內耳的貝殼形狀的結構
Inside the cochlea there are over 16,000 hairlike cells,
超過16000個毛狀細胞分布其中
which take vibrations entering your ear
它們能感受進入耳內的震動
and convert them into nerve impulses.
並將其轉化為神經脈衝
Those impulses travel to your brain,
脈衝進入大腦
which turns them into the sound you hear.
轉化為你能聽到的聲音
So if it weren’t for those cells, you』d be deaf.
多虧了這些毛狀細胞 你才能聽到聲音
Which is why it’s incredibly important
所以它們如此重要
that you keep them protected.
你需要好好保護它們
Especially from menaces like bacteria, viruses,
尤其是避免來自細菌 病毒
and even adventurous insects.
甚至是一些好奇的昆蟲的威脅
And for that, your ears』 best defense is earwax.
為此 耳朵有一道最佳防線 那就是耳垢
Ahmad: Earwax is good.
耳垢是有益的
It is not bad to have earwax.
有耳垢不是壞事
Narrator: That’s right. You need that gross, golden wax.
沒錯 你需要那黃色噁心的耳垢
It not only has antibacterial properties,
耳垢不僅有抗菌作用
but it’s also downright sticky,
還能通過它的粘性作用
helping to stop invaders right in their tracks.
阻擋異物入侵耳道
But earwax isn’t the only part of your inner ear
除了耳垢 內耳中還有其他結構
that keeps you healthy.
來確保你的健康
Ahmad: So, there is a tube made of muscle
有一條肌肉組成的管道
that connects the back of your nose and your ears.
連接著鼻腔後部和耳朵
Narrator: It’s called the eustachian tube,
它被稱為咽鼓管
and it helps equalize pressure
有助於平衡氣壓
between your ears and the atmosphere around you.
讓你的耳朵和周圍的氣壓保持平衡
Normally the tube is sealed off
咽鼓管通常是密閉的
so nothing can travel between your ears and your throat,
因此耳朵和咽喉之間並不相通
which keeps infections at bay.
這樣能使感染限制在局部
But when there’s a change in pressure,
但是當氣壓發生變化
like when you’re taking off in an airplane,
比如在飛機起飛時
the air inside the tube expands.
咽鼓管內側的氣體膨脹
Which typically makes you want to pop your ears.
通常你會感覺耳朵發脹
And that’s a good thing too,
這也是件好事
because popping your ears
因為耳朵發脹
opens the tube and releases the air,
會使咽鼓管打開並釋放氣體
balancing the pressure inside and out.
使內外兩側的氣壓達到平衡
Speaking of balance, there’s one other incredibly important structure
說到平衡 還有一個非常重要的結構
you can find inside your inner ear:
它位於內耳
the vestibular system.
那就是前庭系統
Kind of like a level, it controls your balance
它類似水平儀
using a number of liquid-filled canals.
通過許多充滿液體的管道來控制平衡
Ahmad: Those balance canals are responsible for telling your body you are moving.
這些管道負責告訴身體你正在移動
Whether it may be moving left to right
可能是左右移動
or your body’s moving up and down.
也可能是上下移動
Narrator: As you move around,
當你來回走動
fluid in the canals sloshes against millions of hairlike structures,
管內的液體衝擊上百萬的毛狀結構
it’s called stereocilia,
我們稱之為纖毛
and this sends a signal to the brain
這會給大腦發出信號
where you process it as movement.
大腦將其處理為身體在移動
That’s why infections like the common cold
這也解釋了為什麼像普通感冒那種感染
can sometimes make you feel dizzy.
有時候會導致眩暈
They often cause inflammation in the vestibular nerve,
因為感冒通常會導致前庭神經發炎
which distorts those signals.
從而幹擾這些信號
So the next time you find yourself
所以在今後
walking without falling over,
當你步履平穩
or tasting your food,
當你品味美食
or listening to, well, anything,
當你聆聽聲音 不一而足
think of your ears.
別忘了耳朵的作用
Which, as it turns out,
正如我們所知道的
have a lot more going on inside than out.
耳朵的作用遠遠不止是「聽「