Hello. This is 6 Minute English, I’m Georgina.
大家好，這裡是六分鐘英語，我是喬治娜。
And I’m Rob.
我是羅伯。
What do you do when you’re tired, Rob?
羅伯，你疲憊時會做什麼？
Mm, well, I go to bed.
呃，好吧，我會上床睡覺。
Before that?
在那之前呢？
Erm, I clean my teeth?
呃，刷牙？
But what does your body do to tell you you’re tired?
但是你的身體會做什麼來告訴你你累了？
Right, well these days I just kind of fall asleep in front of the TV.
是的，這些天我在電視機前看著電視就睡著了。
Yes, but, OK – what am I doing now?
是的，但是，好吧，我現在在做什麼？
Oh yes, hang on – yes, you』ve set me off - yawning,
哦，是的，等等——是的，你觸發了我做那件事——打哈欠，
yes yawning is a sign that we are tired! Or bored!
是的，打哈欠是我們累了或者感到無聊的一個標誌。
Are you tired or bored now?
你現在是累了還是感到無聊？
No, not particularly.
不，不見得。
So, why did you just yawn?
那你剛剛為什麼打哈欠？
Well, because you did!
好吧，因為你打哈欠了。
That’s the thing about yawns.
那就是和打哈欠相關的。
They are contagious – they can spread from one person to another.
它們會傳染，可以從一個人傳染給另一個人。
And that’s what we’re looking at in this programme.
那就是我們在這個節目中要研究的。
But first, today’s question.
但首先是今天的問題。
What biological function does yawning have?
打哈欠有什麼生物學功能？
Essentially, why do we yawn?
本質上，我們為什麼打哈欠？
Is it: A: To take in more oxygen, B: To get rid of carbon dioxide from our body, C: No one really knows?
是A：吸入更多氧氣，B：排出體內二氧化碳，還是C：沒人知道？
What do you think, Rob?
你覺得呢，羅伯？
Ah – I know this.
啊——我知道。
We yawn to take in more oxygen.
我們打哈欠是為了吸入更多氧氣。
I’m pretty sure that’s it.
我相當確定就是這樣。
OK.
好的。
We』ll see if you’re correct at the end of the programme.
我們將在節目最後來看看你是否回答正確。
John Drury is a researcher from Sussex University.
約翰·德魯裡是蘇塞克斯大學的一名研究員。
On the BBC Radio 4 series All in The Mind he spoke about yawning and why it is contagious.
在BBC廣播4頻道的系列節目All in the Mind中，他談到了打哈欠以及它為什麼會傳染。
Which animal does he mention will also catch a yawn from its owner?
他提到哪種動物也會被主人傳染打呵欠？
Yawning is actually a difficult case when it comes to these contagious behaviours.
就這些會傳染的行為而言，打哈欠實際上是一個複雜的例子。
It is the most contagious behaviour.
它是最具傳染性的行為。
It’s meant to be automatic, it’s something that you can’t stop.
那指的是它是自動的，是你無法阻止的。
Dogs yawn when their owners yawn, animals yawn to each other.
狗在主人打哈欠時也打哈欠，動物之間也會互相打哈欠。
It happens whether you want to or not.
不管你願不願意，它都會發生。
These kind of effects have been found for other kinds of behaviour,
這些影響已經在其它類型的行為中被發現，
so really we were trying to push it as far as we could and see if there is a cognitive element to this influence behaviour.
所以我們真的試圖儘可能對它進行研究，看看這種影響行為是否存在認知因素。
Which animal might yawn when its owner does?
哪種動物會在主人打哈欠的時候打哈欠？
Dogs!
狗狗！
Dogs can catch a yawn from their owners.
狗狗會被主人傳染打呵欠。
Yes, yawning is a very contagious behaviour.
是的，打哈欠是一種傳染性很強的行為。
The use of the word behaviour here is interesting.
這裡使用「行為」這個詞很有趣。
Normally it is an uncountable noun to describe the way we act,
通常情況下它是一個不可數名詞，用來描述我們的行為方式，
either in a good or a bad way.
無論是好是壞。
We talk about, for example, dogs』 or children’s behaviour being good or bad.
例如，我們說狗狗或孩子的行為是好是壞。
But it’s also used as a countable noun,
但它也可以用作可數名詞，
when we are talking about a particular action that, for example, an animal makes in particular situations.
例如，但當我們談到動物在特定情況下所做的特定行為時。
These behaviours are often not conscious,
這些行為通常是無意識的，
but are an automatic response to a situation.
但卻是對某種情況的自動反應。
And the researchers were looking to see if there was a cognitive side to the behaviour.
研究員想看看該行為是否有認知方面的原因。
Which means they are looking at the mental process – what is happening in the mind to make us yawn,
這意味著他們會觀察心理過程——大腦中發生了什麼讓我們打哈欠，
particularly when someone else yawns.
特別是當別人打哈欠時。
Let’s listen again.
讓我們再聽一遍。
Yawning is actually a difficult case when it comes to these contagious behaviours.
就這些會傳染的行為而言，打哈欠實際上是一個複雜的例子。
It is the most contagious behaviour.
它是最具傳染性的行為。
It’s meant to be automatic, it’s something that you can’t stop.
那指的是它是自動的，是你無法阻止的。
Dogs yawn when their owners yawn, animals yawn to each other.
狗在主人打哈欠時也打哈欠，動物之間也會互相打哈欠。
It happens whether you want to or not.
不管你願不願意，它都會發生。
These kind of effects have been found for other kinds of behaviour,
這些影響已經在其它類型的行為中被發現，
so really we were trying to push it as far as we could and see if there is a cognitive element to this influence behaviour.
所以我們真的試圖儘可能對它進行研究，看看這種影響行為是否存在認知因素。
The research discovered that contagious yawning is connected with our social group and how close we feel to the people in it.
研究發現，傳染性打哈欠與我們的社會群體以及我們與其中的人的親密程度有關。
Here’s John Drury again.
再聽聽約翰·德魯裡說了什麼。
So, the more that you identify with the in-group target, the more likely you are to copy their behaviour.
所以，你越認同群體內的目標對象，你就越有可能模仿他們的行為。
What we do when we see a behaviour is that at some level,
在某種程度上，我們看到一種行為時所做的就是，
we are making a judgement about whether the person exhibiting that behaviour,
我們在判斷那個人是否表現出那種行為，
whether it’s an emotion, or a scratching behaviour, or anything is relevant.
無論是一種情緒，還是抓撓行為，或者其它什麼相關的。
Does their behaviour indicate to us how we should behave?
他們的行為是否表明我們應該如何行事？
So, essentially, yawning is more contagious if we identify with the person who yawns first.
所以，從本質上講，如果我們認同第一個打哈欠的人，打哈欠就更有傳染性。
If we feel close to, and belong in, the same group as the person who exhibits the behaviour – the person who does the yawning,
如果我們感覺自己和表現出該行為的人——打哈欠的人——很親近，屬於同一群體，
we are likely to yawn too.
那麼我們很可能也會打哈欠。
So, you are less likely to yawn if a stranger yawns than if someone in your close family or circle of friends yawns.
所以，陌生人打呵欠時你打呵欠的可能性，要比你親近的家人或朋友圈裡的人打呵欠時你打哈欠的可能性小。
Let’s listen again.
再聽一遍。
So, the more that you identify with the in-group target,
所以，你越認同群體內的目標對象，
the more likely you are to copy their behaviour.
你就越有可能模仿他們的行為。
What we do when we see a behaviour is that at some level,
在某種程度上，我們看到一種行為時所做的就是，
we are making a judgement about whether the person exhibiting that behaviour,
我們在判斷那個人是否表現出那種行為，
whether it’s an emotion, or a scratching behaviour, or anything is relevant.
無論是一種情緒，還是抓撓行為，或者其它什麼相關的。
Does their behaviour indicate to us how we should behave?
他們的行為是否表明我們應該如何行事？
Right, before we review the vocabulary, let’s have the answer to our quiz.
好的，在我們複習詞彙之前，讓我們先來揭曉今天測驗問題的答案。
Why do we yawn?
我們為什麼打哈欠？
Is it: A: To take in more oxygen, B: To get rid of carbon dioxide from our body or C: No one really knows?
是A：吸入更多氧氣，B：排出體內二氧化碳，還是C：沒人知道？
Rob, what did you say?
羅伯，你說什麼？
Well, I was pretty sure it’s A - to take in more oxygen.
好的，我很確定是A選項——吸收更多氧氣。
There is, in fact, no clear biological reason for yawning that is agreed upon.
事實上，打哈欠沒有公認的明確生物學原因。
So no one really knows.
所以沒人真正知道。
We』ve been talking about yawning.
我們一直在談論打哈欠。
The action of opening our mouths wide open and stretching our eardrums when tired or bored.
當我們感到疲倦或無聊時，張大嘴巴並拉伸耳膜的動作。
Yawning can also be contagious.
打哈欠也會傳染。
This means it can pass from one person to another.
這是說它可以從一個人傳染給另一個人。
And a yawn can be described as a behaviour
打哈欠可以被描述為一種行為
– a particular kind of automatic action in response to a particular situation.
——一種特殊情況下的自動反應。
The word cognitive is related to our mental processes - the way our minds work.
「認知的」這個詞和我們的心理過程有關，也就是我們大腦工作的方式。
If you identify with a particular group,
如果你認同一個特定的群體，
you feel close to that group and feel that you belong in that group.
你會覺得和那個群體很親近，覺得自己屬於那個群體。
And finally, to exhibit a behaviour is to actually do that particular behaviour.
最後，表現出一種行為就是實際上做出那種特定行為。
And before we all start yawning, it’s time for us to go.
在我們開始打哈欠之前，是時候結束本期節目了。
Do join us again soon and you can always find us online, on social media and on the BBC Learning English app.
歡迎你的下次參與，你可以在網上、社交媒體和BBC教學英語應用程式上找到我們。
Bye for now.
再見了。
Byebye!
拜拜！
英文、圖片來源：BBC Learning English