手機版
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Are Our Sexual Brains From the Stone Age?
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顯微鏡之下的性
我們的“性腦”來自于石器時代？
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Men aren't the only ones with cheating hearts, and scientists do not believe that there is any such thing as a battle of the sexes either, according to a new book that takes a scientific look at sex.
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花心不是男人所特有的，科學家也不信性別之戰之類的事情，這是最近出版的一本新書的說法，該書從科學的角度詮釋了性。
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In her new book, Sex: A Natural History, science reporter Joann Rodgers debunks some previous sexual theories, as she explores the biology and psychology of what drives our sexual behavior, from why we find Hollywood star Brad Pitt attractive, to why we sometimes cheat on our mates.
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科學記者Joann Rodgers在她的新書—《性：一部自然史》中指出，以前一些性理論的欺騙性。她在書中挖掘了我們性行為沖動的生物學和心理學基礎，由此我們可以解釋好萊塢明星Brad Pitt為何如此迷人，我們有時為什么會欺騙自己的配偶。
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The findings: Sex is a lot more scientific than you might think. Though often influenced by culture, Rodgers found that human sexual behavior, including flirting and courtship, is also determined by biology — and certain rituals are the same now as they were in the era of cavemen.
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這些發現表明，性比你想象地更具有科學性。Rodgers發現，盡管常常受到文化的影響，包括調情和求婚在內的人類性行為還是由生物學決定的，現在的某些儀式甚至與洞穴人時期相同。
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"A lot of sexual behavior — including what we're attracted to — is hardwired into our brains," Rodgers said. "A lot of it is conditioned by the way evolution formed our brains. Basically, our sexual brains are from the stone age."
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Rodgers說：“我們的大腦已經定格了許多性行為，包括我們為何被吸引。許多性行為是人腦在進化過程中適時形成的。從根本上看，我們的‘性腦’來自于石器時代。” |
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The Mating Dance
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求偶舞蹈
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| Culture also plays a role, which leads to variation in sexual behavior among various people and varying ideals of beauty. But there are basic similarities that remain the same. | 文化對性行為也發揮一定作用，它使不同的人有不同的性行為和對美有不同的見解，但是，其基本相似點仍然沒有改變。 |
| "Certain kinds of behavior are so universal that they appear to be biologically programmed," Rodgers said. "There is a mating dance." | Rodgers說："某些行為是如此普遍，就好像它們已經編成了生物學程序，如求偶舞蹈。" |
| When scientists studied flirting couples at a hotel bar, they saw some of the same things again and again - gestures that are part of our "brain chemistry," Rodgers said. | Rodgers說，科學家在一家賓館酒吧中研究調情者時發現，相同的一幕反復上演，姿勢成了我們"腦化學"的一部分。 |
| A couple that was "connecting" would look into each other's eyes. When they sat down together, the man would lean forward, thrusting out his chest, while the woman would start twirling her hair. | "來電"的雙方凝視著對方的眼睛。當他們比肩而坐時，男士可能會向前傾，挺直胸膛，而女士則開始捻弄她們的頭發。 |
| "The man makes the first touch, say pretending to brush something off the woman's blouse," Rogers said. The hands would eventually touch each other, and eventually, the couple heads off to one of the rooms, researchers found. | Rodgers說："男士以拂去女士外套上的什么東西為借口，首先觸摸女士。"研究人員發現，最終，兩人開始手拉手，最后走進了其中一人的房間。 |
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No Battle of the Sexes
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沒有性別之戰
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| Rodgers also concluded that there isn't really a "battle of the sexes" and that the "Men are from Mars, Women Are From Venus" theory is a misleading one, Rodgers said. | Rodgers還總結說，沒有真正意義上的"性別之戰"，"男人來自戰神，女人來自愛神"的理論也是錯誤的。 |
| "Battles always have a winner and a loser," Rodgers said. "But in the so-called battle of the sexes both sides have to win or else everyone loses … Scientists will tell you there is no battle." | Rodgers說："戰爭總是有輸贏，而在所謂性別之戰中只有雙贏或者全輸，科學家會告訴你，男女之間沒有戰爭。" |
| The ultimate goal of sexual relationships is cooperation and reproduction, despite the different strategies and behaviors employed by each of the sexes to reach it, Rodgers said. A woman for example might "play hard to get," a courtship ritual that her ancestors used, too. | Rodgers說，盡管男女雙方會用不同的戰略和行為達到性活動，但性關系的最終目的是合作和生殖。例如，女人可能會"盡力去得到"。這也是她祖先曾經歷的求婚儀式。 |
| "These are behaviors that have evolved over millions of years, as the ways males and females size each other up," she said. "Men and women aren't different species. Ultimately, the male and female get together and have children - and that's a win-win situation." | "這些儀式作為男女雙方結合的方式，已經進化了數百萬年，"她說。"男人與女人不是不同的種類，男人和女人最終要在一起繁殖后代，這就是一個雙贏的結果。" |
| Many people believe that infidelity is more of a male trait - something that is part of their makeup, based on the theory that men have needed to spread their sperm, far and wide in the name of evolution. But that doesn't explain why women cheat too, or whom the men are cheating with, Rodgers said. "Until the advent of paternity testing, men just didn't have a reliable way of finding out," she said. "Women are probably more like men in this respect than we'd like to think." | 許多人認為，對婚姻的不忠大多屬于男人的品質，是男人固有的一部分，其理論是從進化的角度看，男人必需把自己的精子傳播地更遠和更廣。Rodgers說，但這不能解釋當男人騙女人時，女人為什么也會騙男人。"在做父親之前，男人都是動搖不定的，"她說。"在這一點上，女人與男人的相似之處可能超出了我們的想象。" |
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Why Women Love Brad Pitt
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為什么女人喜歡Brad Pitt
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| Among cultures there are different preferences in terms of what is attractive. In the West, there is a lot of emphasis on female breasts, while in Oriental cultures, for instance, there is more of a preoccupation with a woman's neck. Some cultures prefer heavier women. | 在各種文化中，對魅力有不同的偏愛。在西方，人們更看重女性的乳房，而在東方文化中，女人的頸部則更迷人。有些文化認為胖女人才美。 |
| But the kinds of body types we are attracted to is also linked to another part of our anatomy - our stomachs. | 但是吸引我們的某種體型聯系到人體的解剖學的另一部分，這就是胃。 |
| If Arnold Schwarzenegger walked onto a stone age plateau looking as buff as he did when he starred as Conan the Barbarian, women would think "he'll take a whole lot more to feed" than the other men, Rodgers said. | Rodgers說，如果Arnold Schwarzenegger走進石器時代，就像他在主演"野蠻人柯南"中赤裸身體，女人們可能會認為，他應該比其他男人"多吃一點"。 |
| "Our sexual brains evolved at a time when there wasn't that much to eat," Rodgers said. "Arnold probably would have had a hard time finding a mate. People are programmed to be suspicious of extremes - extreme fatness, thinness, or muscularity." | "我們的'性腦'是饑餓時代進化的，"Rodgers說。"Arnold可能難覓配偶，人的本性對極端抱有懷疑，如過分肥胖，過分消瘦或者肌肉暴突。" |
| Studies show that even now, most women are not particularly attracted to body builder types. But a moderately muscular guy like actor Brad Pitt, who is also blessed with symmetrical features, is a hit with the ladies. Elizabeth Taylor, Denzel Washington and ancient Egypt's Nefertiti are universally recognized as being full of sex appeal, for the same reason, Rodgers said. | 有研究表明，甚至到今天，許多女人還不是特別喜歡練健美者的體型。但是像男演員Brad Pitt這樣的肌肉適度和身材勻稱的男人卻使女人傾倒。Rodgers說，出于同樣的理由，Elizabeth Taylor, D Denzel Washington和古埃及的Nefertiti被認為性感十足。 |
| "The first thing we look for is symmetry. Symmetry is a sign of health," Rodgers said. A new study released last week, which found that asymmetrical people are more jealous than others, fits into the theory. Asymmetrical people are less attractive, and therefore more fearful of losing their mates. | Rodgers說："勻稱是最迷人的，因為勻稱是健康的標志。"上周一項新研究表明，身材不勻稱者的嫉妒心較強，這結果符合上述理論。因為不勻稱者的吸引力較小，所以他們更害怕失去自己的配偶。 |
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Sex and Death
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性和死亡
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| Sex plays a role in our lives until the day we die - and in fact, sex and death are intimately connected, Rodgers found. | Rodgers說，在人的一生，性都發揮作用，直到死亡。事實上，性和死亡密切相聯。 |
| "Scientists say that sex and death are intimately related. Bacteria, for example, never die," she said. "They just keep on reproducing - splitting - forever." | 她說："科學家說，性和死亡是密切相聯的。例如，細菌從來不死，它們只是不斷繁殖和分裂，周而復始。" |
| Humans are more complex organisms, and when we evolved and started exchanging genetic material, things got more complicated. With bacteria, its whole makeup - just one cell - is devoted to reproduction, and that's all it does. | 人類是復合生物，當我們進化時，開始交換遺傳物質，使人類變得更加復雜。而細菌的整個組成就是一個細胞，要做的所有事情就是繁殖。 |
| But with humans, only our sex cells are involved in reproduction, and the rest of our cells, including those that make up our skins and organs, cannot reproduce indefinitely. Sex - or the lack thereof - leads to our demise. | 但是，在人類，只有性細胞與生殖有關，我們的其它細胞如組成皮膚和器官的細胞不能無限繁殖。性或性的缺乏導致了人的死亡。 |
| "Our other cells can only divide a certain number of times, and then they die, which is why we die," Rodgers said. |
Rodgers說："我們的一些細胞僅能分裂一定數目的倍數，然后它們就死亡了，這就是為什么我們會死。"
《早安，美國》
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