英语文化随身带

by Cathy Manson

In English the colour green is associated with jealousy， which is sometimes jokingly[开玩笑地] called “the green-eyed monster.” But its no joke when jealousy takes over your life. Researchers are only starting to understand how jealousy can go wrong[发生错误] in the human brain.

Mild[轻微的，适度的] jealousy is a normal， healthy emotion； its part of what makes us tick. Who hasnt experienced sibling rivalry or felt left out when their partner spends time with other people？ Feeling jealous helps us value our loved ones and protect our important relationships[关系，感情].

But for a small number of us， extreme[极度的] jealousy can lead to[导致] obsessive behaviour like stalking. It can also cause depression， destroy relationships and even kill—morbidly jealous people can become violent or suicidal.

Now researchers in Italy believe theyve found the area of the brain responsible for obsessive jealousy， which is called Othellos注 syndrome[（医）病征]， named after the Shakespeare character who kills his wife because of jealousy.

The ventromedial prefrontal cortex[大脑正中前额叶皮质] is just above the forehead. This is the part of the brain which processes emotions， including thinking about those we love. But crucially[至关重要地]， we use this part of the brain to predict scenarios of losing our loved ones， and thinking about how we would feel if that happened.

Obsessively jealous people spend too much time dwelling on these scenarios. For them， losing their relationship starts to seem like the end of the world. Worryingly[焦虑得，烦恼地]， the researchers believe that， in some people， this process may become a habit， and jealousy becomes hardwired in the brain.

They want to investigate[研究，试验] medicines which could help treat people suffering from this devastating condition.

在英语里绿色和嫉妒有关，有时会被人戏谑地称为“绿眼怪物”。但当嫉妒掌控了你的生活时，可就不是开玩笑了。研究人员刚刚开始获悉嫉妒是如何在人类大脑中发生错误的。

轻微的嫉妒是一种正常、健康的情感，是影响我们性格行为的因素之一。谁没经历过兄弟姐妹间的竞争或是因伴侣和他人在一起而感觉被冷落呢？感到嫉妒有助我们珍惜所爱，并保护我们的重要关系。

但对于少数人来说，极端的嫉妒将导致强迫行为，比如跟踪骚扰。它还会引发抑郁症，摧毁感情甚至于杀害——病态地嫉妒他人的人可能会变得凶残或自暴自弃。

如今，意大利研究人员认为他们已经找到大脑中负责强迫嫉妒的区域——这种嫉妒被称作奥赛罗综合征，以莎士比亚笔下因嫉妒而杀害妻子的角色命名。

大脑正中前额叶皮质就在额头上方，这是大脑中处理情感的部分，包括想念那些我们所爱之人。但关键是，我们运用大脑中的这一部分来预测失去所爱的情景，并思考如若发生这样的事，我们将作何感受。

强迫性嫉妒的人花费了太多时间不停地想着这些情景。对他们来说，失去感情似乎就像世界末日。研究人员认为令人担忧的是，在一些人身上这种过程可能会变成习惯，而嫉妒则在大脑中扎根。

他们希望研究出药物，帮助治疗患上这种可怕病症的人。

注：《奥赛罗》，莎士比亚的四大悲剧之一，另外三部分别为《哈姆雷特》、《麦克白》、《李尔王》。

Quiz小测验

Exercise：

1. When Im with my friends， they talk about work together. I feel left _______.

A. in B. out C. up D. down

2. Her ex[（俚）前任的配偶] phoned her constantly[经常地，不断地] and followed her. The _______ made her very scared.

A. sticking B. staking C. stoking D. stalking

3. I know I should try to stop _______ on it， but I just cant stop thinking about him.

A. dwelling B. living C. sitting D. staying

4. On the course， we think of things which might go wrong， and plan for those _______.

A. scanarios B. scenarios C. scenerios D. scenorios

5. Come on， cheer up. Its not the end of the _______！

A. world B. globe C. planet D. earth