英语文化随身带

by Cathy Manson

Learning a second language can boost[增强] brain power， scientists believe.

US researchers from Northwestern University say bilingualism is a form of brain training—a mental “work out” that fine-tunes[微调] the mind.

Speaking two languages affects the brain and changes how the nervous system reacts to sound， lab tests revealed.

Experts say the work， put forward for peer-review[同级评估] in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences， provides “biological[生物学的]”evidence of this.

In an attempt[努力，尝试] to prove the hypothesis that speaking two languages is good for ones mind， the team monitored how the brains of 48 healthy student volunteers reacted[起反应] to different sounds. Twenty-three of these volunteers were bilingual.

The scientists used scalp[头皮] electrodes to trace[描绘] the pattern of brainwaves under quiet， laboratory conditions， the bilingual students responded[作出反应] in a similar way to the English-only-speaking students， who formed the control group.

But the bilingual group was far superior[比……高的] at processing sounds even when there were a lot of people talking in the room. They were better able to tune in to the important information—the speakers voice—and block out other distracting[分散注意力的] noises.

Professor Nina Kraus， who led the research， said， “The bilinguals enhanced[提高] experience with sound results in an auditory system that is highly efficient， flexible and focused in its automatic[自动的] sound processing， especially in challenging or novel[异常的] listening conditions.”

Co-author Viorica Marian said， “People do crossword[纵横字谜] puzzles and other activities to keep their minds sharp. But the advantages weve discovered in dual [二重的] language speakers come automatically[自动地]， simply from knowing and using two languages.”

Musicians appear to gain a similar benefit when rehearsing[排练]， say the researchers. According to some theories， being bilingual might help ward off dementia[（医）痴呆症].

科学家们认为：学习第二语言能够提高脑力。

来自（美国）西北大学的美国研究者们表示，通晓两种语言的能力是一种锻炼大脑的方式——一种能够微调心智的精神“锻炼”。

试验室测验显示说两种语言会影响大脑并改变神经系统对声音的反应。

专家表示，此次研究结果“从生物学的”角度，为证实科学家此前的设想提供了证据。结果在《美国科学院院报》上发表，供同行进行评估。

为了证明双语能力有利于个人心智的假设，小组对48位健康的学生志愿者进行监测，检测他们的大脑对不同声音的反应，其中有23位志愿者是能说两种语言的。

科学家们利用头皮电极来记录脑电波图形。在安静的实验室环境下，双语组的学生的反应与对照组的只能说英语的学生的反应相似。

但是双语组学生的声音处理能力则优胜得多，即使是在房间里有很多人谈话的情况下。他们能够更好地收听到重要的信息——说话者的声音——并排斥其他干扰的噪音。

主导这次研究的尼娜·克劳斯教授说：“双语者具有更强的声音经验，导致他们的听觉系统高效、灵活，并在声音自动处理上集中力强，特别是在具有挑战性和不同寻常的收听环境下。”

论文作者之一维奥利卡·玛丽安说：“有些人通过做纵横字谜游戏及其他活动来维持大脑的灵敏度。但我们发现在双语者身上这种优势是自然形成的，仅仅懂得和使用两门语言就行了。”

研究者们说，音乐家们似乎在练习的时候也能获得同样的益处。根据一些理论，说两种语言的能力很可能有助于防治痴呆症。

Quiz小测验

阅读短文并回答问题。

1. If you are bilingual， how many languages can you speak fluently[流利地]？

2. What two groups of volunteers took part in the experiment？

3. How were the volunteers in the bilingual group better at processing sounds？

4. True， false or not given： Bilingual students are better at solving crossword puzzles.

5. Look at the article. Can you find the expression used when referring to preventing something from happening？