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This
is a download from BBC Learning English. To find out more, visit our
website 6 Minute English from the BBC Learning English. com.
本文来自BBC Learning English。如需获得更多内容请访问我们的网站BBC Learning English. com。
Alice: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Alice…
大家好，欢迎收听英语六分钟，我是爱丽丝。
Nei: And I'm Neil. And I feel terrible!
我是尼尔。我感觉很不好！
Alice: You look terrible, Neil – if you don't mind me saying so!
你看起来很不好，如果你不介意我这么说的话。
Nei: It's because I had to get up really early this morning.
那是因为今天早上我不得不起的很早。
Alice: Oh dear! What time did you have to get up?
天啊！你几点起的床？
Nei: Eight o'clock.
八点。
Alice: Oh, Neil! That isn't early! I get up at six every day. It's so peaceful early in the morning.
尼尔！这一点也不早！我每天六点起床。那时候的早晨非常安静。
Nei: Hmm. Well, some people are morning people and others… aren't!
有些人习惯早起，而有些人并不习惯！
Alice:
Yes. Well, today we're talking about the biological reason for this –
it's all about circadian rhythms. They are produced by a so-called body
clock in our brains that regulates our body functions: our body
temperature, sleepiness and alertness, hunger, and hormone levels.
Plants, animals, and many microbes have circadian rhythms.
是的，今天我们要讨论的是早起的生理原因——这和昼夜节律有关。昼夜节律是由大脑中所谓的生物钟产生的，控制着我们的躯体功能：如我们的体温、睡眠、警觉、饥饿和荷尔蒙水平。植物、动物和许多微生物也都有昼夜节律。
Nei: You know a lot about circadian rhythms.
你知道这么多和昼夜节律相关的知识啊。
Alice:
And I'll ask you a question related to them. What does the word
circadian mean? Is it…a) around a day? b) every day? or c) twice a day?
我要问你的问题就和昼夜节律有关。circadian这个单词是什么意思？a) 大概一天？b) 每天？还是 c) 一天两次？
Nei: Hmm. I'm going to say a) around a day.
我选a) 大概一天。
Alice:
Well, we'll find out whether you got the answer right or not later on
in the show. Now let's talk about circadian rhythms and our internal
clock.
稍后，我们再看你的回答是否正确。现在我们继续聊聊昼夜节律和我们的生物钟。
Nei: Why do our bodies need an internal clock to tell us where we are in the day? Isn't it obvious?
为什么我们的身体需要生物钟来告诉我们当下的时间？这不是很明显的事吗？
Alice:
No, it isn't – take jet lag, for example. We rely on the predictable
cycle of light or dark in a 24-hour period to synchronise – or adjust –
our body clocks to the environment – and if we mess about with the light
and dark cycle by flying into a new time zone, it makes us feel really
bad!
不，不明显。以时差为例。我们依靠白天与黑夜在24小内的循环周期来同步或调整我们的生物钟以适应周围环境——如果我们飞到另一个时区，那么我们就会搞混白天与黑夜的循环周期，这会让我们感觉非常糟糕！
Nei:
Good point – jet lag is the disruption of our circadian rhythms caused
by high-speed travel across different time zones, which can cause
tiredness and sleep problems. But Alice, if we rely on day turning to
night to adjust our body clocks, what happens to blind people? – Because
I assume their body clocks can't do this.
没错，时差是由跨不同时区的高速飞行造成的昼夜节律紊乱，这会导致疲惫和睡眠问题。但是爱丽丝，如果我们依靠白天与夜晚的交替来调整生物钟，那盲人该怎么办呢？因为我觉得他们的生物钟可做不到这样。
Alice:
Blind people who have some light perception are able to synchronise
their circadian rhythms to the light-dark cycle. But those who have no
light perception at all…well, let's listen now to Debra Skene, Professor
of Neuroendocrinology at the University of Surrey. She can explain what
happens.
一些具有光感的盲人可以依据昼夜循环来同步他们的昼夜节律。但有些盲人一点光感也没有。我们来听听萨里大学神经内分泌学教授黛布拉·斯科纳的看法。她会解释没有光感的盲人如何调整生物钟。
Totally
blind people – they've lost that connection between the light-dark
circle and the clock. So there isn't anything wrong with the clock but
the clock ticks and oscillates at its own endogenous period just the
same as if I were to put you in a dark cave. Your biological internal
clock would oscillate at your endogenous circadian period.
全盲的人——他们无法把昼夜循环与生物钟联系起来，所以生物钟没有什么问题，生物钟会依旧以内在的周期运作，就和把你放在黑暗的山洞里一样。你的生物钟还会以内在的生理周期运作。
Nei:
So if you're totally blind – or able to see but living in a dark cave –
you have a ticking clock but with no connection to the outside world.
The clock oscillates at its own endogenous, or internal, period.
如果你全盲——或者可以看到，但身处黑暗的山洞里，你内在的生物钟依旧在运作，但和外面的世界没有了联系。生物钟以自己的内在周期运作。
Alice: Oscillate means to move back and forth in a regular rhythm – like the pendulum on a clock.
Oscillate是指以有规律的节奏来回运动，就像钟表上的钟摆。
Nei: Do you think my endogenous clock ticks faster than yours, Alice?
你觉得我的生物钟比你的走得快吗？
Alice:
It isn't a competition, Neil. And actually, mine probably ticks faster
than yours since I'm a morning person. Anyway, the normal range in
humans is between 23. 8 to 24. 8 hours. And this is also true for
totally blind people.
这不是在比赛，尼尔。事实上，我的生物钟可能比你的快，因为我是个习惯早起的人。总之，人类生物钟的正常范围是23. 8小时到24. 8小时。对全盲的人来说也是如此。
Nei:
But their clocks are free-running – they don't get cues from the
outside environment telling them when to wake up, when to eat, when to
feel sleepy. So that means they might feel sleepy at the wrong time of
day – for example, when they're at work. Or alert in the middle of the
night when they should be asleep.
但是他们的生物钟是自由运转的，他们无法通过外界来判断何时起床、何时吃饭、何时困乏。所以这意味着他们有可能会在错误的时间产生困意，例如在工作的时候。或者在午夜应该睡觉的时候，他们却特别机警。
Alice: It's worth talking about people who do shift work– which means work that takes place outside the traditional 9 to 5 day.
我们应该谈一谈那些轮班工作者，也就是那些工作时间并非传统的朝九晚五的人。
Nei:
Shift workers may suffer similar problems to blind people because they
are trying to sleep against the clock. They might sleep in the day and
work at night for example – which goes against the light-dark pattern.
轮班工作者可能会遇到类似盲人的问题，因为他们的睡眠时间和生物钟相冲突。例如，他们也许要在白天睡觉，晚上工作，这和昼夜循环相冲突。
Alice: There are some long-term health problems associated with shift work – certain cancers, heart disease, and obesity.
有一些长期的健康问题就和轮班工作相关，如某些癌症、心脏病及肥胖症。
Nei: So what can people do to help adapt their circadian rhythms to a night shift schedule?
所以人们应该怎样做来使昼夜节律适应夜班的节奏？
Alice: Well, let's hear what Professor Debra Skene has to say about it.
我们来听听黛布拉·斯科纳教授的看法。
We
do think that exercise and food, caffeine, may be able to modulate in
some way, so has some influence on circadian timing, but not as strongly
as the light-dark cycle.
我们认为锻炼、食物、咖啡因能起到一些调节作用，这些会对昼夜节律有一些影响，但没有昼夜循环的影响强烈？
Nei: So the strongest influence over our circadian rhythm is the light-dark cycle. We can't alter night and day, after all!
所以对我们昼夜节律影响最大的是昼夜循环。毕竟我们不能改变昼夜的循环。
Alice:
Debra Skene says that other cues such as food and exercise will
modulate – or adjust – the body clock. So eating three well-balanced
meals at regular times each day can help your body clock adapt to an
unusual schedule.
黛布拉说像食物、锻炼等其他事物可以帮助我们调整生物钟。所以每天有规律地吃营养均衡的三餐，可以帮助你的生物钟适应不寻常的作息规律。
Nei:
Taking naps – or short sleeps – just before you start a night shift can
help you feel more alert. And keeping to the same sleep schedule every
day will also help.
在上夜班前，短暂的睡上一觉也可以让你更精神。每天保持相同的睡眠规律也可以起到帮助作用。
Alice:
And don't forget caffeine – my old friend! A cup of coffee works
wonders for me in the morning. Now remember I asked: What does circadian
mean? Is it… a) around a day, b) every day or c) twice a day?
不要忘了咖啡因——我的老朋友了！早上喝一杯咖啡会让我感觉非常好。现在还记得我的问题吗？Circadian是什么意思？ a) 大概一天， b) 每天，还是 c)一天两次？
Nei: And I said around a day.
我选的是大概一天。
Alice:
And you were… right! Well done, Neil. The term circadian comes from the
Latin circa, meaning around (or approximately), and diem, meaning day.
Now, let's hear the words we learned today.
你回答对啦！做得好，尼尔！circadian一词来源于拉丁文circa和diem，前者的意思是大概，后者是指一天。现在我们来听听今天学到的单词。
Nei: They are:
分别有：
circadian rhythms
昼夜节律
synchronise
使同步
jet lag
时差
oscillate
摆动
endogenous
内生的
shift work
倒班
modulate
调整
naps
小憩
Alice: That's the end of today's 6 Minute English. Don't forget to join us again soon!
今天的英语六分钟就到这里了。欢迎继续收听我们下一期的BBC六分钟。
Both: Bye!
再见！
6 Minute English from the BBC.
BBC英语六分钟。
