要不要告诉孩子，圣诞老人根本不存在

圣诞快乐。

今天你练听力了吗？

🤔️小作业：

1. What inference can be drawn about the brain's attitude toward memorable experiences, whether positive or negative?

A. The brain quickly discards both pleasant and traumatic events.

B. Emotional experiences have minimal impact on long-term neural responses.

C. Once the brain classifies an experience as significant, it resists “forgetting” those emotional imprints.

D. Only negative events remain strongly embedded, while positive ones fade easily.

无注释原文：

Santa on the Brain

From: The New York Times

Although children are born with a full set of 86 billion brain cells, or neurons, the connections between these neurons are relatively sparse during these early years. As their brains develop — as more and more micro-thread extensions form between neurons, and neurochemicals zap across the tiny gaps — children slowly learn about the rules of the physical world, and the distinctions between fiction and nonfiction. Eventually, they learn that reindeer can't fly, that Santa can't visit every child's home in one single night and, even if he could make such a trip, there's no way he could eat all those cookies. Magical beliefs are pruned away as mature neural circuits reflecting real-world contingencies become solidified.

Luckily, however, we don't completely lose those old ways of thinking, because the brain appears to retain a mechanism for neural time travel. By this, I don't simply mean that adults have warm memories of having believed in Santa Claus. Pascal Boyer, a professor of memory at Washington University in St. Louis, differentiates between what he refers to as episodic memories — the first time we sat on Santa's knee or the year a blizzard knocked out the electricity — and mental time travel memories, or M.T.T. These come closer to re-experiencing a remembered event. Professor Boyer describes how neuroimaging evidence indicates that, when certain events are recalled — presumably after being triggered by familiar sights, smells or sounds — emotional brain areas are activated as well as visceral responses. You relive the feelings you experienced in the past. These recollections can be thought of as full body and brain memories.

This can be traumatic, as it is likely to be for people who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Or it can be more mundane. Imagine that someone had a chili dog before riding a roller coaster and then got sick. For years, he may be overcome by nausea whenever he encounters a chili dog — even if he knows perfectly well it was the motion of the ride that made him ill. When the brain considers something to be important, it is difficult to extinguish its responses to conditioned memories. Thankfully, it can happen for happy memories as well.

This notion of mental time travel tells me it was right to try to keep Santa alive for my daughters. For every year I layered another set of Christmas memories into their brains, the easier it would be for them to relive those feelings.

From my own childhood, all those years of reciting “ 'Twas the Night Before Christmas,” smelling fir trees, and going to bed with all the anticipation of a cocaine addict about to get the biggest hit of her life have become a part of my brain's permanent holiday infrastructure.

(Incidentally, neuroscience confirms another bit of Christmas wisdom: that the anticipation of the holiday can be as exhilarating as receiving the actual gifts. Rodent research suggests that addicted rats experience pleasure, neurologically speaking, when they anticipate receiving cocaine, even if they don't actually consume it.)

- ◆ -

注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为纽约时报官方译文，仅供参考

含注释全文：

Santa on the Brain

From: The New York Times

Although children are born with a full set of 86 billion brain cells, or neurons, the connections between these neurons are relatively sparse during these early years. As their brains develop — as more and more micro-thread extensions form between neurons, and neurochemicals zap across the tiny gaps — children slowly learn about the rules of the physical world, and the distinctions between fiction and nonfiction. Eventually, they learn that reindeer can't fly, that Santa can't visit every child's home in one single night and, even if he could make such a trip, there's no way he could eat all those cookies. Magical beliefs are pruned away as mature neural circuits reflecting real-world contingencies become solidified.

尽管儿童生来就有完整的860亿个脑细胞或神经元，但在幼年时期，这些神经元之间的联系相对稀疏。随着大脑的发育——神经元之间形成了越来越多的延伸，在微小的沟回里出现了神经化学物质——孩子们慢慢学到了客观世界的法则，了解了虚构和非虚构的区别。最终，他们知道了驯鹿不会飞，圣诞老人也不会在一天晚上来到每个小朋友家，即使他真的来了，也不可能吃掉所有饼干。随着反映真实世界的成熟的神经回路变得强大起来，相信幻想的感觉就会慢慢消失。

neuron /ˈnjʊə.rɒn/ 表示“神经元，神经细胞”，英文解释为“a nerve cell that carries information between the brain and other parts of the body”

sparse /spɑːs/ 表示“稀少的；稀疏的，零落的”，英文解释为“small in numbers or amount, often spread over a large area”如：a sparse population/audience 稀少的人口/观众，sparse vegetation/woodland 稀疏的植被／林地，a sparse beard 稀稀拉拉的胡子。

micro /ˈmaɪ.krəʊ/ 表示“小的，微小的”，英文解释为“very small”如：a microorganism 微生物。

thread /θred/ 1）作名词，表示“（互联网上的）帖子，话题”，英文解释为“a connected group of pieces of writing on the internet, where people are talking about a particular subject”举个🌰：I was so glad to find this thread, and to know that lots of people have the same problem as me! 我很高兴看到这张帖子，发现很多人也有我同样的问题！

2）表示“线”，英文解释为“(a length of) a very thin fibre”如：needle and thread 针线；或者表示“（光、烟等）线状物，线状体”，英文解释为“a long, thin line of something such as light or smoke”举个🌰：A thin thread of light made its way through the curtains. 一缕光线透过帘子照进来。

3）作动词，表示“穿线于；使穿过”，英文解释为“to put something long and thin such as string or thread through a narrow hole or into a small space”如：to thread a needle 穿针；

4）表示“穿成串；串在一起”，英文解释为“to join two or more objects together by passing sth long and thin through them”如：to thread beads (onto a string) （在绳子上）把珠子串起来。

zap /zæp/ 表示“迅速去（某处）；快速做”，英文解释为“to go somewhere or do something quickly”举个🌰：Have I got time to zap into town and do some shopping? 我有时间赶到市区去买些东西吗？

reindeer /ˈreɪn.dɪər/ 表示“驯鹿”，英文解释为“a type of deer that lives in the northern parts of Europe, Asia, and North America”举个🌰：Santa Claus travels in a sleigh pulled by reindeer. 圣诞老人乘坐驯鹿拉的雪橇出行。

cookie /ˈkʊk.i/ 表示“小甜饼，曲奇饼”，英文解释为“a small, flat, sweet food made from flour and sugar”如：chocolate-chip cookies 巧克力甜饼。

prune /pruːn/ 1）表示“修剪（树枝）”，英文解释为“to cut off branches from a tree, bush, or plant, especially so that it will grow better in the future”举个🌰：She spent the afternoon pruning roses. 她用下午的时间修剪了玫瑰。

2）表示“删除，删节”，英文解释为“to reduce something by removing things that are not necessary”举个🌰：I felt his essay needed a little pruning. 我认为他的文章需要稍作删节。

circuit /ˈsɜː.kɪt/ 1）表示“巡回；巡游；巡回之地”，英文解释为“a regular pattern of visits or the places visited”举个🌰：They first met each other on the tennis circuit (= while at different tennis competitions). 他们在网球巡回赛上首次交锋。

2）表示“环行物；（尤指）环形道路（或路线、赛道）”，英文解释为“something shaped approximately like a circle, especially a route, path, or sports track that starts and ends in the same place”举个🌰：They test the car tyres on a motor racing circuit. 他们在环形赛车道上测试轮胎。

3）表示“（电流的）电路；（液体的）回路”，英文解释为“a closed system of wires or pipes through which electricity or liquid can flow”举个🌰：A defect was found in the water-cooling/electrical circuit. 在水冷回路/电路中发现了一点毛病。

contingency /kənˈtɪn.dʒən.si/ 表示“可能发生的事；意外事件，不测事件”，英文解释为“something that might possibly happen in the future, usually causing problems or making further arrangements necessary”举个🌰：You must be able to deal with all possible contingencies. 你必须能应付一切可能发生的意外事件。

solidify /səˈlɪd.ɪ.faɪ/ 表示“（使）充实；（使）巩固；（使）稳固”，英文解释为“to become or make something become certain”举个🌰：Support for the policy is solidifying. 对这项政策的支持日益巩固。

Luckily, however, we don't completely lose those old ways of thinking, because the brain appears to retain a mechanism for neural time travel. By this, I don't simply mean that adults have warm memories of having believed in Santa Claus. Pascal Boyer, a professor of memory at Washington University in St. Louis, differentiates between what he refers to as episodic memories — the first time we sat on Santa's knee or the year a blizzard knocked out the electricity — and mental time travel memories, or M.T.T. These come closer to re-experiencing a remembered event. Professor Boyer describes how neuroimaging evidence indicates that, when certain events are recalled — presumably after being triggered by familiar sights, smells or sounds — emotional brain areas are activated as well as visceral responses. You relive the feelings you experienced in the past. These recollections can be thought of as full body and brain memories.

不过，幸运的是，我们不会彻底失去原先的这些思维方式，因为大脑似乎拥有一种神经时间旅行的机制。我所说的神经时间旅行机制并不单指在成年之后拥有曾经相信过圣诞老人的温暖记忆。圣路易斯华盛顿大学(Washington University in St. Louis)研究记忆的教授帕斯卡尔·博耶尔(Pascal Boyer)指出，所谓的情节记忆(episodic memories)与心理时间之旅(MTT)记忆不同——前者包括第一次坐在圣诞老人的膝盖上，或者某一年暴风雪导致停电的情景；后者更接近于重新经历记忆中的某个事件。博耶尔教授说，神经成像方面的证据显示，当特定事件被回忆起来的时候，大脑的情感区域，以及本能的反应都会被激活——比如看到熟悉的情景、闻到熟悉的味道、听到熟悉的声音，触发起过去的回忆时。这样，你就会重新经历过去体验过的感觉，可以认为这种回忆既包括整个身体的记忆，也包括大脑的记忆。

retain /rɪˈteɪn/ 表示“保持；保留；保有”，英文解释为“to keep or continue to have something”举个🌰：She has lost her battle to retain control of the company. 她被打败了，失去了继续掌管公司的权力。

episodic /ˌep.ɪˈsɒd.ɪk/ 1）表示“偶尔发生的；不定期的”，英文解释为“happening only sometimes and not regularly”举个🌰：The war between these two countries has been long-drawn-out and episodic. 这两个国家之间时断时续的战争持续了好多年。

2）表示“（尤指电视或广播节目）有许多片段的”，英文解释为“Episodic stories are divided into several parts, especially when they are broadcast on the television or radio.”如：an episodic drama series 一部（分集的）连续剧

blizzard /ˈblɪz.əd/ 表示“暴风雪；雪暴”，英文解释为“a severe snow storm with strong winds”举个🌰：We once got stuck in a blizzard for six hours. 我们曾被暴风雪困了6个小时之久。

表示“神经影像学；神经影像；神经成像”，英文解释为“producing electronic pictures of the brain and other parts of the nervous system”

presumably /prɪˈzuː.mə.bli/ 表示“据推测，大概，可能”，英文解释为“used to say what you think is the likely situation”举个🌰：They can presumably afford to buy a bigger apartment. 他们大概买得起一套大一点的公寓。

visceral /ˈvɪs.ər.əl/ 1）表示“发自内心的；发自肺腑的”，英文解释为“based on deep feeling and emotional reactions rather than on reason or thought”举个🌰：His approach to acting is visceral rather than intellectual. 他的表演重真情实感，而不是只讲技巧。

2）表示“内脏；脏腑”，英文解释为“relating to the large organs inside the body, including the heart, stomach, lungs, and intestines”

This can be traumatic, as it is likely to be for people who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Or it can be more mundane. Imagine that someone had a chili dog before riding a roller coaster and then got sick. For years, he may be overcome by nausea whenever he encounters a chili dog — even if he knows perfectly well it was the motion of the ride that made him ill. When the brain considers something to be important, it is difficult to extinguish its responses to conditioned memories. Thankfully, it can happen for happy memories as well.

这种记忆可能会令人痛苦，比如对于那些患有创伤后应激障碍(PTSD)的人。它也可以存在于我们的日常生活。想象一下，一个人先吃了一个辣味热狗，接着去坐过山车，于是感觉恶心想吐。在之后的很多年里，可能每当他看见辣味热狗都会感到恶心——即使他清楚地知道，导致他不舒服的是过山车的运动。如果大脑认为某件事很重要，很难把条件反射式的反应抹除。谢天谢地，这也适用于快乐的记忆。

traumatic /trɔːˈmæt.ɪk/ /traʊˈmæt.ɪk/ 表示“（经历）痛苦难忘的，造成精神创伤的”，英文解释为“If an experience is traumatic, it causes you severe emotional shock and upset.”如：traumatic amnesia 创伤性遗忘，举个🌰：Some of the most disturbed children had witnessed really traumatic things. 有些心理极不正常的孩子曾经目睹过给他们造成精神创伤的事情。

mundane /ˈmʌndeɪn/ 表示“世俗的；单调的；平凡的”，英文解释为“very ordinary and therefore not interesting”举个🌰：Mundane matters such as paying bills and shopping for food do not interest her. 她对付账单、购买食品等琐事不感兴趣。

1）表示“过山车，云霄飞车”，英文解释为“A roller coaster is a small railway at an amusement park that goes up and down steep slopes fast that people ride on for pleasure or excitement.”

2）表示“（局势的）急转突变，变幻莫测；（情绪的）大起大落”，英文解释为“a situation which changes from one extreme to another, or in which a person's feelings change from one extreme to another”举个🌰：He was on an emotional roller coaster for a while when he lost his job. 他失去工作后，有段时间情绪总是大起大落。

nausea /ˈnɔːzɪə, -sɪə/ 表示“恶心，呕吐感”，英文解释为“the feeling that you have when you think you are going to vomit (= bring food up from your stomach through your mouth)”

类似的：

📍sickness表示“恶心；呕吐”，英文解释为“the feeling that you are about to bring up food from your stomach, or the act of bringing food up”

This notion of mental time travel tells me it was right to try to keep Santa alive for my daughters. For every year I layered another set of Christmas memories into their brains, the easier it would be for them to relive those feelings.

心理时间之旅的概念告诉我，努力让女儿们相信圣诞老人的存在是正确的。每年，我都让她们的大脑增加一次关于圣诞节的记忆，她们也会越来越容易地重新获得这种感受。

From my own childhood, all those years of reciting “ 'Twas the Night Before Christmas,” smelling fir trees, and going to bed with all the anticipation of a cocaine addict about to get the biggest hit of her life have become a part of my brain's permanent holiday infrastructure.

在我自己的童年，那么多年里我都会背诵着“圣诞节前夜快要到来”('Twas the Night Before Christmas)、闻着冷杉树的气味，然后满怀期待地入睡——那种期待，仿佛是可卡因成瘾者在盼望着吸到一生中最过瘾的一次。这些记忆已经成为我的大脑中关于假日的永恒记忆的一部分。

表示“背诵；朗诵；当众吟诵”，英文解释为“to say a piece of writing aloud from memory, or to publicly say a list of things”

fir /ˈfɜːr/ = fir tree 表示“冷杉，枞”，英文解释为“a tall evergreen tree (= one that never loses its leaves) that grows in cold countries and has leaves that are like needles”

cocaine /kəʊˈkeɪn/ 表示“可卡因，古柯碱”，英文解释为“a drug used in medicine to prevent pain and also used illegally, often in the form of a white powder that is breathed in through the nose”

(Incidentally, neuroscience confirms another bit of Christmas wisdom: that the anticipation of the holiday can be as exhilarating as receiving the actual gifts. Rodent research suggests that addicted rats experience pleasure, neurologically speaking, when they anticipate receiving cocaine, even if they don't actually consume it.)

（神经科学无意间还证实了圣诞节蕴含的更多智慧：对假日的期待可以像收到真正的礼物一样令人兴奋。啮齿目动物的研究显示，从神经学角度来看，吸毒成瘾的大鼠在期待得到可卡因之时，就能够感受到快感，即使它们没有真的在吸食可卡因。）

exhilarating /ɪɡˈzɪləˌreɪtɪŋ/ 表示“令人极度兴奋的；使人兴高采烈的”，英文解释为“making you feel very excited and happy”

rodent /ˈrəʊ.dənt/ 表示“啮齿动物（如老鼠等）”，英文解释为“any of various small mammals with large, sharp front teeth, such as mice and rats”

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