喝酒还能让外语说得更流利？

近日，2025年搞笑诺贝尔奖揭晓。喝酒能让外语说得更流利的研究引发热议。其实，该研究结果发表于2017年，当年就学过相关内容啦：外语不溜？喝点酒凑。

今天你练听力了吗？

🤔️小作业：

1. The phrase “liquid courage” in paragraph 2 most nearly means:

A. A beverage that provides hydration

B. Alcohol giving false confidence

C. A strategy for improving argumentation

D. Medicine that enhances motor function

无注释原文：

It's True: Alcohol Helps You Speak a Foreign Language Better

From: TIME

Those who dabble in learning a new language sometimes find that alcohol — in moderation — helps them speak more fluently. In a way, that makes sense: It's been shown that a beer or a glass of wine can lower inhibitions, which may make it easier for some people to overcome nervousness or hesitation.

But on the other hand, alcohol has also been shown to impair cognitive and motor functions, negatively affect memory and attention, and lead to overconfidence and inflated self-evaluations. So do people really speak non-native languages better after drinking, or is that just their liquid courage talking?

To answer that question, British and Dutch researchers conducted an experiment, published this week in the Journal of Psychopharmacology. And it turns out, people in the study really did speak more fluently after a low dose of alcohol — even when they didn't think so themselves.

The study included 50 native German speakers who were studying at Maastricht University, located in the Netherlands near the border with Germany. All of the people in the study said they drank alcohol at least sometimes, and, because their classes were taught in Dutch, had recently passed an exam demonstrating proficiency in the language.

Each person was asked to have a casual, two-minute conversation with an interviewer in Dutch. Before that chat, half were given water to drink, while the other half were given an alcoholic beverage. The amount of booze varied based on the person's weight, but for a 150-pound man, it was equivalent to just under a pint of beer.

The conversations were recorded and then scored by two native Dutch speakers who weren't aware which people had consumed alcohol. The participants were also asked to self-score their own performances, based on how fluently they felt they'd spoken.

Unexpectedly, alcohol had no effect on the speakers' self-ratings; those who'd had a drink weren't any more confident or pleased with their performances than those who'd had water.

But they did perform better, according to those who listened to the recordings. Overall, the native Dutch speakers rated people in the alcohol group as having better fluency — specifically better pronunciation — than those in the water group. Ratings for grammar, vocabulary and argumentation were similar between groups.

The authors point out that the dose of alcohol tested in the study was low, and that higher levels of consumption might not have these beneficial effects. After all, they write in their paper, drinking too much can have the exact opposite effect on fluency and can even lead to slurred speech.

The authors say it's possible that a low-to-moderate dose of alcohol “reduces language anxiety” and therefore increases proficiency. “This might enable foreign language speakers to speak more fluently in the foreign language after drinking a small amount of alcohol,” they conclude.

- ◆ -

注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为机器翻译并非一一对应，仅供参考

含注释全文：

It's True: Alcohol Helps You Speak a Foreign Language Better

From: TIME

Those who dabble in learning a new language sometimes find that alcohol — in moderation — helps them speak more fluently. In a way, that makes sense: It's been shown that a beer or a glass of wine can lower inhibitions, which may make it easier for some people to overcome nervousness or hesitation.

有些人在学外语时发现，适度饮酒能让表达更流畅。这并不难理解：研究表明，喝杯啤酒或葡萄酒能减轻心理障碍，让人更容易克服紧张和迟疑。

替dabble /ˈdæb.əl/ 表示“浅尝，尝新鲜；涉猎”，英文解释为“to take a slight and not very serious interest in a subject, or try a particular activity for a short period”举个🌰：He dabbled in business. 他曾涉足商界。

inhibition /ˌɪn.hɪˈbɪʃ.ən/ 1）表示“抑制；约束”，英文解释为“the act of stopping or slowing down a process, or the fact of this happening”举个🌰：The therapy provides inhibition of inflammation. 这种治疗抑制了发炎。

2）表示“拘束；顾忌；拘谨”，英文解释为“a feeling of embarrassment or worry that prevents you from saying or doing what you want”举个🌰：After a couple of drinks he lost his inhibition and started talking and laughing loudly. 几杯酒下肚后，他肆无忌惮地大声说笑起来。

hesitation /ˌhez.ɪˈteɪ.ʃən/ 表示“（由指因紧张或不确定而产生的）犹豫，踌躇”，英文解释为“the act of pausing before doing something, especially because you are nervous or not certain”举个🌰：After a slight hesitation, she began to speak. 稍微犹豫了一下后，她开始讲话。

But on the other hand, alcohol has also been shown to impair cognitive and motor functions, negatively affect memory and attention, and lead to overconfidence and inflated self-evaluations. So do people really speak non-native languages better after drinking, or is that just their liquid courage talking?

然而，酒精同样会破坏认知与动作能力，干扰记忆与专注力，还容易让人过度自信、自我膨胀。那么，饮酒后人们真能把外语说得更好，还是仅仅是“酒壮怂人胆”？

cognitive /ˈkɒɡ.nə.tɪv/ 表示“认知的；感知的；认识的”，英文解释为“Cognitive means relating to the mental process involved in knowing, learning, and understanding things.”举个🌰：As children grow older, their cognitive processes become sharper. 随着孩子们长大，他们的认知过程也变得越来越敏锐了。

motor /ˈməʊ.tər/ 表示“肌肉运动的；运动神经的”，英文解释为“relating to muscles that produce movement, or the nerves and parts of the brain that control these muscles”举个🌰：He has poor motor control/functions. 他的运动神经的控制力/功能较差。

inflated /ɪnˈfleɪ.tɪd/ 表示“（价格、成本、数目等）过高的，过多的”，英文解释为“Inflated prices, costs, numbers, etc. are higher than they should be, or higher than people think is reasonable.”

To answer that question, British and Dutch researchers conducted an experiment, published this week in the Journal of Psychopharmacology. And it turns out, people in the study really did speak more fluently after a low dose of alcohol — even when they didn't think so themselves.

为了寻找答案，英国和荷兰的研究人员开展了一项实验，成果于本周发表在《精神药理学杂志》上。结果表明，少量饮酒后人们的外语表达确实更流畅，哪怕他们本人并未察觉。

dose /dəʊs/ 1）表示“一剂”（a measured amount of something such as medicine），如：a dose of penicillin 一剂青霉素；

2）表示“一些（糟糕或不愉快的事）”，英文解释为“an amount or experience of something, often something bad or unpleasant”举个🌰：He received a hefty dose of bad news this week. 本周他得到了许多坏消息。

📍《经济学人》（The Economist）一篇讲述谷歌的文章中提到：The first route would involve taking a strong dose of managerial medicine to become a more tightly run conglomerate. 第一种解决方法是给它服用一剂管理上的强效药，让它成为管理更严格的企业集团。

The study included 50 native German speakers who were studying at Maastricht University, located in the Netherlands near the border with Germany. All of the people in the study said they drank alcohol at least sometimes, and, because their classes were taught in Dutch, had recently passed an exam demonstrating proficiency in the language.

研究对象是50名德语母语学生，他们就读于靠近德国边境的荷兰马斯特里赫特大学。所有参与者都表示自己偶尔喝酒，并且因为课程以荷兰语授课，他们近期刚通过荷兰语能力考试。

proficiency /prəˈfɪʃ.ən.si/ 表示“熟练；精通”，英文解释为“the fact of having the skill and experience for doing something”举个🌰：The job ad said they wanted proficiency in at least two languages. 招聘广告说他们希望至少精通两种语言。

Each person was asked to have a casual, two-minute conversation with an interviewer in Dutch. Before that chat, half were given water to drink, while the other half were given an alcoholic beverage. The amount of booze varied based on the person's weight, but for a 150-pound man, it was equivalent to just under a pint of beer.

实验要求每位参与者与采访者用荷兰语进行两分钟轻松交谈。对话前，一半人喝水，另一半人喝酒精饮品。饮酒量随体重调整，例如一名150磅的男性只喝了不到一品脱啤酒。

beverage /ˈbev.ər.ɪdʒ/ 表示“饮料”，英文解释为“a drink of any type”举个🌰：Hot beverages include tea, coffee, and hot chocolate. 热饮包括茶、咖啡和热巧克力饮料。

booze /buːz/ 表示“酒”，英文解释为“alcohol”举个🌰：The party's at LR's on Friday night - bring some booze. 聚会周五晚上在LR家举行——带些酒来。

The conversations were recorded and then scored by two native Dutch speakers who weren't aware which people had consumed alcohol. The participants were also asked to self-score their own performances, based on how fluently they felt they'd spoken.

所有对话录音后交给两名不知情的荷兰语母语者评分。同时，参与者还需根据自我感觉对自己的流利程度打分。

Unexpectedly, alcohol had no effect on the speakers' self-ratings; those who'd had a drink weren't any more confident or pleased with their performances than those who'd had water.

令人意外的是，酒精并未提升参与者的自我评分；喝过酒的人对自己的表现并不比喝水的人更自信或更满意。

But they did perform better, according to those who listened to the recordings. Overall, the native Dutch speakers rated people in the alcohol group as having better fluency — specifically better pronunciation — than those in the water group. Ratings for grammar, vocabulary and argumentation were similar between groups.

不过，从录音评分结果来看，饮酒组表现更佳。总体上，荷兰语母语评审认为饮酒组在流畅度上更好，尤其是发音上优于喝水组，而语法、词汇和推论得分则差别不大。

argumentation /ˈɑːɡ.jə.menˈteɪ.ʃən/ 表示“争论；辩论；推论；论证”，英文解释为“a set of arguments used to explain something or to persuade people”举个🌰：He produced very clever argumentation in support of the proposal. 他做出了非常清楚的论证支持这项提议。

The authors point out that the dose of alcohol tested in the study was low, and that higher levels of consumption might not have these beneficial effects. After all, they write in their paper, drinking too much can have the exact opposite effect on fluency and can even lead to slurred speech.

研究人员指出，本研究测试的酒精剂量较低，如果饮酒过多未必会产生这些积极效果。他们在论文中也写道，过量饮酒反而会让语言流利度下降，甚至导致口齿不清。

作动词，slur /slɜːr/ 1）表示“含糊地说，口齿不清地说”，英文解释为“to pronounce the sounds of a word in a way that is wrong or not clear”举个🌰：Her speech was slurred but she still denied she was drunk. 她口齿都不清楚了，但还不承认自己喝醉了。

2）表示“诽谤，诋毁”，英文解释为“to harm someone's reputation by criticizing them”举个🌰：The report slurs both the teachers and students. 该报道对教师和学生都进行了诋毁。

作名词，1）表示“诽谤；诋毁；污辱”，英文解释为“an unfair remark about sb/sth that may damage other people's opinion of them”举个🌰：Her letter contained several outrageous slurs against/on her former colleagues. 她信里有好几处肆意诋毁以前同事的内容。

2）表示“含糊的发音，不清楚的发音”，英文解释为“a way of pronouncing the sounds of a word that is unclear, uncontrolled, or wrong”举个🌰：The drug affected her vision and made her speak with a slur. 药物影响了她的视力，使她的口齿也不清楚了。

The authors say it's possible that a low-to-moderate dose of alcohol “reduces language anxiety” and therefore increases proficiency. “This might enable foreign language speakers to speak more fluently in the foreign language after drinking a small amount of alcohol,” they conclude.

研究团队指出，低至中等剂量的酒精可能有助于“减轻语言焦虑”，从而提升外语表达流利度。他们总结道：“小酌一杯或许能让外语说得更流利。”

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