Sex
Under the Microscope
Are Our Sexual Brains From the Stone Age?
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显微镜之下的性
我们的“性脑”来自于石器时代？
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Men aren't the only ones with cheating hearts, and scientists do not
believe that there is any such thing as a battle of the sexes either,
according to a new book that takes a scientific look at sex.
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花心不是男人所特有的，科学家也不信性别之战之类的事情，这是最近出版的一本新书的说法，该书从科学的角度诠释了性。
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In her new book, Sex: A Natural History, science reporter Joann Rodgers
debunks some previous sexual theories, as she explores the biology and
psychology of what drives our sexual behavior, from why we find Hollywood
star Brad Pitt attractive, to why we sometimes cheat on our mates.
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科学记者Joann
Rodgers在她的新书—《性：一部自然史》中指出，以前一些性理论的欺骗性。她在书中挖掘了我们性行为冲动的生物学和心理学基础，由此我们可以解释好莱坞明星Brad
Pitt为何如此迷人，我们有时为什么会欺骗自己的配偶。
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The findings: Sex is a lot more scientific than you might think. Though
often influenced by culture, Rodgers found that human sexual behavior,
including flirting and courtship, is also determined by biology —
and certain rituals are the same now as they were in the era of cavemen.
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这些发现表明，性比你想象地更具有科学性。Rodgers发现，尽管常常受到文化的影响，包括调情和求婚在内的人类性行为还是由生物学决定的，现在的某些仪式甚至与洞穴人时期相同。
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"A lot of sexual behavior —
including what we're attracted to —
is hardwired into our brains," Rodgers said. "A lot of it is
conditioned by the way evolution formed our brains. Basically, our sexual
brains are from the stone age."
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Rodgers说：“我们的大脑已经定格了许多性行为，包括我们为何被吸引。许多性行为是人脑在进化过程中适时形成的。从根本上看，我们的‘性脑’来自于石器时代。” |
The Mating Dance
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求偶舞蹈
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Culture also plays a role, which leads to variation in sexual behavior
among various people and varying ideals of beauty. But there are basic
similarities that remain the same. |
文化对性行为也发挥一定作用，它使不同的人有不同的性行为和对美有不同的见解，但是，其基本相似点仍然没有改变。 |
"Certain kinds of behavior are so universal that they appear to be
biologically programmed," Rodgers said. "There is a mating
dance." |
Rodgers说："某些行为是如此普遍，就好像它们已经编成了生物学程序，如求偶舞蹈。" |
When scientists studied flirting couples at a hotel bar, they saw some of
the same things again and again - gestures that are part of our
"brain chemistry," Rodgers said. |
Rodgers说，科学家在一家宾馆酒吧中研究调情者时发现，相同的一幕反复上演，姿势成了我们"脑化学"的一部分。 |
A couple that was "connecting" would look into each other's
eyes. When they sat down together, the man would lean forward, thrusting
out his chest, while the woman would start twirling her hair. |
"来电"的双方凝视着对方的眼睛。当他们比肩而坐时，男士可能会向前倾，挺直胸膛，而女士则开始捻弄她们的头发。 |
"The man makes the first touch, say pretending to brush something off
the woman's blouse," Rogers said. The hands would eventually touch
each other, and eventually, the couple heads off to one of the rooms,
researchers found. |
Rodgers说："男士以拂去女士外套上的什么东西为借口，首先触摸女士。"研究人员发现，最终，两人开始手拉手，最后走进了其中一人的房间。 |
No Battle of the Sexes
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没有性别之战
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Rodgers also concluded that there isn't really a "battle of the
sexes" and that the "Men are from Mars, Women Are From
Venus" theory is a misleading one, Rodgers said. |
Rodgers还总结说，没有真正意义上的"性别之战"，"男人来自战神，女人来自爱神"的理论也是错误的。 |
"Battles always have a winner and a loser," Rodgers said.
"But in the so-called battle of the sexes both sides have to win or
else everyone loses …
Scientists will tell you there is no battle." |
Rodgers说："战争总是有输赢，而在所谓性别之战中只有双赢或者全输，科学家会告诉你，男女之间没有战争。" |
The ultimate goal of sexual relationships is cooperation and reproduction,
despite the different strategies and behaviors employed by each of the
sexes to reach it, Rodgers said. A woman for example might "play hard
to get," a courtship ritual that her ancestors used, too. |
Rodgers说，尽管男女双方会用不同的战略和行为达到性活动，但性关系的最终目的是合作和生殖。例如，女人可能会"尽力去得到"。这也是她祖先曾经历的求婚仪式。 |
"These are behaviors that have evolved over millions of years, as the
ways males and females size each other up," she said. "Men and
women aren't different species. Ultimately, the male and female get
together and have children - and that's a win-win situation." |
"这些仪式作为男女双方结合的方式，已经进化了数百万年，"她说。"男人与女人不是不同的种类，男人和女人最终要在一起繁殖后代，这就是一个双赢的结果。" |
Many people believe that infidelity is more of a male trait - something
that is part of their makeup, based on the theory that men have needed to
spread their sperm, far and wide in the name of evolution. But that
doesn't explain why women cheat too, or whom the men are cheating with,
Rodgers said. "Until the advent of paternity testing, men just
didn't have a reliable way of finding out," she said. "Women are
probably more like men in this respect than we'd like to think." |
许多人认为，对婚姻的不忠大多属于男人的品质，是男人固有的一部分，其理论是从进化的角度看，男人必需把自己的精子传播地更远和更广。Rodgers说，但这不能解释当男人骗女人时，女人为什么也会骗男人。"在做父亲之前，男人都是动摇不定的，"她说。"在这一点上，女人与男人的相似之处可能超出了我们的想象。" |
Why Women Love Brad Pitt
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为什么女人喜欢Brad
Pitt
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Among cultures there are different preferences in terms of what is
attractive. In the West, there is a lot of emphasis on female breasts,
while in Oriental cultures, for instance, there is more of a preoccupation
with a woman's neck. Some cultures prefer heavier women. |
在各种文化中，对魅力有不同的偏爱。在西方，人们更看重女性的乳房，而在东方文化中，女人的颈部则更迷人。有些文化认为胖女人才美。 |
But the kinds of body types we are attracted to is also linked to another
part of our anatomy - our stomachs. |
但是吸引我们的某种体型联系到人体的解剖学的另一部分，这就是胃。 |
If Arnold Schwarzenegger walked onto a stone age plateau looking as buff
as he did when he starred as Conan the Barbarian, women would think
"he'll take a whole lot more to feed" than the other men,
Rodgers said. |
Rodgers说，如果Arnold
Schwarzenegger走进石器时代，就像他在主演"野蛮人柯南"中赤裸身体，女人们可能会认为，他应该比其他男人"多吃一点"。 |
"Our sexual brains evolved at a time when there wasn't that much to
eat," Rodgers said. "Arnold probably would have had a hard time
finding a mate. People are programmed to be suspicious of extremes -
extreme fatness, thinness, or muscularity." |
"我们的'性脑'是饥饿时代进化的，"Rodgers说。"Arnold可能难觅配偶，人的本性对极端抱有怀疑，如过分肥胖，过分消瘦或者肌肉暴突。" |
Studies show that even now, most women are not particularly attracted to
body builder types. But a moderately muscular guy like actor Brad Pitt,
who is also blessed with symmetrical features, is a hit with the ladies.
Elizabeth Taylor, Denzel Washington and ancient Egypt's Nefertiti are
universally recognized as being full of sex appeal, for the same reason,
Rodgers said. |
有研究表明，甚至到今天，许多女人还不是特别喜欢练健美者的体型。但是像男演员Brad
Pitt这样的肌肉适度和身材匀称的男人却使女人倾倒。Rodgers说，出于同样的理由，Elizabeth
Taylor, D Denzel Washington和古埃及的Nefertiti被认为性感十足。 |
"The first thing we look for is symmetry. Symmetry is a sign of
health," Rodgers said. A new study released last week, which found
that asymmetrical people are more jealous than others, fits into the
theory. Asymmetrical people are less attractive, and therefore more
fearful of losing their mates. |
Rodgers说："匀称是最迷人的，因为匀称是健康的标志。"上周一项新研究表明，身材不匀称者的嫉妒心较强，这结果符合上述理论。因为不匀称者的吸引力较小，所以他们更害怕失去自己的配偶。 |
Sex and Death
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性和死亡
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Sex plays a role in our lives until the day we die - and in fact, sex and
death are intimately connected, Rodgers found. |
Rodgers说，在人的一生，性都发挥作用，直到死亡。事实上，性和死亡密切相联。 |
"Scientists say that sex and death are intimately related. Bacteria,
for example, never die," she said. "They just keep on
reproducing - splitting - forever." |
她说："科学家说，性和死亡是密切相联的。例如，细菌从来不死，它们只是不断繁殖和分裂，周而复始。" |
Humans are more complex organisms, and when we evolved and started
exchanging genetic material, things got more complicated. With bacteria,
its whole makeup - just one cell - is devoted to reproduction, and that's
all it does. |
人类是复合生物，当我们进化时，开始交换遗传物质，使人类变得更加复杂。而细菌的整个组成就是一个细胞，要做的所有事情就是繁殖。 |
But with humans, only our sex cells are involved in reproduction, and the
rest of our cells, including those that make up our skins and organs,
cannot reproduce indefinitely. Sex - or the lack thereof - leads to our
demise. |
但是，在人类，只有性细胞与生殖有关，我们的其它细胞如组成皮肤和器官的细胞不能无限繁殖。性或性的缺乏导致了人的死亡。 |
"Our other cells can only divide a certain number of times, and then
they die, which is why we die," Rodgers said. |
Rodgers说："我们的一些细胞仅能分裂一定数目的倍数，然后它们就死亡了，这就是为什么我们会死。"
《早安，美国》 ReadUSA.cn
谷毓
译
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