外刊逐句精读｜《经济学人》：气味偏好和文化有关系吗？｜CATTI一级译员外...
红色：主句 蓝色：从句 黄色：从句连词、关系代词 灰色：插入语、例句、同位语 绿色：长难句分析 紫色：词根词缀 （）：修饰成分，包括定语、状语等 下划线：词汇词组 高亮：连词
思考题
1.气味偏好和文化有关系吗？
2.积累到哪些气味词汇？
标题和导语
Around the world, people like (and dislike) the same scents
在世界各地，人们喜欢（和不喜欢）相同的气味
- scent n. 香味，（动物/人）气息
Unlike visual preferences, the appreciation of smells crosses cultures
与视觉偏好不同，对气味的欣赏跨越文化
- visual a. 视觉的
vision n. 视觉
- preference n. 偏好
- appreciation n. 欣赏，理解
第一段
To the Swedes, there are few odours more delectable than the scent of surströmming, a type of fermented herring.
对瑞典人来说，没有什么味道比 surströmming（一种发酵的鲱鱼）更好闻了。
- Swede n. 瑞典人
Sweden n. 瑞典
- odour n. 臭味
- delectable a. 美味的，好闻的
- surströmming n. 瑞典盐腌鲱鱼
- fermented a. 发酵的
- herring n. 鲱鱼
To most non-Swedes there are probably few odours more repulsive—the fish has been described variously as smelling like rancid cat litter, vaguely faecal or even corpse-like.
对于大多数非瑞典人来说，可能没有比这更令人厌恶的气味了——这种鱼被描述为闻起来像腐臭的猫砂、略微的粪臭味，甚至像尸体一样。
- repulsive a. 令人厌恶的
- variously ad. 以各种方式地
- rancid a. （油脂事物）腐臭的
- cat litter n. 猫砂
- vaguely ad. 略微
- faecal a. 和粪便有关的
faeces n. （负数）粪便
- corpse n. 尸体
(In determining which scents people find pleasant and which they do not), surströmming suggests culture must play a sizeable part.
盐腌鲱鱼表明，在确定人们觉得哪些气味令人愉悦、哪些气味令人不快时，文化一定发挥了相当大的作用。
- suggest v. 表明 =indicate
- must （表很可能）一定
- sizeable a. 相当大的
段落大意：
广受瑞典人喜爱的盐腌鲱鱼让很多其他国家的人无法接受，文化在其中发挥了作用。
第二段
New research, however, suggests that might not be the case.
然而，新的研究表明事实可能并非如此。
- the case n. 实情，事实
If that is the case, we need more staff.
如果真是那样，那我们就需要更多的员工了。
Artin Arshamian, a neuroscientist (at the Karolinska Institute) (in Sweden), and Asifa Majid, a psychologist (at the University of Oxford), began with the expectation that culture would play an important role (in determining pleasant smells).
瑞典卡罗林斯卡研究所的神经科学家 Artin Arshamian 和牛津大学的心理学家 Asifa Majid一开始以为文化将在决定令人愉悦的气味方面发挥重要作用。
红色部分为句子主干，灰色部分分别是两个并列主语的同位语，蓝色部分是that引导的同位语从句解释说明ecpectation。
- neuroscientist n. 神经科学家
neuroscience n. 神经科学
- psychologist n. 心理学家
psychology n. 心理学
- psychiatrist n. 精神科学家
psychiatry n. 精神病学
This was not just because of examples (like that of fermented herring).
这不仅仅是因为像发酵鲱鱼这样的例子。
- that pron. 那个
that of用于指代前面出现过的内容
His own experience was different from that of his friends.
他自己的体会和他朋友的体会不同。
They had noticed (from their own previous work) that people (from different cultures) described odours differently.
他们从自己之前的研究中注意到，来自不同文化背景的人对气味的描述不同。
- work n. 学习，研究
They also knew (from past experiments) (by other researchers) that culture was important (in determining which sorts of faces people found beautiful).
他们还从过去其他研究人员所做的实验中了解到，文化在决定人们认为哪种面孔美丽方面很重要。
- experiment n. 实验
- sort n. 种类
all sorts of 各种各样的
Thus, they expected to see a similar phenomenon with smells.
因此，他们预计会在味道上看到类似的现象。
- phenomenon n. 现象
phenomenal a. 非凡的 =extraordinary
段落大意：
新研究表明对气味的偏好并非和文化有关。两位科学家一开始因为种种原因认为二者是有关的。
第三段
To study how scent and culture relate, Dr Arshamian and Dr Majid presented nine different groups of people with ten odours.
为了研究气味和文化之间的关系，Arshamian博士和Majid博士向9组不同的人群展示了10种气味。
These varied from pleasant-smelling vanilla extract to isovaleric acid, the chemical (responsible for the revolting scent of stinky socks).
这些气味包括从令人愉快的香草提取物到异戊酸，即使臭袜子产生令人作呕的气味的化学物质。
- vary v. 变化
vary from...to... 从...到...不等
- vanilla n. 香草香精 a. 香草味的
- extract n. 浓缩物，提取物
- isovaleric acid n. 异戊酸
valeric acid n. 戊酸
iso- （碳氢化合物）同质异构的
- revolting a. 令人作呕的
- stinky v. 难闻的，恶臭的
More intermediate odours, which the team thought might split opinions, included octanoic acid (with its moderately rancid smell); the sweet-smelling eugenol, which comes from cloves; and octenol, a musty and earthy scent (found in many mushrooms).
研究小组认为可能会产生分歧的更多中间气味包括具有一般腐臭的气味的辛酸；来自丁香的芳香丁香酚； 和在许多蘑菇中发现的带有霉味和泥土味的辛烯醇。
- intermediate a. 中间的，中等的
- split v. 使分裂（成不同派别）
- octanoic acid 辛酸
octa- 和八相关的
- moderately ad. 一般地，适度
- rancid a. （油脂食物）腐臭的
- eugenol n. 丁香酚
- clove n. 丁香
- octenol n. 辛烯醇
- musty a. 有霉味的
- earthy a. 泥土气息的
段落大意：
研究内容：向9组人提供10种味道，从臭味到中性味道到香味都有。
第四段
The cultures (doing the smelling) varied widely too.
进行嗅觉实验人们的文化背景也有很大差异。
They included hunter-gatherer communities (along the coast of Mexico), subsistence farmers (living in the highlands of Ecuador), shoreline foragers, swidden horticulturalists (living in the tropical rainforests of Malaysia), and city folk (from Thailand and Mexico City).
他们包括墨西哥沿岸的采猎者群体、居住在厄瓜多尔高地的自给农民、海岸线觅食者、居住在马来西亚热带雨林中的农田园艺种植，以及来自泰国和墨西哥城的城市居民。
- hunter-gatherer n. 采猎者
- subsistence farmer n. 自给农民
- shoreline n. 海岸线，河岸线
- forager n. 觅食者
- swidden n. （通过割烧开垦的）农田
- horticulturalists n. 园艺种植者
horticulture n. 园艺学
- folk n. 普通百姓
All 235 participants were asked to rank odours (according to pleasantness).
所有 235 名参与者都被要求根据怡人程度对气味进行排名。
- rank v. 把....分等级，排名
- pleasantness n. 愉悦，怡人
pleasant a. 令人愉悦的
The team compared their results to earlier work (on New Yorkers) who had been exposed to the same scents.
研究团队将他们排名的结果与早期对接触过相同气味的纽约人的研究进行了比较。
段落大意：
研究对象来自多个地区、多种文化，研究人员将这次的结果和针对纽约人的研究进行对比。
第五段
(Writing (in Current Biology (this week), the researchers noted that pleasantness rankings (of the odours) were remarkably consistent (regardless of where people came from).
研究人员本周在《当代生物学》杂志上撰文指出，无论人们来自哪里，他们对气味的愉悦度排名都非常一致。
- remarkably ad. 不寻常地
- consistenta. 一致的
- regardless of 不顾....
The smell of isovaleric acid was reviled (by the vast majority of the participants), only eight giving it a score of 1 to 3 (on the pleasantness scale) (where 1 was very pleasant and 10 was very unpleasant).
绝大多数参与者都对异戊酸的气味嗤之以鼻，只有 8 人在宜人量表上给出 1 到 3 分（其中 1 表示非常愉快，10 表示非常不愉快）。
- revile v. 谩骂
On the other hand, more than 190 people gave vanilla extract a score of 1 to 3 and a tiny minority, only 12 people found it revolting enough to rate 8 to 10.
另一方面，超过 190 人给香草精打了 1 到 3 分，只有极少数，只有 12 人觉得它令人反感到足以给出8到10 分。
Overall, the chemical composition of the odourants that the researchers presented explained 41% of the reactions that participants had.
总体而言，研究人员提供的添味剂的化学成分解释了参与者 41% 的反应。
- composition n. 组成
- odourant n. 添味剂
In contrast, cultural upbringing accounted for just 6% of the results.
相比之下，文化培养只占结果的 6%。
- upbringing n. n. 养育，培养
Dr Arshamian and Dr Majid point out that this is very different from how visual perception of faces works—(in that case) a person’s culture accounts for up to 50% (of the explanation) (for which faces they find beautiful).
Arshamian博士和 Majid博士指出，这与人脸的视觉认知的运作方式大不相同——在这种情况下，一个人的文化背景在他们认为哪些脸美的解释中最多占到50%。
红色部分为句子主干，第一个蓝色部分是that引导的定语从句做point out的宾语，宾语从句的核心为this is different form sth. 。破折号后面的内容进一步解释句子主干，in that case指的是在“visual perception of faces”的情况下，for与explaination搭配，which引导的宾语从句作介词for的宾语。
- perception n. 感知，看法
段落大意：
研究结果：不同文化的人对气味认知相近。人的判断更多基于化学成分，而非文化背景。
第六段
Even so, while culture did not shape perceptions of odours (in the way that it is known to shape perceptions of faces), the researchers did find an “eye of the beholder” effect.
尽管如此，虽然文化并没有以众所周知的塑造面孔感知的方式塑造对气味的感知，但研究人员确实发现了“各花入各眼”效应。
- beholder n. 观看者
behold v. 看见
in the eye of the beholder 各花入各眼
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
情人眼里出西施。
Randomness, which Dr Arshamian and Dr Majid suggest has to be coming from personal preferences (learned from outside individual culture), accounted for 54% (of the variance (in which smells people liked).
Arshamian博士和Majid博士认为，随机性一定来自从个人文化以外学习到的个人偏好，占人们气味偏好差异原因的 54%。
红色部分为句子主干，which引导的定语从句修饰randomness，其中的灰色部分是插入语，补充信息的来源。the variance in sth.表示“在....方面不一致”，which引导的宾语从句作介词in的宾语。
- randomness n. 任意，随机
- variance n. 不一致
“Olfactory bulb of the beholder” does not slip off the tongue so easily but it too appears to be a real phenomenon.
尽管“各味入各嗅球”并没有那么朗朗上口，但它似乎也是一个真实的现象。
- olfactory bulb n. 嗅球
- slip off the tongue 容易说，顺口
段落大意：
虽然对气味的 偏好和文化没有太大关联，它和个人喜好还是有关系的。
文章结构
思考题
1. 气味偏好和文化有关系吗？
• Unlike visual preferences, the appreciation of smells crosses cultures.
• Pleasantness rankings of the odours were remarkably consistent regardless of where people came from.
• The chemical composition of the odourants that the researchers presented explained the reactions thatparticipants had.
2. 积累到哪些气味词汇？
气味：
scent, odour, smell
香味：
pleasant, pleasant-smelling, sweet-smelling, delectable, vanilla, clove
臭味：
repulsive, rancid, faecal, corpse-like, revolting, stinky, musty, cat litter, faeces
