VOA慢速英语2012 Health Report - Dating Sites' Claims; Female Voices and Fertility

Health Report - Dating Sites' Claims; Female Voices and Fertility

健康报道 - 女性月经周期期间不同时间点声音对男性吸引力不同

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语健康报道。

As sure as honey attracts bees, Valentine's Day attracts scientists with studies about human relations.

就像蜜糖吸引蜜蜂，情人节也吸引了科学家研究人际关系。

For example, in recent days, researchers announced new findings about online dating sites. These are now among the most popular ways for singles to meet. Many sites say they have a special formula to find the perfect partner. But the researchers say these claims are unsupported and likely false.

例如，研究人员最近几天公布了对网上交友网站的新发现。网上交友网站现在是单身人士互相认识最常见途径。许多网站称它们有一种寻找最佳伴侣的特殊公式。但研究人员表示，这些说法不受支持，有可能是假的。

Lead author Eli Finkel at Northwestern University in Illinois said online dating is a great addition to the ways for singles to look for love. But the study found that so far there is no scientific evidence that any formula or "matching algorithm" actually works.

该研究的主要作者，来自伊利诺伊州西北大学的伊莱·芬克尔（Eli Finkel）表示，网恋是单身人士寻找真爱的途径的有力补充。但研究发现，到目前为止，没有任何科学依据能够证明任何公式或匹配算法行之有效。

The study is being published in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest.

这项研究发表在心理科学杂志的公共利益版。

Now here is a different question: When do you suppose a female voice is most unappealing to a man?

现在来讨论另一个问题：你认为什么时候女性声音对男性最不具吸引力？

Researchers measured men’s reactions to women’s voices at different points during their monthly cycle. The study found that generally a woman's voice is most unattractive to men during her period.

研究人员测量了男性对女性月经周期期间不同时间点声音的反应。研究发现一般情况下，女性经期的声音对男性最没有吸引力。

All the experiments found that men can detect small changes in women’s voices at different points in the menstrual cycle.

所有实验都发现，男性可以感觉出月经周期不同时间点女性声音的细微变化。

About two hundred college-age males took part in the study. Ten young women provided voice recordings 1 from four points in their cycles. These included the times of highest and lowest fertility. The highest is during ovulation, when the body releases an egg for fertilization. The lowest is during a woman's period.

大约200名大学适龄男性参加了这项研究。10名年轻女性提供了她们月经期间四个时间点的语音录音。其中包括繁殖力的高峰与低谷。高峰是在排卵期，这时身体会排放受精卵。低谷则是女性经期。

The men had a twenty-five percent chance of guessing which recordings were made during menstruation. But they chose correctly at least thirty-four percent of the time.

男性有25%的概率猜对哪些录音是在经期制作的。但他们的正确率至少有34%。

Finally, one group of men simply listened to the recordings. They were asked to choose the voice they found most unattractive. Again, thirty-four percent of the time they chose the so-called menstrual voice.

最终，一组男性只是听听这些录音。他们被要求挑出最没吸引力的声音。 他们挑出所谓经期声音的成功率再次达到34%。

Nathan Pipitone of Adams State College in Colorado led the study, published in the journal Ethology. He points out that in other primates 2, it is often easy to recognize when females are most fertile. But in humans the effects of hormonal 3 changes are often difficult to recognize.

科罗拉多州亚当斯州立学院的内森·皮皮托内（Nathan Pipitone）领导了这项研究。他指出，在其它灵长类动物中，往往很容易辨认出雌性发情期。但人类的荷尔蒙变化通常很难辨别。

Dr. Pipitone says evolution may have reduced the effects in humans in order to support relationships with just one partner.

皮皮托内博士说，为了支持单一伴侣，进化可能降低了对人类的影响。

NATHAN PIPITONE: "I think this reflects the shift in the minimization of these cues across the menstrual cycle to lead to one of our most prominent mating strategies -- monogamy. Having drastic shifts in females attitudes and behaviors does not bode 4 well for a pair-bonding relationship."

皮皮托内：“我认为这反映了整个月经周期中最大限度减少这些线索的这样一种变迁，从而导致了我们最为重要的交配策略，即一夫一妻制。女性态度和行为的急剧变化对男女结合的两性关系不是一个好兆头。”

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver 5. I’m Jim Tedder 6.