VOA慢速英语 2007 0131a
时间：2018-12-07 作者：英语课 分类：VOA慢速英语2007年（一）月
英语课
This is the VOA Special English Health Report.
Amnesia 1 is a loss of memory. But scientists in Britain have found that it can mean a loss of imagination as well.
They asked amnesia patients in a study to imagine new experiences and then describe them. The researchers say the patients could not describe what they saw in their minds to the same extent as people without memory loss.
Eleanor Maguire at the Wellcome Trust Center for Neuroimaging at University College London was a leader of the study. She says it shows amnesiacs as people trapped in the present. They cannot look back at their past nor ahead to what the future might look like.
The five amnesiacs in the study all had serious damage to the hippocampus. This part of the brain is believed to process experiences into memories. But scientists disagree about the extent to which it also stores memories.
All five amnesiacs were men. They were compared with a control group of ten men who had no injury to their hippocampus.
The researchers asked all of the men in the study to imagine themselves in different situations. For example, they were asked to picture themselves on a sandy beach along a tropical coast -- or in a museum with lots to see.
The men in the control group gave descriptions rich in detail. One man described the heat of the sun on the beach, an old fishing boat on the water and big brown rocks. He described how to his left the beach curved around and became a point with wooden buildings on it. And his description continued.
But the amnesiacs were far more basic in what they saw. One said he could not see anything except the blue of the sky. He could hear seagulls and feel the sand. But when asked if he was seeing this in his mind's eye, he answered: No, the only thing I can see is blue.
The scientists rated answers based on spatial 2 references 3 -- where objects were described in relation to each other. They also rated answers for any descriptions of people or animals, for sensory 4 descriptions and for emotions or actions.
The control group rated higher in all areas. The amnesiacs rated lower especially in terms of spatial references and emotions. The findings could show that the hippocampus has more to do with imagination and memories than scientists may have ever imagined.
The findings appear in this week's Proceedings 5 of the National Academy of Sciences, in the United States.
And that's the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver 6. I'm Mario Ritter.
Amnesia 1 is a loss of memory. But scientists in Britain have found that it can mean a loss of imagination as well.
They asked amnesia patients in a study to imagine new experiences and then describe them. The researchers say the patients could not describe what they saw in their minds to the same extent as people without memory loss.
Eleanor Maguire at the Wellcome Trust Center for Neuroimaging at University College London was a leader of the study. She says it shows amnesiacs as people trapped in the present. They cannot look back at their past nor ahead to what the future might look like.
The five amnesiacs in the study all had serious damage to the hippocampus. This part of the brain is believed to process experiences into memories. But scientists disagree about the extent to which it also stores memories.
All five amnesiacs were men. They were compared with a control group of ten men who had no injury to their hippocampus.
The researchers asked all of the men in the study to imagine themselves in different situations. For example, they were asked to picture themselves on a sandy beach along a tropical coast -- or in a museum with lots to see.
The men in the control group gave descriptions rich in detail. One man described the heat of the sun on the beach, an old fishing boat on the water and big brown rocks. He described how to his left the beach curved around and became a point with wooden buildings on it. And his description continued.
But the amnesiacs were far more basic in what they saw. One said he could not see anything except the blue of the sky. He could hear seagulls and feel the sand. But when asked if he was seeing this in his mind's eye, he answered: No, the only thing I can see is blue.
The scientists rated answers based on spatial 2 references 3 -- where objects were described in relation to each other. They also rated answers for any descriptions of people or animals, for sensory 4 descriptions and for emotions or actions.
The control group rated higher in all areas. The amnesiacs rated lower especially in terms of spatial references and emotions. The findings could show that the hippocampus has more to do with imagination and memories than scientists may have ever imagined.
The findings appear in this week's Proceedings 5 of the National Academy of Sciences, in the United States.
And that's the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver 6. I'm Mario Ritter.
1 amnesia
n.健忘症，健忘
- People suffering from amnesia don't forget their general knowledge of objects.患健忘症的人不会忘记关于物体的一些基本知识。
- Chinese medicine experts developed a way to treat amnesia using marine materials.中国医学专家研制出用海洋物质治疗遗忘症的方法。
2 spatial
adj.空间的，占据空间的
- This part of brain judges the spatial relationship between objects.大脑的这部分判断物体间的空间关系。
- They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
3 references
n.参考( reference的名词复数 )；证明书；（为方便查询所用的）标记；（帮助或意见的）征求
- Applications with a full curriculum vitae and two references should reach the Principal by June 12th. 申请书连同完整个人简历和两份推荐信必须在6月12日以前送达校长处。
- The book is full of references to growing up in India. 这本书谈到许多在印度怎样长大成人的事。
4 sensory
adj.知觉的，感觉的，知觉器官的
- Human powers of sensory discrimination are limited.人类感官分辨能力有限。
- The sensory system may undergo long-term adaptation in alien environments.感觉系统对陌生的环境可能经过长时期才能适应。
5 proceedings
n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报
- He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
- to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼