你有沒有想過為什麼看到別人打哈欠後自己也會打哈欠？據研究人員稱，如果你認為自己和一個正在打哈欠的人之間有相似之處，那麼你是否也會打哈欠將受到影響。本文討論為什麼人們會打哈欠，為什麼打哈欠會傳染。
Vocabulary: sleep 詞彙：睡眠
Yawning is something we all do – maybe because we’re bored carrying out tedious tasks or because we’re tired. Sometimes, just seeing other people yawn can set you off. But is this biological function really contagious, and why do we do it in the first place?
Many of us think we open our mouths when we yawn to take in more oxygen, but in fact it appears there is no clear biological reason. According to BBC Bitesize, new research suggests it might be because yawning cools the brain down and prevents it from overheating, much like the fan in your laptop. This might be why we’re more likely to feel drowsy and yawn in warm temperatures.
What is clear is that we yawn more when we’re exhausted and ready for a nap, and we can’t control when we do it – once we start, there’s no stopping us! But it’s also true that yawning is a very contagious behaviour. John Drury, a researcher from Sussex University, told the BBC that “it’s meant to be automatic; it’s something that you can’t stop. Dogs yawn when their owners yawn, animals yawn to each other. It happens whether you want to or not.”
His research into this cognitive behaviour found that there is a connection with our social group and how close we are to the people in it. If we identify with the person who exhibits the behaviour, we are likely to copy it too.
Other research by the University of Nottingham in 2017 found similar results. They asked volunteers to watch other people yawn. They found their ability to resist yawning when others around them yawned was limited. And the urge to yawn was increased when people were told they couldn’t. They also found, when using electrical stimulation, that they were able to increase people’s desire to yawn. These findings, they say, could be useful because it could help treat other conditions like Tourette’s, which involve the same area of the brain.
What is certain is that a yawn can creep up on us at any time even when we think we’re not tired – but, I hope, not when you’re reading this article!
詞彙表
yawning 打哈欠bored 感到無聊的tired 疲倦的，累的set sb. off 使某人開始做某事biological function 生物功能contagious 有感染力的，會蔓延的oxygen 氧氣overheat 使……變得過熱drowsy 昏昏欲睡的exhausted 精疲力盡的a nap 小睡，打盹behaviour 行為automatic 不自覺的，無意識的cognitive 認知的identify with sb. 與某人產生共鳴exhibit 表現出resist 抗拒urge 強烈的慾望electrical stimulation 電刺激creep up on sb. 不知不覺中體驗到，悄悄接近某人
測驗與練習
1. 閱讀課文並回答問題。
1. According to one researcher, what does yawning stop from overheating?
2. True or false? We yawn more to take in more oxygen.
3. What happens when people are told not to yawn?
4. True or false? We are more likely to yawn when someone we know yawns.
5. How can we stop ourselves yawning?
2. 請在不參考課文的情況下完成下列練習。選擇一個意思合適的單詞填入句子的空格處。
1. I find walking to work every day a bit _______, so I might start cycling instead.
contagious tedious automatic drowsy
2. When my sister started crying at the wedding, it _______ and we were all infloods of tears!
set one off set it off set us off set you off
3. I’m not going out tonight: I’ve worked two nightshifts and I’m _______.
drowsy a nap overheating exhausted
4. I’m supposed to be on a diet, but it’s hard to _______ all the chocolate peoplebring into the office.
resist urge exhibit contagious
5. He found it hard to _______ his team as he had come from a differentbackground.
identity with identify on identify with identify at
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