生孩子 vs 踢蛋蛋：英语精读讲义

In the battle of the sexes, 習語

在两性之争中，

we're fiercely divided.

双方一直争得不可开交。

Who has it worse when it comes to pain? 短語搭配

说到疼痛，到底谁更惨？

On the one hand, 表達脈絡

一方面，

women are left with the task of fitting a watermelon-sized object through a coin-sized hole. 講解

女性得把一个西瓜大小的东西，从硬币大小的孔里生出来。

On the other hand,

另一方面，

males protest that even the slightest nick of their family jewels can leave them incapacitated. 講解

男性则抗议说，他们的“命根子”哪怕只受一点擦碰，也可能痛得完全动弹不得。

So which hurts more,

那么，哪一种更痛，

childbirth or getting kicked in the balls?

分娩，还是被踢中睾丸？

Before we begin,

在开始之前，

there's a rumor that has circulated the internet claiming that the human body can take up to 45 Del units of pain,

网上一直流传着一种说法，称人体最多能承受45 Del的疼痛，

and yet a mother feels up to 57 del of pain during childbirth,

然而，母亲在分娩时承受的疼痛可高达57 del，

which is apparently equivalent to 20 bones being fractured at once.

据说这相当于同时折断20根骨头。

The claim then goes on to suggest that being kicked in the balls brings more than 9,000 Del of pain. 表達脈絡

这种说法接着声称，被踢中睾丸会产生超过9000 Del的疼痛。

Now,

先别急，

apart from the absurd logic that both of these events can surpass the alleged human limit, 講解

且不说这套逻辑有多荒谬——这两种情况居然都能超过所谓的人体极限，

it actually uses a unit of pain,

它还用了一种疼痛单位，

the Del,

叫作Del，

which doesn't even exist.

而这种单位根本不存在。

There is a unit of pain once devised called the dol, 用詞

倒是曾有人设计过一种名为dol的疼痛单位，

from the Latin word for pain,

名称源自拉丁语中表示疼痛的词

dolor,

“dolor”，

but we'll discuss this later.

不过我们稍后再谈这个。

To really evaluate this question,

要真正分析这个问题，

we first need to understand what pain is. 語法

首先得弄清楚疼痛是什么。

which isn't an easy task.

这可并不容易。

There's actually a group of specialized nerve cells in your body called nociceptors that react to pain. 用詞

事实上，人体内有一类叫作伤害感受器的特化神经细胞，会对疼痛作出反应。

Unlike other nerves,

与其他神经不同，

which readily fire in response to normal touch or temperature, 用詞

其他神经受到普通触碰或温度刺激时很容易放电，

nociceptors will only fire once a certain pain threshold has been passed. 講解

而伤害感受器只有在刺激超过一定的疼痛阈值后才会放电。

Some of these nociceptors respond quickly, 語法

有些伤害感受器反应很快，

sending signals to the spinal cord and brain,

会向脊髓和大脑发送信号，

which produce sharp and sudden pain,

从而产生尖锐而突然的疼痛，

allowing you to react quickly,

让你迅速作出反应，

while others transmit more slowly and are responsible for the prolonged dull ache you feel. 用詞

另一些则传递得较慢，负责产生持续的钝痛。

For males,

对男性来说，

testicles are internal organs that have migrated out of the body cavity, 用詞

睾丸是从体腔内迁移到体外的内脏器官，

which we explain in a previous video you can check out here. 短語動詞

我们在之前的一期视频中解释过这一点，你可以点这里查看。

And while some internal organs such as the liver feel no pain,

虽然肝脏等一些内脏感觉不到疼痛，

others like the testicles are covered with many nociceptors,

但睾丸等其他器官却分布着大量伤害感受器，

making them extremely sensitive. 語法

因而极其敏感。

After all,

毕竟，

their well-being is of the utmost importance. 短語搭配

它们的安危至关重要。

Furthermore,

此外，

the testicles are attached to many nerves in the stomach,

睾丸与腹部的许多神经相连，

as well as the vagus nerve,

也与迷走神经相连，

which is directly connected to the brain's vomit center,

而迷走神经又直接连接大脑的呕吐中枢，

and this is why when hit, 語法

所以睾丸受到撞击时，

the pain spreads throughout the abdomen.

疼痛会扩散到整个腹部。

The fact that testicles have minimal protection only strengthens the accompanying symptoms of nausea, 語法

睾丸几乎没有什么保护，这只会进一步加剧随之而来的恶心、

increased blood pressure,

血压升高、

heart rate, and sweating.

心率加快和出汗等症状。

But not so fast, 語氣意圖

不过先别急，

gentlemen.

先生们。

Even though childbirth may not be facing a direct blow to any internal organs, 語法

尽管分娩并不会直接撞击任何内脏器官，

the mechanical distention of the uterine area also triggers nociceptors and causes the same kind of visceral pain. 用詞

但子宫区域的机械性扩张同样会触发伤害感受器，造成同类的内脏痛。

Also consider that throughout evolution,

还要考虑到，在进化过程中，

female human hips have become smaller, 語法

人类女性的髋部变得更窄，

while babies' heads have become larger.

而婴儿的头却变得更大。

And not to mention labor lasts 8 hours on average with a mixture of nausea, 表達脈絡

更别说分娩平均要持续8小时，还伴随着恶心、

fatigue,

疲劳

and pain.

和疼痛。

On top of it all, 表達脈絡

除此之外，

tension and stretching of muscle and tissue increase as labor intensifies,

随着分娩加剧，肌肉和组织的紧绷与拉伸也会加剧，

creating sharp and localized pain.

造成尖锐的局部疼痛。

Okay,

好吧，

so both obviously hurt and have a lot of mechanical stimulation sending signals to the pain centers of the brain.

显然，两种情况都很痛，而且都会产生大量机械刺激，向大脑的疼痛中枢发送信号。

But this is where it gets tricky because the pain isn't simply a physical response, 講解

但事情的复杂之处在于，疼痛并不只是身体反应，

but rather a partially perceptive or subjective experience.

它也是一种部分取决于感知的主观体验。

This means that every single individual perceives pain in a slightly different way.

这意味着每个人对疼痛的感受都略有不同。

And not only between individuals, 語法

而且不只是人与人之间有差异，

but depending on your mood,

即使是同一个人，疼痛的影响也会随你的情绪、

alertness,

清醒程度，

or even previous experience,

甚至以往的经历

pain may affect you differently.

而有所不同。

It's for this reason that so many attempts to objectively measure pain have failed, 語法

正因如此，许多试图客观测量疼痛的尝试都失败了，

including the dol system,

其中就包括dol体系，

which we mentioned earlier.

也就是我们之前提到的那个。

Interestingly,

有意思的是，

nearly 80% of upper limb amputees experience a phenomenon known as phantom limb pain. 文化背景

近80%的上肢截肢者都会经历一种名为“幻肢痛”的现象。

That is,

也就是说，

they feel pain in a limb that is no longer there.

他们会在已经不存在的肢体上感到疼痛。

And while little is understood about the mechanism for this pain, 語法

尽管我们对这种疼痛的机制还知之甚少，

it's clear that there is no particular input to trigger the response.

但显然，并没有特定的刺激输入会触发这种反应。

And yet,

可即便如此，

they still feel a very real pain.

他们感受到的疼痛依然无比真实。

As such, 表達脈絡

因此，

pain is not a stimulus. 表達脈絡

疼痛并不是一种刺激。

It's an experience that's different for everybody.

它是一种因人而异的体验。

Suffice to say, 短語搭配

总而言之，

both instances of childbirth and getting hit in the balls can hurt a lot.

无论是分娩还是睾丸被踢，都可能非常疼。

So,

所以，

we call this one a tie. 習語

这一局我们判定为平手。

Apart from the fact that the experiences are completely different and there are so many variables to consider,

且不说这两种体验截然不同，还有许多变量需要考虑，

in some instances,

在某些情况下，

a man could experience more pain than his female counterpart,

男性感受到的疼痛可能比女性更强烈，

and vice versa. 短語搭配

反过来也一样。

The main difference being one results in a newborn baby, 講解

最大的区别在于，一种情况会带来一个新生儿，

while the other potentially results in a decreased chance of having one.

另一种却可能降低将来拥有孩子的概率。

Got a burning question you want answered? 講解

你有没有一个迫切想知道答案的问题？

Ask it in the comments or on Facebook and Twitter.

欢迎在评论区、Facebook或Twitter上提问。

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记得订阅，观看我们每周更新的更多科学视频。