生小孩 vs 踢蛋蛋：英語精讀講義

In the battle of the sexes, 慣用語

在兩性之爭中，

we're fiercely divided.

雙方一直爭得不可開交。

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

說到疼痛，到底誰比較慘？

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

女性得把一個西瓜大小的東西，從硬幣大小的洞口生出來。

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

男性則抗議說，他們的「命根子」哪怕只受一點擦碰，也可能痛得完全動彈不得。

So which hurts more,

那麼，哪一種比較痛，

childbirth or getting kicked in the balls?

生產，還是睪丸被踢？

Before we begin,

開始之前，

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

網路上一直流傳著一種說法，聲稱人體最多能承受45 Del的疼痛，

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

然而，母親生產時承受的疼痛可高達57 del，

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

據說這相當於同時斷了20根骨頭。

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

這種說法接著聲稱，睪丸被踢會產生超過9,000 Del的疼痛。

Now,

先等等，

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

先不說這套邏輯有多荒謬——這兩種情況竟然都能超過所謂的人體極限，

it actually uses a unit of pain,

它居然還使用了一種疼痛單位，

the Del,

叫作Del，

which doesn't even exist.

但這個單位根本不存在。

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

不過，過去倒是有人設計過一種叫作dol的疼痛單位，

from the Latin word for pain,

名稱源自拉丁文中表示疼痛的字

dolor,

「dolor」，

but we'll discuss this later.

但這個我們稍後再談。

To really evaluate this question,

要真正分析這個問題，

we first need to understand what pain is. 文法

首先得了解疼痛究竟是什麼。

which isn't an easy task.

這可不是件容易的事。

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

事實上，人體內有一群稱為「傷害感受器」的特化神經細胞，會對疼痛產生反應。

Unlike other nerves,

與其他神經不同，

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

其他神經受到一般觸碰或溫度刺激時很容易放電，

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

傷害感受器卻只有在刺激超過一定的疼痛門檻後才會放電。

Some of these nociceptors respond quickly, 文法

有些傷害感受器反應很快，

sending signals to the spinal cord and brain,

會把訊號傳到脊髓和大腦，

which produce sharp and sudden pain,

產生尖銳而突然的疼痛，

allowing you to react quickly,

讓你能迅速反應，

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

另一些傳遞速度較慢，負責產生持續的鈍痛。

For males,

對男性而言，

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

睪丸是從體腔內移到體外的內臟器官，

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

我們在先前的一支影片中解釋過這件事，你可以點這裡觀看。

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

雖然肝臟等部分內臟感覺不到疼痛，

others like the testicles are covered with many nociceptors,

但睪丸等其他器官卻布滿傷害感受器，

making them extremely sensitive. 文法

因此極度敏感。

After all,

畢竟，

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

它們的安危至關重要。

Furthermore,

此外，

the testicles are attached to many nerves in the stomach,

睪丸和腹部的許多神經相連，

as well as the vagus nerve,

也和迷走神經相連，

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

而迷走神經直接連接大腦的嘔吐中樞，

and this is why when hit, 文法

所以睪丸受到撞擊時，

the pain spreads throughout the abdomen.

疼痛會擴散到整個腹部。

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

睪丸幾乎沒有任何保護，這只會進一步加重隨之而來的噁心、

increased blood pressure,

血壓升高、

heart rate, and sweating.

心跳加快和出汗等症狀。

But not so fast, 語氣意圖

不過先別急，

gentlemen.

各位男士。

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

雖然生產不會直接撞擊任何內臟器官，

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

但子宮區域的機械性擴張同樣會觸發傷害感受器，造成同類的內臟痛。

Also consider that throughout evolution,

還要想想，在演化過程中，

female human hips have become smaller, 文法

人類女性的骨盆變得更小，

while babies' heads have become larger.

嬰兒的頭卻變得更大。

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

更別說生產平均會持續8小時，還伴隨著噁心、

fatigue,

疲憊

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,

隨著產程加劇，肌肉和組織承受的緊繃與拉伸也會加重，

creating sharp and localized pain.

造成尖銳的局部疼痛。

Okay,

好吧，

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

顯然，這兩種情況都很痛，也都會產生大量機械刺激，把訊號傳到大腦的疼痛中樞。

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

但事情的複雜之處在於，疼痛不只是身體反應，

but rather a partially perceptive or subjective experience.

更是一種部分取決於感知的主觀體驗。

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

也就是說，每個人感受到疼痛的方式都略有不同。

And not only between individuals, 文法

而且不只是人與人之間有差異，

but depending on your mood,

即使是同一個人，疼痛帶來的影響也會隨著你的心情、

alertness,

清醒程度，

or even previous experience,

甚至過去的經驗

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, 文法

正因如此，許多試圖客觀測量疼痛的嘗試都失敗了，

including the dol system,

其中也包括dol系統，

which we mentioned earlier.

也就是我們之前提過的那個。

Interestingly,

有趣的是，

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

將近80%的上肢截肢者都會經歷一種稱為「幻肢痛」的現象。

That is,

也就是說，

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

他們會在已經不存在的肢體上感到疼痛。

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

雖然我們對這種疼痛的機制仍了解不多，

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

但很明顯，並沒有任何特定的刺激輸入會引發這種反應。

And yet,

即使如此，

they still feel a very real pain.

他們感受到的疼痛依然非常真實。

As such, 表達脈絡

因此，

pain is not a stimulus. 表達脈絡

疼痛並不是一種刺激。

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

它是一種因人而異的體驗。

Suffice to say, 片語搭配

總而言之，

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

無論是生產還是睪丸被踢，都可能非常痛。

So,

所以，

we call this one a tie. 慣用語

這一局我們判定平手。

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

先不說這兩種體驗截然不同，而且還有許多變因要考量，

in some instances,

在某些情況下，

a man could experience more pain than his female counterpart,

男性感受到的疼痛可能比女性更強烈，

and vice versa. 片語搭配

反過來也一樣。

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

最大的差別是，一種情況會帶來一個新生兒，

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

另一種則可能降低日後擁有孩子的機會。

Got a burning question you want answered? 講解

你有什麼迫切想知道答案的問題嗎？

Ask it in the comments or on Facebook and Twitter.

歡迎在留言區、Facebook或Twitter上提問。

And subscribe for more weekly science videos.

記得訂閱，收看我們每週更新的更多科學影片。