佈滿污垢的螢幕上有多少卡路里？：英語精讀講義

Hey, Vsauce.

嘿，Vsauce。

Michael here,

我是Michael，

and I am home for the holidays. 片語搭配

我回家過節了。

I'm in my parents' basement using a different camera than usual. 文法

我現在待在父母家的地下室裡，用的攝影機也和平常不一樣。

But you know what is always different?

不過，你知道什麼東西總是不一樣嗎？

Fingerprints.

指紋。

The palms of our hands and the soles of our feet are weird.

我們的手掌和腳底很奇怪。

They are covered with friction ridges, 用詞

上面布滿了摩擦脊紋，

which act like the design of a stamp that stamps everything you touch. 表達脈絡

就像印章上的圖案一樣，會印在你碰觸的每樣東西上。

Plastic or patent prints are visible to the naked eye. 慣用語

立體指紋或顯性指紋可以直接用肉眼看到。

But even with seemingly clean hands on a seemingly clean surface, 文法

但即使用看似乾淨的手去摸看似乾淨的表面，

a fingerprint can be left.

也可能留下指紋。

A latent fingerprint. 用詞

一道潛伏指紋。

But what are those made of?

但這些指紋究竟是由什麼構成的呢？

Well, by the square millimeter,

嗯，以每平方公釐來看，

they're made out of this.

它們就是由這些東西構成的。

All of this stuff is natural.

這些東西全都是人體自然產生的。

In fact,

事實上，

a lot of it is produced to keep your skin healthy,

其中很多都是人體為了讓皮膚保持健康、

waterproof,

防水、

pliable.

柔軟有彈性而分泌的。

But touch a surface enough and the gunk can build up. 片語動詞

但只要反覆碰觸一個表面，髒東西就會愈積愈多。

It's what causes smudges on computer screens and mobile devices.

電腦螢幕和行動裝置上的污痕就是這麼來的。

Now,

那麼，

given that protein contains 4 calories per gram,

已知每公克蛋白質含4卡路里，

fat contains 9 calories per gram,

每公克脂肪含9卡路里，

and the surface area of the iPhone 5 is 4,400 square millimeters,

而iPhone 5的表面積為4,400平方公釐，

completely licking clean a smudgy iPhone 5 screen

如果把一台沾滿污痕的iPhone 5螢幕徹底舔乾淨，

is gonna give you about 2 calories. 用詞

你大約能攝取2卡路里。

If you were to lick clean 245 smudgy iPhone 5s, 文法

如果你舔乾淨245台髒兮兮的iPhone 5，

well, that would be the same as eating a Big Mac.

那就相當於吃了一個大麥克。

But before you run off and get all of your nutrition from smudgy phones, 片語動詞

不過，在你急著跑去靠髒手機補充所有營養之前，

you should know that us humans need a bit more variety than that. 文法

你得知道，我們人類需要的營養可比這更多樣一點。

I've always found it interesting that cats and dogs can grow up and live great lives

我一直覺得很有意思：貓狗可以長大，而且活得很好，

eating the exact same food every day.

即使牠們每天吃的都是一模一樣的食物。

Well, what about us humans?

那麼，我們人類呢？

What can we eat every day without ever changing it up and be fine? 片語動詞

我們可以每天吃什麼、從不換口味，卻依然沒事？

It turns out that there is one type of food 表達脈絡

事實證明，確實有一種食物，

that you could eat every day for the rest of your life 片語搭配

你可以在餘生每天都吃，

and be fine without ever having something different.

即使從不換別的，也不會有問題。

If you follow @tweetsauce,

如果你追蹤了@tweetsauce，

you already know what it is.

你已經知道答案是什麼了。

The answer is human breast milk.

答案就是人類的母乳。

Whether your ridges loop or arch or whorl is largely genetic, 文法

你的脊紋是箕形、弓形還是斗形，很大程度上由遺傳決定，

but the tiny minutiae of your prints formed while you were developing inside your mother. 用詞

但指紋的細微特徵，是你還在母親體內發育時形成的。

It tells a story about the very specific conditions around the dividing cells 慣用語

它們訴說著分裂中的細胞周圍那些極為特定的環境，

that became your skin.

這些細胞後來變成了你的皮膚。

And for that reason, 表達脈絡

正因如此，

even identical twins who pretty much share the exact same DNA

即使是DNA幾乎完全相同的同卵雙胞胎，

wind up with different fingerprints. 片語動詞

最後也會擁有不同的指紋。

I could clone you 100 times

我可以把你複製100次，

and every one of those clones would have a unique set of fingerprints.

而每一個複製體都會擁有獨一無二的一組指紋。

Your skin has two major layers,

皮膚主要分為兩層，

the epidermis on the outside, 用詞

外面是表皮，

and the dermis, which is below.

下面則是真皮。

The basal layer of your epidermis creates new skin cells,

表皮的基底層會生成新的皮膚細胞，

which migrate up towards the outside world where they die and flatten out, 片語動詞

這些細胞會朝外界移動，並在途中死亡、變扁，

forming the protective outermost part of your skin,

形成皮膚最外側的保護層，

the horny layer, 用詞

也就是角質層，

which means that all day,

這意味著一整天，

every day,

日復一日，

you are covered with and showing off to the entire world

你都被它包覆著，還向全世界展示

your horny layer.

你的角質層。

These outer cells are constantly shed away,

這些外層細胞會不斷脫落，

but their arrangement stays the same

但它們的排列方式始終不變，

because their shape is determined by the shape of the basal layer down below. 片語搭配

因為它們的形狀是由下方基底層的形狀決定的。

This is why you can superficially and temporarily sandpaper or cut off your fingerprints,

所以，你可以用砂紙磨掉或割掉表層的指紋，讓它暫時消失，

but they'll still grow back the way they were before. 片語動詞

但它仍會照原本的樣子重新長出來。

But why do we have fingerprints in the first place? 片語搭配

可是，我們一開始為什麼會有指紋呢？

I mean,

我是說，

not all mammals have friction ridges.

並不是所有哺乳類動物都有摩擦脊紋。

Is this some sort of cruel joke the universe made

難道這是宇宙開的某種殘酷玩笑，

to make it more difficult for us humans to get away with crimes? 片語動詞

就是為了讓我們人類犯罪後更難逍遙法外嗎？

Probably not.

大概不是。

The most likely answer is twofold.

最可能的答案包含兩個部分。

First of all,

首先，

it has been shown that friction ridges allow us to sense subtle textures 片語搭配

研究顯示，摩擦脊紋能讓我們感知細微質地的能力

100 times better than if we didn't have them. 文法

提升到沒有它們時的100倍。

And because fingerprints loop and arch and swirl in different directions,

而且，指紋的環形、弓形和旋渦紋路朝向各不相同，

all it takes is one simple touch for us to detect a subtle texture moving in any direction. 文法

我們只要輕輕一碰，就能察覺往任何方向移動的細微質地。

It's also been shown that having friction ridges allows mammals like us primates, koalas,

研究也顯示，摩擦脊紋能讓我們這類哺乳動物，例如靈長類、無尾熊、

the North American fisher, 文化背景

北美漁貂等，

to better climb and grasp wet stuff.

更擅長攀爬和抓握濕滑的東西。

Even though no two fingerprints are exactly the same, 文法

儘管世上沒有兩枚指紋完全相同，

the methods we have for matching fingerprints aren't always perfect.

但我們的指紋比對方法並不總是萬無一失。

There are plenty of different ways to model fingerprints

指紋建模有許多不同的方法，

and each one is calculated a different probability of a false match. 用詞

每種方法算出的誤配機率都不一樣。

But if you wanna commit a crime,

不過，如果你想犯罪，

it's best to just avoid fingerprints altogether.

最好還是徹底避開指紋這個問題。

How about hiring someone with adermatoglyphia? 語氣意圖

僱用一個患有無皮紋症的人怎麼樣？

A few skin conditions can cause the disappearance of fingerprints,

有幾種皮膚疾病會讓指紋消失，

but adermatoglyphia is a genetic one that has no other side effects. 用詞

但無皮紋症是一種沒有其他副作用的遺傳疾病。

But it's rare.

不過它很罕見。

Only four extended families on Earth are known to have the condition.

據我們所知，全球只有四個大家族有這種疾病。

But if you wanna avoid leaving fingerprints

但如果你不想留下指紋，

and can't find somebody with adermatoglyphia,

又找不到患有無皮紋症的人，

don't worry,

別擔心，

just find someone who hasn't gone through puberty yet. 片語搭配

只要找個還沒進入青春期的人就行。

Sure,

當然，

kids might snot and slobber all over stuff,

小孩可能會把鼻涕和口水弄得到處都是，

but they carry far less heavy waxy oil on their skin. 文法

但他們皮膚上的厚重蠟狀油脂要少得多。

And for this reason,

正因如此，

the fingerprints of a child will disappear,

小孩留下的指紋會消失、

evaporate,

蒸發，

much more quickly than those of an adult.

速度比成年人的指紋快得多。

A child's fingerprints can evaporate in only a few hours.

小孩的指紋只要幾個小時就能蒸發。

So,

所以，

use kids to commit your crimes. 語氣意圖

就讓小孩幫你犯罪吧。

And as always,

一如往常，

thanks for watching.

感謝收看。