Why Having Fun Makes Time Speed？
快乐的时光为何显得短暂？
Scientists have come up with a theory for why time flies when you are having fun - and drags when you are bored.
科学家们提出理论依据，解释为什么当你玩得开心的时候，时间总是过得飞快，而当你无聊的时侯，时间却过得特别慢。
Scans have shown that patterns of activity in the brain change depending on how we focus on a task..
通过扫描发现，大脑活动的方式随着我们对事情的关注程度发生变化。
Concentrating on time passing， as we do when bored， will trigger brain activity which will make it seem as though the clock is ticking more slowly.
我们在无聊的时候，往往把注意力集中在时间的流逝上，这样会使大脑活动产生错觉，总觉得时钟似乎走得更慢。
The research， by the French Laboratory of Neurobiology and Cognition， is published in the magazine Science.
法国神经生物和认知学实验室进行的此项研究发表在《科学》杂志上。
In the study， 12 volunteers watched an image while researchers monitored their brain activity using MRI scans.
在研究中，当12名志愿者同时看一幅图像时，研究者们用核磁共振成像扫描仪来监控他们大脑的活动。
Volunteers were given a variety of tasks. In one they were told to concentrate simply on the duration of an image， in another they were asked to focus on the colour， and in a third they were asked to concentrate on both duration and colour.
志愿者们被分配了各种不同的任务。一次他们被要求专注于图像持续的时间，另一次集中观察图像的色彩，第三次同时关注图像持续的时间和色彩。
The results showed that a network of brain regions was activated when more subjects were paid attention to duration.
结果表明，在观看图像的过程中，注意的对象多的话，就会激活大脑区域网络。
It is thought that if the brain is busy focusing on many aspects of a task， then it has to spread its resources thinly， and pays less heed to time passing.
科学家们认为如果大脑忙于关注一项任务中的多个方面，那么它不得不分散注意力，这样就不太会注意到时间的流逝。
Therefore， time passes without us really noticing it， and seems to go quickly.
所以，我们还没真正注意到时间，时间就已经过去了，而且似乎过得特别快。
However， if the brain is not stimulated in this way， it concentrates its full energies on monitoring the passing of time.
然而，如果大脑并没有受到这样的刺激，它就会把全部精力用来监控时间的流逝。
This may make time seem to drag， but in fact it is probably a more accurate perception of reality.
这样就会觉得时间过得特别慢，但是事实上这可能是对现实情况的更准确的认识。
Indeed， the researchers found that the more volunteers concentrated on the duration of the images， the more accurate were their estimates of its duration.
事实上，研究者们发现，志愿者们越是注意图像持续的时间，他们对于时间的估计就越准确。
Lead researcher Dr Jennifer Coull said many of the areas of the brain involved in estimating time were the same that played a key role in controlling movement， and preparing for action.
主任研究员詹尼弗·库尔博士说，大脑中有许多参与估计时间的区域，同时他们对行为控制和行动准备也起到重要的作用。
She said this overlap suggests that the brain may make sense of time as intervals between movements， in much the same way as a musician marks time with his foot， or an athlete anticipates the sound of a starter，s pistol.
她说这种区域重合说明大脑在活动的间隙可能会注意到时间，在很大程度上就像音乐家用脚来记录时间、运动员预料发令员的枪声一样。
Study Says “Multitasking” Inefficient
研究表明“一心二用”效率低
What else are you doing while reading this？
在阅读这篇文章的时候你手头还在忙着什么别的事情？
Researchers at the Federal Aviation Administration and the University of Michigan report that doing two or more things at once may decrease efficiency and actually take extra time switching from one task to another. In the most severe cases， it can even mean the difference between life and death.
美国联邦航天署和密歇根大学研究人员发表的报告显示，一个人同时做两件或更多的事情会降低工作效率，而从一件事情转换到另外一件事情的过程中也会花掉很多的时间。情况严重的话，“一心二用”甚至还可能导致丧命！
“People get tired when they，re trying to multitask，” and in some cases a person could ultimately create more work for himself， according to one of the lead authors， David Meyer， of the university，s psychology department.
密歇根大学心理学系戴维-迈耶是研究牵头人之一，他指出：“如果人们同时处理许多项任务，就会变得非常疲劳。” 有时候这么做非但不能节约时间反而会增大工作量。
In the study， four groups of young adults carried out a series of tasks and switched between different tasks， some complicated， such as solving math problems， and some more familiar， such as identifying geometric shapes.
在研究实验中，四组年轻人同时要完成一系列任务并在不同任务间进行转换。这些任务中，有些比较复杂，如完成数学题，有些则较为简单，如识别几何图形。
The researchers found that time was lost in just switching from one task to another， and that time costs increased with the complexity of the tasks. The subjects got “up to speed” faster when they switched to tasks that were familiar.
研究人员发现变换工作浪费了许多时间，而且越是复杂的任务之间的转换，浪费的时间越多。但是如果参加实验者换到自己较为熟悉的任务，则所用的时间要少得多。
When people， say， juggle browsing the Web and using other computer programs， or talk on the phone while driving， they are using their “executive control” processes in their brain， the researchers said. Those processes can be likened to the mental CEO， the part of the brain associated with establishing priorities among tasks and allocating resources to them.
研究人员指出，人们一边上网一边进行其他电脑程序操作，或者边开车边打电话时，他们的大脑处于“执行控制”过程中。这种过程好比是大脑活动的首席执行官，其功能在于确定哪些任务应优先解决，并为其分配大脑资源。
“For each aspect of human performance - perceiving， thinking and acting - people have specific mental resources whose effective use requires supervision through executive mental control，” said Meyer in materials provided with the report.
迈耶在其研究材料里说：“人类的任何一项活动，观察，思考或行动，都需要脑力资源的配给。而这种资源的使用效率需要通过脑力执行控制过程来监督。”
So called “multitasking” is becoming increasingly common because of cell phones and computers， the researchers point out， but it may just be adding wasted time and inefficiency to our days.
研究人员还指出，随着手机和电脑的日益普及，人们同时处理多项任务的现象也将日趋普遍。但这也许是意味着我们将要浪费更多的时间和降低工作效率。
A mere half second of time lost to task switching can mean the difference between life and death for a driver using a cell phone， Meyer said.
迈耶称，对一位驱车驾驶过程中打手机的司机而言，在任务转换过程中，半秒钟的时间延误就能决定他的生死存亡。
The authors say the research should make employers and employees think twice before implementing multitasking.
实验组织者称这项研究旨在让老板们和员工在选择同时处理多项任务时要三思而后行。
Exercising to Music Pumps up Brain Power
边锻炼边听音乐有助于提高语言表达能力
If music makes you smarter， and exercise helps brain function， can exercising to music really boost brainpower？ Some researchers said it can.
如果听音乐能使人变得更聪明，锻炼能增强大脑功能的话，那么边锻炼边听音乐真的能提高智力吗？一些研究人员对此表示肯定。
Volunteers who listened to Vivaldi，s “Four Seasons” while working out on a treadmill did much better on a test of verbal ability than when they exercised without music， a team at Ohio State University found.
俄亥俄州立大学的研究人员发现，参加实验的志愿者们一边在脚踏车上锻炼，一边听意大利作曲家维瓦尔第的《四季》时，他们在语言能力测试中的表现要比他们不听音乐时更好。