(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Unkind Words Hurt the Brain
From VOA Learning English, this is the Health and Lifestyle report.
There is a popular saying in the English language: "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me."
Well, that is not true.
Unkind words, name-calling or even the so-called "the silent treatment" can hurt children as much as being physically hit, sometimes even more so.
A recent study of middle school children showed that verbal abuse by other children can harm development in the brain. The study was a project of researchers at Harvard Medical School in Massachusetts.
Researcher Martin Teicher and his team studied young adults, ages 18 to 25. These young men and women had no experience with domestic violence, sexual abuse or physical abuse by their parents.
The researchers asked the young people to rate their childhood exposure to verbal abuse from both parents and other children. Then the researchers performed imaging tests on the brains of the subjects.
The images showed that the individuals who reported suffering verbal abuse from their peers in middle school had underdeveloped connections between the left and right side of the brain.
The two sides of the brain are connected by a large bundle of connecting fibers called the corpus callosum. This was the area that was underdeveloped.
The middle school years are a time when these brain connections are developing. So, unkind, hurtful comments from children or adults during this period had the greatest effect.
The researchers tested the mental and emotional condition of all the young people in the study. The tests showed that this same group of individuals had higher levels of fear, depression, anger and drug abuse than others in the study.
The researchers published their findings online on the American Journal of Psychiatry's website.
We cannot control what other people say to our children. But we can prepare them. A website called CreativeWithKids.com suggests 64 things that all children need to hear.
Here, are our top 20.
I am curious what you think.
You are creative.
I believe in you.
You can ask for help.
You make me smile
I have faith in you.
You are imperfect. So am I.
You are a good friend.
I will do my best to keep you safe.
Trust your instincts.
My world is better with you in it.
I love you.
It's fun to do things with you.
You are valuable.
Your choices matter.
You can change your mind.
You make a difference.
I'm ready to listen.
You can learn from your mistakes.
I'm proud of you.
Share one or more of these statements with a child in your life. Actually, maybe we all need to hear some of these statements.
Choose another and say it to an adult you care about.
I'm Anna Matteo.
词汇解析
1.name-calling 骂人；中伤
Then the teacher arrived and said that the name-calling had got to stop.
这时老师来了，说不许再骂人了。
2.verbal abuse 口头谩骂
They were jostled and subjected to a torrent of verbal abuse.
他们被推来搡去，受到大肆的谩骂攻击。
3.domestic violence 家庭暴力
Women are still the main victims of domestic violence.
女性仍然是家庭暴力的主要受害者。
4.sexual abuse 性虐待
This book is written with survivors of child sexual abuse in mind.
这本书关注的是童年时遭受过性骚扰的人。
内容解析
1.Unkind words, name-calling or even the so-called "the silent treatment" can hurt children as much as being physically hit, sometimes even more so.
as much as 差不多
I enjoy pleasure as much as the next person
我和别人一样愉快。
Experts reveal only as much as they care to.
专家们只透露了他们想透露的那些。
2.The tests showed that this same group of individuals had higher levels of fear, depression, anger and drug abuse than others in the study.
in order to 为了...
Drug abuse is a can of worms nobody wants to open at sporting events.
滥用药物是体育赛事中无人想要触及的棘手问题。
The fight against drug abuse goes on.
反对吸毒的斗争在继续。
参考译文
语言暴力太可怕 这20句话适合孩子听
这里是VOA慢速英语健康生活报道。
英语里有一句谚语：“棍棒和石头会打断我的筋骨，但是流言蜚语却难以伤我分毫。”
而今，这一说法被推翻。
不友善的语言、谩骂甚至所谓的“冷战”对孩子造成的伤害不亚于肉体所遭受的创伤，甚至更严重。
一项针对中学生的新研究表明，语言暴力会损害孩子的大脑发育。该研究是马萨诸塞州哈佛医学院研究人员进行的一个项目。
研究人员马丁·泰契尔（Martin Teicher）和团队调查了18到25岁的青少年。这些青少年都未遭受过家庭暴力、性虐待或体罚。
研究人员让青少年评价遭受过父母或其他孩子语言暴力的童年。接着，研究人员对受访者进行大脑成像测试。
图像显示，在中学遭受过同龄人语言暴力的人，其左右脑之间存在一条欠发达的连接。
大脑两侧通过“胼胝体”的纤维连接，这就是欠发达的大脑区域。
中学时期是大脑连接发育的重要阶段。因此，该阶段同龄人或成年人不友善的、侮辱性的语言的影响力最大。
研究人员还对受访青少年的精神和情感状态进行测试。结果表明，与其他人相比，这群青少年普遍存在较高程度的恐惧、抑郁、愤怒和滥用药物的现象。
研究人员将研究结果发表在《美国精神病学杂志》的网站上。
我们无法阻止别人评论孩子。但是可以让他们做好心理准备。CreativeWithKids.com网站总结出孩子需要聆听到的64句话。
以下是前20句。
我想知道你是怎么想的。
你真有创意。
我相信你。
你可以向别人求助。
你让我心情愉悦。
我对你充满信心。
你不完美，我也如此。
你是个忠实的朋友。
我会尽全力护你周全。
相信你的直觉。
我的世界因你更美好。
我爱你。
和你一起共事真有趣。
你很有价值。
你的选择至关重要。
你可以改主意。
你让一切与众不同。
我洗耳恭听。
你可以从错误中汲取教训。
我为你感到骄傲。
在生活中经常和孩子们分享这些语句。其实，也许我们都需要时常听到这些语句。
选一句倾诉给你关心的人吧。
安娜·马特奥为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
