VOA慢速英语2016--触摸的力量

The Power of Touch 触摸的力量

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health and Lifestyle report.

What is your first language? French? Chinese? Russian? Or English?

How about none of the above?

The first language of all humans is touch.

In the womb we begin touching¹ our face in an effort to learn about ourselves. As infants we are calmed and soothed² by our mother’s touch. Through all stages of our lives, we are comforted, we are helped, by touch. Students who receive a supportive touch participate more in class. Athletes have better games if they receive a high-five or a slap on the back from a teammate.

Clinical studies done over the years have found that a loving touch can lower our blood pressure, reduce anxiety and stress, and raise the levels of our good hormones³.

Matt Hertenstein is an experimental psychologist at DePauw University in Indiana. He studies how touching can affect a person’s physical and emotional health. Hertenstein has written many articles on the power of touch. He writes in a 2010 report that if a child does not have enough loving touches early in life, the brain does not grow to normal size. Also, the connections between neurons do not develop properly.

In a recent interview with National Public Radio (NPR), Hertenstein said he found that loving touches can lower levels of cortisol – sometimes called the “stress hormone⁴” -- and raise levels of oxytocin -- sometimes called the “cuddle” or “bonding hormone.”

Even simple hand-holding causes levels of the stress hormone cortisol to drop.

You don’t have to be a researcher to know this. In his song “Human Touch,” Bruce Springsteen sings about it.

I ain't lookin' for prayers or pity

I ain't comin' 'round searchin' for a crutch⁵

I just want someone to talk to

And a little of that human touch

Just a little of that human touch

But besides studies and rock songs, I am sure we all have stories about how a loving, caring touch helped to make a bad situation better.

Here is my first-person story.

It is a winter day and I am walking home from work. It is cold and windy. I cross my arms against my body, trying to make myself warmer. My head points down against the wind. I curse myself for not wearing a warmer coat.    

The pavement goes by quickly under my feet, as I think about my undone⁶ work waiting for me on my computer. I think about the mistakes I made and what I could’ve done better. I remind myself to pay the bills. I think about what I’m going to cook for dinner. Taking inventory⁷ in my mind, I worry. There are no fresh vegetables in my house. None. Not even a pea. I need to shop.

My mind is miles and miles away.

Then I notice her.

She is walking in front of me on the sidewalk. Well, she is not really walking, more like shuffling⁸ along in her house slippers⁹. Her back is hunched¹⁰ over. She is not wearing a coat and her short, gray hair is messy.

As I pass her, she turns and smiles. Her smile lights up her face. I see that she is well into her 80s, maybe even early 90s. And she is holding some letters in her hands.

I walk on and arrive at the traffic light. Waiting there, I see the mailbox across the street. The light turns green for me to cross the street. But I pretend to check my phone and wait for her to catch up to me. In this neighborhood, even crossing with the green light is dangerous. Drivers often drive wildly through red lights and stop signs.

When she reaches me on the sidewalk, we wait, side-by-side, for the light to change. I want to speak to her, but I’m not sure. People are often untrusting of strangers in the city, and rightfully so.

But I turn to her and gently touch her on the arm.

“Excuse me ma’am. Can I help you?”

She smiles and answers in a language I do not understand. Is it Polish? Hungarian? It sounds Eastern European. But then she waves her hand as if to say, “We don’t need to talk, my dear.” She seems like the kind of woman who would call me “dear.”

She takes my hand in hers and holds it. Her small hand is soft and warm. So, now we’re waiting hand-in-hand for the light to change. What might have felt awkward¹¹, feels comfortable.

The light changes and we walk together slowly across the street. I drop the letters in the mailbox and take her back across the street.

When safely across, she says, “thank you” in beautifully accented English and waves good-bye.

As I walk home the rest of the way home I can still feel the warmth of her hand in my own. I touch my hand to my cheek. As a cold wind blows across my face, I look up to meet it. The night sky is beautiful and the air is crystal clear. A baby waves at me from inside a passing car. I watch a clumsy squirrel¹² jump onto a tree branch and miss. I laugh and laugh.

Even as I write this, thinking of her, I can still feel her soft, warm hand in mine.

Words in This Story

shuffling – v. to bend your body forward and down so that your back is rounded to slide your feet along the ground or back and forth¹³ without lifting them completely

hunched – v. to bend your body forward and down so that your back is rounded

messy – adj. not clean or tidy; not neat

pretend – v. to make believe

pavement – n. the artificially covered surface of a public thoroughfare

inventory -– n. a complete list of the things that are in a place

awkward – adj. causing embarrassment¹⁴

comfortable – adj. allowing you to be relaxed : causing no worries, difficulty, or uncertainty¹⁵

crystal clear – adj. perfectly¹⁶ clear : able to be seen through completely

clumsy – adj. moving or doing things in a very awkward way and tending to drop or break things

1 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

2 soothed   

v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦

参考例句：

• The music soothed her for a while. 音乐让她稍微安静了一会儿。
• The soft modulation of her voice soothed the infant. 她柔和的声调使婴儿安静了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

4 hormone   

n.荷尔蒙，激素，内分泌

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。

5 crutch   

n.T字形拐杖；支持，依靠，精神支柱

参考例句：

• Her religion was a crutch to her when John died.约翰死后，她在精神上依靠宗教信仰支撑住自己。
• He uses his wife as a kind of crutch because of his lack of confidence.他缺乏自信心，总把妻子当作主心骨。

6 undone   

a.未做完的，未完成的

参考例句：

• He left nothing undone that needed attention.所有需要注意的事他都注意到了。

7 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

8 shuffling   

adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• Don't go shuffling along as if you were dead. 别像个死人似地拖着脚走。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some one was shuffling by on the sidewalk. 外面的人行道上有人拖着脚走过。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

9 slippers   

n. 拖鞋

参考例句：

• a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋
• He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋，倒在床上。

10 hunched   

（常指因寒冷、生病或愁苦）耸肩弓身的，伏首前倾的

参考例句：

• He sat with his shoulders hunched up. 他耸起双肩坐着。
• Stephen hunched down to light a cigarette. 斯蒂芬弓着身子点燃一支烟。

11 awkward   

adj.笨拙的，尴尬的，使用不便的，难处理的

参考例句：

• John is so shy and awkward that everyone notices him.约翰如此害羞狼狈，以至于大家都注意到了他。
• I was the only man among the guests and felt rather awkward.作为客人中的唯一男性，我有些窘迫。

12 squirrel   

n.松鼠，松鼠的毛皮；vt.贮藏以备用

参考例句：

• The squirrel makes a store of nuts for the winter.松鼠贮藏坚果以备过冬。
• A squirrel hoards nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬贮藏坚果。

13 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

14 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

15 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

16 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。