章节正文
To figure out how we pick mates, scientists have measured every shape and angle of the human face, studied the symmetry of dancers, crafted formulas from the measurements of Playboy models, and had both men and women rank attractiveness based on smelling armpit sweat.
After all this and more, the rules of attraction for the human species are still not clearly understood. How it all factors into true love is even more mysterious.
But a short list of scientific rules for the game of love is emerging. Some are as clearly defined as the prominent, feminine eyes of a supermodel or the desirable hips of a well-built man. Other rules work at the subconscious level, motivating us to action for evolutionary reasons that are tucked inside clouds of infatuation.
In the end, lasting love depends at least as much on behavior as biology. But the first moves are made before you're even born.
要知道我们怎么来挑伴侣，科学家们测量了人脸的所有形状、每个角度，研究舞者的对称性、从花花公子的模特身上建立标准身材的模型，甚至通过让人闻腋下的汗液来判断一个人吸引力。
在进行了所有这些、以及更多的实验之后，关于人类之间的吸引法则还是没有完全弄清楚。而这些因素是如何变为"真爱"就更是个谜题了。
不过还是有些科学的规律被总结了出来。有些界定得很明确，比如超级模特那种突出的、女人味十足的眼睛或者体格健壮的男性的翘屁股。有另外一些规律则而是一种潜意识的影响，在意乱情迷的表象之下隐藏的进化的原因、驱使我们采取行动。
最后，虽然行为至少与生理因素对于持久的爱情同样重要。但是最初的几步在你出生之前就已经开始了。
Symmetry equals sex
Starting at conception, the human body develops by neatly splitting cells. If every division were to go perfectly, the result would be a baby whose left and right sides are mirror images. But nature doesn't work that way. Genetic mutations and environmental pressures skew symmetry, and the results have lifelong implications.
Good symmetry shows that an individual has the genetic goods to survive development, is healthy, and is a good and fertile choice for mating.
"It makes sense to use symmetry variation in mate choice," said evolutionary biologist Randy Thornhill of the University of New Mexico. "If you choose a perfectly symmetrical partner and reproduce with them, your offspring will have a better chance of being symmetric and able to deal with perturbations."
Thornhill has been studying symmetry for 15 years and scanned faces and bodies into computers to determine symmetry ratios. Both men and women rated symmetrical members of the opposite sex as more attractive and in better health than their less symmetrical counterparts. The differences can be just a few percent-perceivable though not necessarily noticeable.
By questioning the study participants, Thornhill also found that men with higher degrees of symmetry enjoy more sexual partners than men of lower symmetry.
"Women's sex-partner numbers are dependent on things other than attractiveness," Thornhill told LiveScience. "Because of the way that the sexual system in humans works, women are choosey. They are being sexually competed for. They have to be wooed and all that."
对称=性感
从受精那一刻开始，人的身体就是通过规则的细胞发展起来的。如果每次的都非常完美，那结果将是一个人身体的左边和右边就是彼此的镜像。不过自然并不是这么运作的。基因突变和环境压力破坏了这种对称性，而结果将有终生的影响。
很好的对称性说明这个人有良好的基因来支持他的生存发展，说明健康，同时也说明是一个能生养的好配偶。
"用对称性这个因素来选择伴侣很有道理。"新墨西哥大学的进化生物学家Randy Thornhill说，"如果你选了一个完美对称的伴侣，并跟他生了孩子，你的后代对称性也会不错，并能够更好的对付发育过程中的各种干扰。"
Thornhill研究对称性已经超过15年了，他将面孔和身体扫描进电脑来计算对称比例。不论男性还是女性，他们认为，比起那些不那么对称的异性，那些对称的异性更吸引人、更健康。左右差异并不大，可能只有百分之几--可以分辨，但并不明显。
通过询问实验被试，Thornhill还发现那些更对称的男人拥有更多的性伴侣。
"女性性伴侣的数量取决于除了吸引力之外的一些东西。"Thornhill说，"因为人体的生育机制，女性更为挑剔。她们是性竞争的裁判，你必须让她们惊艳才成。"
Those hips
Body shape is of course important, too. And scientists have some numbers to prove it. Psychologist Devendra Singh of the University of Texas studied people's waist-to-hip ratio (WHR).
Women with a WHR of 0.7-indicating a waist significantly narrower than the hips-are most desirable to men.
And an analysis of hourglass figures of Playboy models and Miss America contestants showed that the majority of these women boast a WHR of 0.7 or lower.
In general, a range of 0.67 to 1.18 in females is attractive to men, Singh concluded in a 2004 study, while a 0.8 to 1.0 WHR in men is attractive to women, although having broad shoulders is more of a turn-on.
What exactly is encoded in the hip ratio? A big fat clue to whether the person will have enough energy to care for offspring.
Where fat is deposited on the body is determined by sex hormones; testosterone in men and estrogen in women. If a woman produces the proper amount and mixture of estrogen, then her WHR will naturally fall into the desired range. The same goes for a male's testosterone.
People in the ideal hip-ratio range, regardless of weight, are less susceptible to disease such as cardiovascular disorders, cancer, and diabetes, studies have shown. Women in this range also have less difficulty conceiving.
"The idea is that beauty is conveying information about health and fertility, and we admire that," Singh said in a telephone interview.
Thornhill also points to the booming nip-'n'-tuck business-which is very much about improving a person's symmetry-as evidence that people find the quality attractive.
Another recent study revealed that symmetrical dancers are seen as more attractive.
臀腰比例
体型当然也很重要。科学家们已经用一些数字证实了这点。德克萨斯大学的心理学家Devendra Singh研究的就是腰-臀比例(WHR)。
WHR为0.7的女性，也就是腰明显比臀细的女性最受男性欢迎。
另一项对花花公子模特和美国小姐参赛者们沙漏般的身材进行的分析现实，她们中大多数人的WHR都是0.7或者更低。
Singlh在2004年的研究中总结，一般来说，那些0.67到1.18之间的女性对男性有吸引力。而对女性来说WHR在0.8-1的男性对女性有吸引力，虽然宽阔的肩膀更让女人心动。
在腰臀比例中蕴含着什么信息呢？他可是能告诉我们一个人有没有足够的气力去养育后代。
脂肪在身体何处堆积取决于性荷尔蒙，男性的雄性激素和女性的雌性激素。如果女人体内的荷尔蒙的成分与含量适当，那么她的WHR很自然就会在理想的区间内。男性也是如此。
研究表明，那些在理想腰-臀比之内的人，不论体重如何，罹患诸如心血管疾病、癌症、糖尿病等疾病的可能性较低。在这个区间内的女性受孕也较容易。
Thornhill还指出，正在蓬勃发展的nip-'n'-tuck 服务--主要是帮助人们提高对称性，正说明了人们觉得这个特征吸引人。
另一项研究则发现，对称的舞者看上去更有吸引力。
Face it
The structure of a person's face also gives insight to fertility.
Estrogen caps bone growth in a woman's lower face and chin, making them relatively small and short, as well as the brow, allowing for her eyes to appear prominent, Thornhill explained. Men's faces are shaped by testosterone, which helps develop a larger lower face and jaw and a prominent brow.
Men and women possessing these traits are seen as attractive, Thornhill said, because they advertise reproductive health.
看得到
脸的结构也可以提供生育能力的一些信号。
雌性激素会抑制女性脸部下方和脸颊的骨骼生长，使得这两个部位相对较小、较短，额头部位也是如此，让她的眼睛更深邃。而男性的面孔则受到雄性激素的作用，帮助脸部下方和下巴的骨骼发育，并长出更突出的额头。
有这样特征的男女看起来更吸引人，Thornhill说，因为他们宣告着生殖健康。
Sniff this
Research reported last month found women both smell and look more attractive to men at certain times of the month.
And symmetrical men smell better.
Borrowing sweaty undershirts from a variety of men, Thornhill offered the shirts to the noses of women, asking for their impressions of the scents. Hands down, the women found the scent of a symmetrical man to be more attractive and desirable, especially if the woman was menstruating.
By now you might be wondering how much of this we're consciously aware of. The rules of attraction, it turns out, seem sometimes to play out in our subconscious.
In some cases, women in Thornhill's study reported not smelling anything on a shirt, yet still said they were attracted to it.
"We think the detection of these types of scent is way outside consciousness," Thornhill said.
A 2002 study found women prefer the scent of men with genes somewhat similar to their own over the scent of nearly genetically identical or totally dissimilar men.
These subconscious scents might be related to pheromones, chemical signals produced by the body to communicate reproductive quality. The human genome contains more than 1,000 olfactory genes-compared to approximately 300 genes for photoreceptors in the eyes-so pheromones have received a lot of attention from basic research scientists as well as perfume manufacturers.
But the role of pheromones in the human realm remains controversial.
闻得到
最近的研究指出，女性在一个月中的特定时间闻起来、看起来更吸引人。
对称的男人围起来更好。
Thornhill收集了很多男人汗淋淋的衬衫，并让女人用嗅觉感觉判断对哪个男人印象更深。和前面的一样，那些对称男性的期为闻起来更有吸引力、更诱人。尤其如果女人正处于月经期。
你现在可能会想，我们能够意识到的有多少。吸引力的法则往往只在我们的下意识中起作用。
在Thornhill 的研究中，女人都说并不能闻出t-shirt上有什么期为，不过他们还是说被这些吸引。
"我们觉得意识到这些气味的区别，可能在我们的意识之外。"Thornhill说。
一项2002年的研究发现，比起基因相差甚远或者完全相同的男性，女性对那些基因和自己相似的男性的气味更感兴趣。
这些潜意识的的嗅觉可能与信息素有关，这是一种身体产生的化学物质，作用是沟通生育质量。人类的基因组上携带了超过1000个嗅觉基因，而人眼的视觉接收器的相关基因只有不到300个，因此不论从事基础研究的科学家还是香水的制造商，都对信息素有极大的关注。
不过信息素在人体的作用还存在争议。
关键字:市民英语
生词表:
After all this and more, the rules of attraction for the human species are still not clearly understood. How it all factors into true love is even more mysterious.
But a short list of scientific rules for the game of love is emerging. Some are as clearly defined as the prominent, feminine eyes of a supermodel or the desirable hips of a well-built man. Other rules work at the subconscious level, motivating us to action for evolutionary reasons that are tucked inside clouds of infatuation.
In the end, lasting love depends at least as much on behavior as biology. But the first moves are made before you're even born.
要知道我们怎么来挑伴侣，科学家们测量了人脸的所有形状、每个角度，研究舞者的对称性、从花花公子的模特身上建立标准身材的模型，甚至通过让人闻腋下的汗液来判断一个人吸引力。
在进行了所有这些、以及更多的实验之后，关于人类之间的吸引法则还是没有完全弄清楚。而这些因素是如何变为"真爱"就更是个谜题了。
不过还是有些科学的规律被总结了出来。有些界定得很明确，比如超级模特那种突出的、女人味十足的眼睛或者体格健壮的男性的翘屁股。有另外一些规律则而是一种潜意识的影响，在意乱情迷的表象之下隐藏的进化的原因、驱使我们采取行动。
最后，虽然行为至少与生理因素对于持久的爱情同样重要。但是最初的几步在你出生之前就已经开始了。
Symmetry equals sex
Starting at conception, the human body develops by neatly splitting cells. If every division were to go perfectly, the result would be a baby whose left and right sides are mirror images. But nature doesn't work that way. Genetic mutations and environmental pressures skew symmetry, and the results have lifelong implications.
Good symmetry shows that an individual has the genetic goods to survive development, is healthy, and is a good and fertile choice for mating.
"It makes sense to use symmetry variation in mate choice," said evolutionary biologist Randy Thornhill of the University of New Mexico. "If you choose a perfectly symmetrical partner and reproduce with them, your offspring will have a better chance of being symmetric and able to deal with perturbations."
Thornhill has been studying symmetry for 15 years and scanned faces and bodies into computers to determine symmetry ratios. Both men and women rated symmetrical members of the opposite sex as more attractive and in better health than their less symmetrical counterparts. The differences can be just a few percent-perceivable though not necessarily noticeable.
By questioning the study participants, Thornhill also found that men with higher degrees of symmetry enjoy more sexual partners than men of lower symmetry.
"Women's sex-partner numbers are dependent on things other than attractiveness," Thornhill told LiveScience. "Because of the way that the sexual system in humans works, women are choosey. They are being sexually competed for. They have to be wooed and all that."
对称=性感
从受精那一刻开始，人的身体就是通过规则的细胞发展起来的。如果每次的都非常完美，那结果将是一个人身体的左边和右边就是彼此的镜像。不过自然并不是这么运作的。基因突变和环境压力破坏了这种对称性，而结果将有终生的影响。
很好的对称性说明这个人有良好的基因来支持他的生存发展，说明健康，同时也说明是一个能生养的好配偶。
"用对称性这个因素来选择伴侣很有道理。"新墨西哥大学的进化生物学家Randy Thornhill说，"如果你选了一个完美对称的伴侣，并跟他生了孩子，你的后代对称性也会不错，并能够更好的对付发育过程中的各种干扰。"
Thornhill研究对称性已经超过15年了，他将面孔和身体扫描进电脑来计算对称比例。不论男性还是女性，他们认为，比起那些不那么对称的异性，那些对称的异性更吸引人、更健康。左右差异并不大，可能只有百分之几--可以分辨，但并不明显。
通过询问实验被试，Thornhill还发现那些更对称的男人拥有更多的性伴侣。
"女性性伴侣的数量取决于除了吸引力之外的一些东西。"Thornhill说，"因为人体的生育机制，女性更为挑剔。她们是性竞争的裁判，你必须让她们惊艳才成。"
Those hips
Body shape is of course important, too. And scientists have some numbers to prove it. Psychologist Devendra Singh of the University of Texas studied people's waist-to-hip ratio (WHR).
Women with a WHR of 0.7-indicating a waist significantly narrower than the hips-are most desirable to men.
And an analysis of hourglass figures of Playboy models and Miss America contestants showed that the majority of these women boast a WHR of 0.7 or lower.
In general, a range of 0.67 to 1.18 in females is attractive to men, Singh concluded in a 2004 study, while a 0.8 to 1.0 WHR in men is attractive to women, although having broad shoulders is more of a turn-on.
What exactly is encoded in the hip ratio? A big fat clue to whether the person will have enough energy to care for offspring.
Where fat is deposited on the body is determined by sex hormones; testosterone in men and estrogen in women. If a woman produces the proper amount and mixture of estrogen, then her WHR will naturally fall into the desired range. The same goes for a male's testosterone.
People in the ideal hip-ratio range, regardless of weight, are less susceptible to disease such as cardiovascular disorders, cancer, and diabetes, studies have shown. Women in this range also have less difficulty conceiving.
"The idea is that beauty is conveying information about health and fertility, and we admire that," Singh said in a telephone interview.
Thornhill also points to the booming nip-'n'-tuck business-which is very much about improving a person's symmetry-as evidence that people find the quality attractive.
Another recent study revealed that symmetrical dancers are seen as more attractive.
臀腰比例
体型当然也很重要。科学家们已经用一些数字证实了这点。德克萨斯大学的心理学家Devendra Singh研究的就是腰-臀比例(WHR)。
WHR为0.7的女性，也就是腰明显比臀细的女性最受男性欢迎。
另一项对花花公子模特和美国小姐参赛者们沙漏般的身材进行的分析现实，她们中大多数人的WHR都是0.7或者更低。
Singlh在2004年的研究中总结，一般来说，那些0.67到1.18之间的女性对男性有吸引力。而对女性来说WHR在0.8-1的男性对女性有吸引力，虽然宽阔的肩膀更让女人心动。
在腰臀比例中蕴含着什么信息呢？他可是能告诉我们一个人有没有足够的气力去养育后代。
脂肪在身体何处堆积取决于性荷尔蒙，男性的雄性激素和女性的雌性激素。如果女人体内的荷尔蒙的成分与含量适当，那么她的WHR很自然就会在理想的区间内。男性也是如此。
研究表明，那些在理想腰-臀比之内的人，不论体重如何，罹患诸如心血管疾病、癌症、糖尿病等疾病的可能性较低。在这个区间内的女性受孕也较容易。
Thornhill还指出，正在蓬勃发展的nip-'n'-tuck 服务--主要是帮助人们提高对称性，正说明了人们觉得这个特征吸引人。
另一项研究则发现，对称的舞者看上去更有吸引力。
Face it
The structure of a person's face also gives insight to fertility.
Estrogen caps bone growth in a woman's lower face and chin, making them relatively small and short, as well as the brow, allowing for her eyes to appear prominent, Thornhill explained. Men's faces are shaped by testosterone, which helps develop a larger lower face and jaw and a prominent brow.
Men and women possessing these traits are seen as attractive, Thornhill said, because they advertise reproductive health.
看得到
脸的结构也可以提供生育能力的一些信号。
雌性激素会抑制女性脸部下方和脸颊的骨骼生长，使得这两个部位相对较小、较短，额头部位也是如此，让她的眼睛更深邃。而男性的面孔则受到雄性激素的作用，帮助脸部下方和下巴的骨骼发育，并长出更突出的额头。
有这样特征的男女看起来更吸引人，Thornhill说，因为他们宣告着生殖健康。
Sniff this
Research reported last month found women both smell and look more attractive to men at certain times of the month.
And symmetrical men smell better.
Borrowing sweaty undershirts from a variety of men, Thornhill offered the shirts to the noses of women, asking for their impressions of the scents. Hands down, the women found the scent of a symmetrical man to be more attractive and desirable, especially if the woman was menstruating.
By now you might be wondering how much of this we're consciously aware of. The rules of attraction, it turns out, seem sometimes to play out in our subconscious.
In some cases, women in Thornhill's study reported not smelling anything on a shirt, yet still said they were attracted to it.
"We think the detection of these types of scent is way outside consciousness," Thornhill said.
A 2002 study found women prefer the scent of men with genes somewhat similar to their own over the scent of nearly genetically identical or totally dissimilar men.
These subconscious scents might be related to pheromones, chemical signals produced by the body to communicate reproductive quality. The human genome contains more than 1,000 olfactory genes-compared to approximately 300 genes for photoreceptors in the eyes-so pheromones have received a lot of attention from basic research scientists as well as perfume manufacturers.
But the role of pheromones in the human realm remains controversial.
闻得到
最近的研究指出，女性在一个月中的特定时间闻起来、看起来更吸引人。
对称的男人围起来更好。
Thornhill收集了很多男人汗淋淋的衬衫，并让女人用嗅觉感觉判断对哪个男人印象更深。和前面的一样，那些对称男性的期为闻起来更有吸引力、更诱人。尤其如果女人正处于月经期。
你现在可能会想，我们能够意识到的有多少。吸引力的法则往往只在我们的下意识中起作用。
在Thornhill 的研究中，女人都说并不能闻出t-shirt上有什么期为，不过他们还是说被这些吸引。
"我们觉得意识到这些气味的区别，可能在我们的意识之外。"Thornhill说。
一项2002年的研究发现，比起基因相差甚远或者完全相同的男性，女性对那些基因和自己相似的男性的气味更感兴趣。
这些潜意识的的嗅觉可能与信息素有关，这是一种身体产生的化学物质，作用是沟通生育质量。人类的基因组上携带了超过1000个嗅觉基因，而人眼的视觉接收器的相关基因只有不到300个，因此不论从事基础研究的科学家还是香水的制造商，都对信息素有极大的关注。
不过信息素在人体的作用还存在争议。
关键字:市民英语
生词表:
- feminine [´feminin]
a.女性的 四级词汇 - biology [bai´ɔlədʒi] n.生物学，生态学 四级词汇
- lifelong [´laiflɔŋ] a.终生的 六级词汇
- sexual [´sekʃuəl] a.性(欲)的 六级词汇
- psychologist [sai´kɔlədʒist] n.心理学家 六级词汇
- susceptible [sə´septəbəl] a.敏感的；易受影响的 六级词汇
- fertility [fə:´tiliti] n.肥沃；多产；繁殖力 六级词汇
- insight [´insait] n.洞悉；洞察力；见识 六级词汇
- totally [´təutəli] ad.统统，完全 四级词汇
文章标签:爱情 法则
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