掰指关节到底好不好 Is knuckle cracking good for you?

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I’m Rob...
大家好，欢迎收听六分钟英语。我是罗伯。
… and I’m Neil. Hello. (cracking knuckles)
我是尼尔，大家好。（掰指关节的声音）
Don’t do that please, Neil!It makes my flesh creep.
不要那样，尼尔。这让我感觉毛骨悚然。
Oh dear, if something makes your flesh creep it means you feel frightened or disgusted by something. I don’t know why I do it. It just feels nice.
某件事让你毛骨悚然是指让你感到害怕或厌恶。我不知道自己为什么这么做。但是感觉很好。
But you’ll end up with arthritis when you’re older, you know.Arthritis is a disease that causes pain and swelling in joints of the body.
但是你老了会得关节炎的。关节炎会使全身关节疼痛肿胀。
That’s an old wives’ tale, Rob!And that means an old idea or belief that has no scientific support.
这是无稽之谈。也就是说没有科学依据的陈旧观点。
OK, if you say so, Professor. And since you’re in a scientific mood, how about answering today’s quiz question.Which type of joint can you crack? Is it …a) fibrous?b) cartilaginous?Or c) synovial?
如果你这么说，那么教授，你这么有科学头脑，回答今天的问题吧。哪种类型的关节可以掰得咔咔作响？a) 纤维状的?b) 软骨的?c) 分泌滑液的?
OK, this professor isn’t feeling too clever today.I’m going to have to take a guess and say, c) synovial.
今天本教授状态不好。我猜一下，选c) 分泌滑液的关节。
OK. Well, we’ll find out how smart you really are later on in the programme. Now let’s listen to Greg Kawchuk, Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Alberta.Rehabilitation means the process of helping somebody get better from an illness or injury.
之后我们看你到底有多聪明。现在我们来听听阿尔伯塔大学康复医学教授Greg Kawchuk的看法。康复是指帮助某人从疾病或受伤中恢复的过程。
We’ve recently been able to use some new technology through MRI imagingto see for the first time what is actually happening inside the joint when someone pops or cracks their knuckles. And because of that we’re hopeful that we’ll be able to start to ask questions about why is it that some people can do this and other people can’t.
我们最近利用新技术，首次通过MRI（核磁共振成像）查看人们掰响指关节时，关节内部到底发生了什么。源于此，我们有望回答为什么有的人能够掰响指关节，而有的人却不能。
What does MRI stand for?
MRI是什么？
It means Magnetic Resonance Imaging.Hospitals use this technology to produce an image of the inside of a person’s body.
是指核磁共振成像。医院利用这项技术可以查看人体内的情况。
So some people can’t crack their knuckles.Can you, Rob?
所以有些人是不会掰指关节的。你会吗，罗伯？
I don’t know, and I’m not about to try.But it isn’t just finger knuckles that crack – you can do it with your neck, back, knees, ankles and toes.
你会吗，罗伯？不仅是指关节可以掰响，脖子，后背，膝关节，脚踝，脚趾都可以。
Professor Greg Kawchuk says that comparing people who crack their knuckles and people who don’t might provide some insight – or understanding – into whose joints are healthier.
Greg Kawchuk教授表示，仅凭是能否掰响指关节，无法看出谁的关节更健康。
Sounds interesting.But what actually happens when you crack your knuckles, Neil?
听上去很有意思。但是当你掰响指关节时，到底会发生什么？
Well, when you stretch or bend your finger to pop the knuckle, you’re making the bones of the joint pull apart… like this…(cracking knuckles)
当你伸展或弯曲手指，掰响指关节，就使得关节处的骨头撕裂开，就像这样（掰响指关节的声音）。
Please don’t do it again!
拜托别这样了。
Well, it stretches the space around the joint and surrounding fluid and causes a decrease in pressure.As a result, gas dissolved in the fluid becomes less soluble – or less able to be dissolved – leading to the formation of bubbles.Now when you stretch the joint far enough, these bubbles burst, producing the ‘pop’ sound.
掰响指关节时，关节和周围滑液的空间拉大，压力减小。最终溶解在滑液中的气体愈发不溶于液体，产生微小的气泡。当你尽可能的伸展关节时，这些气泡破裂，发出“砰”的响声。
Ouch! Excellent – well, thanks for the biology demonstration there, Neil …
太奇妙了，多谢你这专业的生物学解释。
Any time! Any time, Rob!Now let’s hear from the professor again about the medical value of research into knuckle cracking.
不用谢，不用谢。我们再来听听教授对掰响指关节研究的医学价值的看法。
When our engineering colleagues do this between two flat surfaces say of ceramic or porcelain… When they do this and they pull them apart quickly and there’s a little bit of fluid in betweenthey can use electron microscopy to see there’s been tremendous damage to the surfaces of the joints.But for some reason we don’t see that in the human joint.There’s something that makes it very resilient.
我的同事用两个陶瓷平面来模拟这一现象，平面中间还有一些液体，他们快速的将两个平面分开，然后使用电子显微镜来观察这对关节平面造成的巨大损害。但是不知道基于什么原因我们未能在人类关节上看到这一点。有什么东西让关节变得很有弹性。
Interesting stuff!So scientists have performed experiments to imitate what happens in a human joint when you crack your knuckles.And when you quickly pull apart a pair of ceramic – or clay – tiles with fluid between them, it causes a lot of damage to the surface of the tiles.
很有意思。科学家们进行模拟实验，查看人类掰响指关节会发生什么事。当人们迅速地将中间含有液体的两块陶瓷片分开时，陶瓷片表面受到了巨大损害。
So why don’t human joints get damaged as well?
为什么人类关节并未同样受到损害呢？
Well, the scientists don’t actually know.They can see the damage to the tiles using electron microscopy – that’s a very powerful microscope.But it’s not clear what makes the human joint so resilient to damage – and resilient in this context means returning to its original shape after being stretched or bent.
科学家们也不知道具体原因。他们用高倍数的电子显微镜观察到瓷片的损伤。但是仍不清楚是什么使得关节弹性加大免于损伤。这里的弹性是指在拉伸弯曲过后恢复到以前的形状。
Right. But with further research scientists may be able to find out – and then use this information to help people with joint problems.
没错，但是经过进一步的调查，科学家们也许会有所发现，利用这些信息帮助人们处理关节问题。
Or they could create synthetic – or man-made – materials which can withstand wear and tear better than current ones.Withstand means not be damaged by somethingand wear and tear means damage as a result of ordinary use.
或者他们能发明人造材料，比现在的关节更加经得住磨损。经得住是指不会因某物而损害，磨损是指在平常使用中收到损伤。
Can we have the answer to today’s quiz question now, Rob?
现在该公布之前问题的答案了吧？
Yes, of course.So which type of joint can you crack?Is it … a) fibrous? b) cartilaginous? Or c) synovial?
当然。哪种类型的关节可以掰得咔咔作响？a) 纤维状的?b) 软骨的?还是 c) 分泌滑液的?
And I said: c) synovial.
我选的是c) 分泌滑液的。
You are quite clever actually because you are right, or was it a good guess?
你确实很聪明，你回答对了。或者说猜的好？
It was a good guess.
确实是猜的好。
Well done! And synovial is the name for the fluid that surrounds this type of joint.
做的不错。滑液是关节周围的液体。
OK. So can we hear the words we learned today again?
好了，我们再来听听今天学到的单词吧？
Of course. We heard:
今天听到的单词有：
make your flesh creep
毛骨悚然
arthritis
关节炎
an old wives’ tale
无稽之谈
rehabilitation
复原
MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)
核磁共振成像
insight
洞悉
soluble
可溶解的
ceramic
陶瓷的
resilient
有弹性的
synthetic
人造的
withstand
经得住
wear and tear
磨损
Well, that’s the end of today’s 6 Minute English. We thought it was a cracking show!Please join us again soon.
今天的六分钟英语就到这里。我们觉得今天的节目也是很出色的。下次节目再会。
Bye.
再见。
Go on Neil, one more time.
等会，尼尔，你再掰一下。
Here we go.(cracking knuckles) Feels great!
好吧。（发出掰指关节的声音）感觉真的不错。
Horrible!
还是很讨厌这个声音！