VOA慢速英语:Dating Sites' Claims; Female Voices and Fertility

As sure as honey attracts bees, Valentine's Day attracts scientists with studies about human relations.
就像蜂蜜一定会吸引蜜蜂一样，情人节也吸引了科学家对于人际关系的研究。

For example, in recent days, researchers announced new findings about online dating sites. These are now among the most popular ways for singles to meet. Many sites say they have a special formula to find the perfect partner. But the researchers say these claims are unsupported and likely false.
例如，在最近几天中，研究人员公布了对网上交友网站的新发现。这些都是是单身人士互相认识最常用的方式。许多网站称，他们有一个特殊的公式，可以找到理想的伴侣。但研究人员表示，这些说法不受支持，有可能是假的。

Lead author Eli Finkel at Northwestern University in Illinois said online dating is a great addition to the ways for singles to look for love. But the study found that so far there is no scientific evidence that any formula or "matching algorithm" actually works.
来自伊利诺伊州西北大学的负责人Eli Finkel称，网恋是单身人士寻找真爱的途径的有力补充。但研究发现，到目前为止，没有科学证据表明，任何公式或匹配算法是确实可行的。

The study is being published in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest.
这项研究被发表在“心理科学”杂志上的公共利益栏目。

Now here is a different question: When do you suppose a female voice is most unappealing to a man?
现在，下面是另一个问题：你认为什么时候一名女性声音对男性最不具吸引力？

Researchers measured men’s reactions to women’s voices at different points during their monthly cycle. The study found that generally a woman's voice is most unattractive to men during her period.
研究人员测量了男性对女性月经周期期间不同时间点声音的反应。研究发现，一般情况下女性经期的声音对男性最没有吸引力。

All the experiments found that men can detect small changes in women’s voices at different points in the menstrual cycle.
所有的实验发现，男性可以发现月经周期不同时点女性声音的细微变化。
 

About two hundred college-age males took part in the study. Ten young women provided voice recordings from four points in their cycles. These included the times of highest and lowest fertility. The highest is during ovulation, when the body releases an egg for fertilization. The lowest is during a woman's period.
大约200名大学适龄男性参加了这项研究。10名年轻女性提供了她们月经周期间四个时间点的语音录音。其中包括繁殖力的最高与最低时点。最高时是在排卵期，这时身体会排放受精卵。最低时则是女性经期。

The men had a twenty-five percent chance of guessing which recordings were made during menstruation. But they chose correctly at least thirty-four percent of the time.
男性有25%的概率猜对哪些录音是在经期制作的。但是，他们的正确率至少有34%。

Finally, one group of men simply listened to the recordings.  They were asked to choose the voice they found most unattractive. Again, thirty-four percent of the time they chose the so-called menstrual voice.
最后一组男性只是听录音。他们被要求挑出他们认为最没吸引力的声音。 再一次，他们挑出所谓经期声音的几率达到34%。

Nathan Pipitone of Adams State College in Colorado led the study, published in the journal Ethology. He points out that in other primates, it is often easy to recognize when females are most fertile. But in humans the effects of hormonal changes are often difficult to recognize.
科罗拉多州亚当斯州立大学的Nathan Pipitone负责这项发表在行为学杂志的研究。他指出，在其它灵长类动物中，往往很容易辨认出雌性发情期。但是，人类的荷尔蒙变化往往难以识别。
Dr. Pipitone says evolution may have reduced the effects in humans in order to support relationships with just one partner.
Pipitone博士说，为了只维持一个伴侣的关系，进化可能降低了对人类的影响。

NATHAN PIPITONE: "I think this reflects the shift in the minimization of these cues across the menstrual cycle to lead to one of our most prominent mating strategies -- monogamy. Having drastic shifts in females attitudes and behaviors does not bode well for a pair-bonding relationship."
NATHAN PIPITONE：“我认为这反映了整个月经周期中最大限度减少这些线索的转变，而这导致了我们最为重要的交配策略之一，即一夫一妻制。女性态度和行为的急剧变化对配偶关系并不是一个好兆头。”