Luis國際資訊事務所

by Marcus Maurice
Magicians and directors are always trying to fool the brain.
　　The brain is the most complex organ in the body, but it can be misled at the drop of a hat. Examples of master manipulators would be Hollywood directors who devise new ways to elicit emotions, magicians like David Copperfield tricking millions of people with their grand illusions, and even pickpockets creating small distractions to swipe wallets. This month, National Geographic Channel goes inside human skulls to explain how brains are hardwired to make sense of what we see, hear, smell, touch, and taste in Test Your Brain. This three-part series helps viewers get a better understanding about memory and how the senses can be easily distorted.
　　If the brain is the ultimate supercomputer, Copperfield is one of the best hackers the world has ever known. He, along with a group of experts, tests, tricks, and deceives a group of volunteers with audience control. Hollywood directors also know how to hoodwink viewers to make them feel the sensations they want. Have you ever watched a movie scene so gruesome that you had to turn away because you felt you were being hurt? Test Your Brain reveals why people actually feel illusions with their eyes.
　　Detectives don't have easy jobs, and to make it even harder, 10 witnesses to the same crime can pick 10 different suspects out of a police line-up. This means that every single person has his or her own selective memory, and sometimes false memories are created during recollection. Test Your Brain dives into the tiniest intricacies of the brains which make us who we are.

1. complex a. 複雜的
= complicated a.
The philosopher's ideas were too complex for me to understand.
這名哲學家的思想太複雜了，我無法理解。

2. mislead vt. 誤導
Don't be misled by David's appearance. He is actually a very nice person.
別被大衛的外表誤導了。他其實是個大好人。

3. at the drop of a hat　　瞬間；立刻
Sally would go to that concert at the drop of a hat if the tickets weren't so expensive.
要不是票價那麼貴，莎莉會馬上去聽那場演唱會。

4. manipulator n. 善於擺佈他人者，善於操控者
manipulate vt. 操縱，控制
Kathy is good at manipulating her husband into buying her what she wants.
凱西很會擺佈她丈夫買給她想要的東西。

5. devise vt. 設計；策劃
The teacher devised a game to make learning more interesting and effective.
這位老師設計出 1 個遊戲讓學習更有趣也更有效果。

6. elicit vt. 引出；誘出
elicit sth from sb　　從某人誘出（事實、回應等）
Sean elicited a smile from his girlfriend with his silly joke.
尚恩說了個愚蠢的笑話，讓他的女友露出笑容。

7. trick vt. 欺騙
trick sb into + V-ing　　欺騙某人（做）……
The conman tricked me into giving him NT$10,000.
那個騙子從我這兒騙走 1 萬塊新台幣。

8. distraction n. 使人分心的事物
distract vt. 使分心
distract sb from + N/V-ing　　
分散某人在……（方面）的注意力
The noise from the construction site distracted David from his studies.
建築工地傳來的噪音使大衛讀書分心。

9. swipe vt. 偷竊（= steal vt.）
Someone swiped my cell phone from my pocket while I was on the MRT.
我搭捷運時，有人從我的口袋中偷走手機。

10. make sense of...　　理解∕懂得……
John couldn't make sense of the street signs because they were written in Japanese.
約翰看不懂這些路標，因為全都是用日文寫的。

11. get a better understanding about/of...
對……有較深入的了解
The geography teacher helped the students get a better understanding of earthquakes.
地理老師幫助學生對地震有更深入的了解。

12. distort vt. 扭曲；曲解
Beth distorted what I said to her during our conversation.
貝絲在談話中曲解了我對她所說的話。

13. hacker n. 駭客（企圖不法入侵他人電腦系統者）
hack vt. 入侵（電腦）
Someone hacked my account and stole all my banking information.
有人入侵我的帳戶，竊取我所有的銀行資料。

14. deceive vt. 欺騙
You should never deceive others. Eventually, the truth will come to light.
你不應該欺騙他人。最後總是會真相大白的。

15. sensation n. 感覺，知覺；轟動
cause a sensation　　引起轟動
Rose's acting debut caused a sensation on Broadway.
蘿絲初次登台表演就在百老匯造成轟動。

16. reveal vt. 揭露；揭示
The serial killer refused to reveal his motives at the trial.
這名連續殺人犯在受審時拒絕透露他的殺人動機。

17. selective a. 有選擇性的
selective memory　　選擇性記憶
We should always be selective with the information we share with others.
關於和他人分享的訊息，我們應該有所選擇。

18. dive into...　　探究……；埋首於……
After completing his studies, Ricky dove into looking for his dream job.
完成學業後，瑞奇埋首於尋找他理想的工作。

1. organ n. 器官
2. illusion n. 錯覺
3. pickpocket n. 扒手
4. skull n. 頭骨
5. hardwired a.（電腦作業）由硬體控制的；（引申為）天生的
6. ultimate a. 終極的；最終的
7. supercomputer n. 超級電腦
8. hoodwink vt. 欺瞞，矇蔽
9. gruesome a. 可怕的
10. detective n. 刑警，警探；偵探
11. suspect n. 嫌犯
12. line-up n.（待目擊者辨認的）一排嫌疑犯
13. recollection n. 回憶
14. intricacy n. 錯綜複雜

腦力大挑戰
從魔術師到電影導演，每個人都想矇騙你我的大腦。
　　大腦是人體最複雜的器官，但它也可能瞬間被誤導。設計新穎手法以引發觀眾情緒的好萊塢導演、像大衛．考柏菲等以華麗錯覺唬住數百萬人的魔術師，甚至是 使人稍微分心好偷走錢包的扒手，都是矇騙高手的例子。本月國家地理頻道的《腦力大挑戰》系列，將探索頭殼內的奧秘，解開大腦神經如何聯結，以使我們理解五 種感官知覺。這個系列共分 3 部，幫助觀眾更加了解自己的記憶力，以及我們的感官有多容易受到扭曲。
　　如果大腦是終極超級電腦，那大衛．考柏菲就是世界上最著名的駭客之一了。他和 1 群好手以操控觀眾的方式，試探、唬弄而騙倒一些志願上台的觀眾。好萊塢導演也知道該如何矇蔽觀眾，讓他們的喜怒哀樂照自己的劇本走。你可曾看到某部片的恐 怖場景，因為錯覺自己會受傷而別過頭不看？《腦力大挑戰》系列將揭曉為什麼人類用雙眼看東西會產生錯覺。
　　警探的工作一點也不簡單，而讓他們的工作更加艱難之處在於，同一宗犯罪案件的 10 個目擊證人可以在警局的一排嫌疑犯中，指認出 10 個不同的嫌犯。這表示每個人都有選擇性記憶，有時候在回想時還會產生錯誤的記憶。《腦力大挑戰》系列探究人類頭腦最細微錯綜複雜之處，就是這些成就了每個 人的獨特之處。