英汉双语阅读99：你的耳朵藏着这么大秘密，你知道吗？

摘要：The auditory apparatus comprises the outer, middle, and inner ears. The external or outer ear consists of the pinna and the extern

高效记单词：《新概念英语1词汇专练》

英汉双语阅读98：美在生活何处体现？解锁日常生活审美体验的密码！

一、生词准备

1. apparatus [ˌæpəˈreɪtəs] n. 仪器；装置；器官；机构（文中指听觉器官）

2. pinna [ˈpɪnə] n. 耳廓；羽片；鳍条（文中指耳廓）

3. resonator [ˈrezəneɪtə(r)] n. 共鸣器；共振器；谐振器

4. amplify [ˈæmplɪfaɪ] v. 放大；增强；扩大；详述（文中指放大声音）

5. ossicular [əʊˈsɪkjələ(r)] adj. 小骨的

6. impedance [ɪmˈpiːdns] n. 阻抗；电阻抗

7. perilymph [ˈperɪˌlɪmf] n. 外淋巴（液）

8. basilar [ˈbæsɪlə(r)] adj. 基部的；基础的；脑底的（文中“basilar membrane”指基底膜）

9. cochlea [ˈkɒkliə] n. 耳蜗

10. tensor [ˈtensə(r)] n. 张量；张肌（文中“tensor tympani”指鼓膜张肌）

11. stapedius [stəˈpiːdiəs] n. 镫骨肌

12. attenuate [əˈtenjueɪt] v. 减弱；减轻；使变细；使变薄（文中指减弱声音）

13. latency [ˈleɪtənsi] n. 延迟；潜伏期；潜在性

14. trauma [ˈtrɔːmə; ˈtraʊmə] n. 创伤；外伤；精神创伤；痛苦经历（文中“acoustic trauma”指听觉创伤）

15. preemptively [priˈemptɪvli] adv. 先发制人地；预先地

16. synaptopathy [sɪnæpˈθæθi] n. 突触病（文中“cochlear synaptopathy”指耳蜗突触病）

17. hyperacusis [ˌhaɪpərəˈkjuːsɪs] n. 听觉过敏

18. cumulative [ˈkjuːmjələtɪv] adj. 累积的；渐增的；附加的

19. derangement [dɪˈreɪndʒmənt] n. 混乱；精神错乱；扰乱（文中“metabolic derangements”指代谢紊乱）

20. epithelium [ˌepɪˈθiːliəm] n. 上皮；上皮细胞（文中“sensory epithelium”指感觉上皮）

21. auditory [ˈɔːdətri] adj. 听觉的；耳朵的

22. meatus [miˈeɪtəs] n. 道；管口（文中“external auditory meatus”指外耳道）

23. tympanic [tɪmˈpænɪk] adj. 鼓膜的；鼓室的；鼓的

24. ossicular chain [ˈɒsɪkjələ(r) tʃeɪn] n. 听小骨链

25. footplate [ˈfʊtpleɪt] n. 踏板；足板（文中指镫骨足板）

26. propagate [ˈprɒpəɡeɪt] v. 传播；繁殖；使遗传；扩散（文中指波沿着基底膜传播）

27. tonotopic [ˌtəʊnəʊˈtɒpɪk] adj. 音频定位的

28. stereocilia [ˌsterɪəˈsɪliə] n. 静纤毛（复数形式单数为stereocilium）

29. tectorial [tekˈtɔːriəl] adj. 盖膜的（文中“tectorial membrane”指盖膜）

30. vascular [ˈvæskjələ(r)] adj. 血管的；脉管的

31. equivalent [ɪˈkwɪvələnt] adj. 相等的；等价的；等效的；n. 相等物；等价物；对应物

32. hypoxia [haɪˈpɒksiə] n. 缺氧；低氧

33. glutamate [ˈɡluːtəmeɪt] n. 谷氨酸盐（或酯）；谷氨酸

34. reactive [riˈæktɪv] adj. 反应的；活性的；有反应的

35. oxygen [ˈɒksɪdʒən] n. 氧；氧气

36. species [ˈspiːʃiːz] n. 物种；种类；（化学）核素；（物）种

37. depleting [dɪˈpliːtɪŋ] v. 耗尽；使减少；使枯竭（deplete的现在分词形式）

38. neuronal [njʊəˈrəʊnəl] adj. 神经元的；神经细胞的

39. degeneration [dɪˌdʒenəˈreɪʃn] n. 退化；恶化；变性；堕落

40. mammalian [mæˈmeɪliən] adj. 哺乳动物的；n. 哺乳动物

二、短文内容

The auditory apparatus comprises the outer, middle, and inner ears. The external or outer ear consists of the pinna and the external auditory canal. The pinna localizes sounds and conducts them to the external auditory meatus, the entrance to the external auditory canal. The external auditory canal acts as a resonator that amplifies sounds by 5 to 10 dB in the 2 to 5 kHz frequency range.

The middle ear is separated from the outer ear by the tympanic membrane. It contains the ossicular chain, which amplifies the incoming sound energy by impedance matching, ultimately vibrating the footplate of stapes. This movement is transmitted to the perilymph, causing wave-like motion of the basilar membrane, starting from the base of the cochlea and progressing toward the apex. According to the "traveling theory of Von Békésy," the wave propagates along the basilar membrane, and different regions of the cochlea are stimulated depending on the fundamental frequency of the vibration. This forms the basis of the tonotopic or place theory of the cochlea, in which high-frequency sounds produce the greatest displacement of the basilar membrane near the basal end of the cochlea, and low-frequency sounds produce the greatest displacement at the apical end.

The inner ear's tensor tympani and stapedius muscles attenuate sounds via reflex contraction, thereby protecting the cochlea from injury. The stapedius muscle plays a crucial role by attenuating low-frequency sounds greater than 80 to 90 dB through reflexive contraction, with a 100 to 200 ms latency. This delay prevents the stapedius muscle from protecting the cochlea from high-intensity impulse noises like gunshots, which can cause acoustic trauma. For this reason, providing a noise primer before a loud noise will preemptively trigger otoprotective stapedial contraction that may reduce noise-induced cochlear synaptopathy, which is characterized by inner hair cell synaptic losses and leads to tinnitus, hyperacusis, and difficulty hearing in noisy environments.

Because of its acute and cumulative effects on the cochlea, noise may be considered a type of toxin, manifesting its effects in proportion to the total dose. The two primary presentations of NIHL are temporary and permanent threshold shifts.

Temporary threshold shift (TTS) occurs after short-term exposure or acoustic trauma and recovers in a few days. TTS happens primarily due to the reversible uncoupling of outer hair cell stereocilia from the tectorial membrane, although specific synaptopathic mechanisms are also believed to be involved. Permanent threshold shift (PTS) occurs after chronic noise exposure or acoustic trauma and is irreversible. PTS occurs due to the loss of outer hair cells, especially at the basal turn, followed by neuronal degeneration of the auditory nerve. The inability of mammalian sensory hair cells to regenerate causes permanent damage. Repeated TTS can also cause PTS.

NIHL results from the interaction of genetic and environmental factors and is based on the equal-energy principle, which states that equal energy causes equal damage. In essence, higher levels of noise exposure over a short period or equivalent lower levels of noise exposure over a prolonged period will cause similar degrees of cochlear damage. NIHL may occur due to several pathological processes. Metabolic derangements may contribute to NIHL, such as excessive glutamate release damaging inner hair cell synapses or the accumulation of reactive oxygen species damaging DNA and causing cellular death. Vascular insufficiency may cause cochlear hypoxia and outer hair cell damage depleting the sensory epithelium of the cochlea, especially of the outer hair cells and their associated neurons.

三、短文注释

1. 听觉器官协同工作原理：听觉器官由外耳、中耳和内耳组成。外耳负责收集和初步传导声音，中耳通过听小骨链等结构将声音放大并传递到内耳，内耳则将声音振动转化为神经信号，通过听神经传递到大脑，从而实现听觉功能。各部分相互协作，缺一不可，任何一部分出现问题都可能影响听力。

2. consist of：“The external or outer ear consists of the pinna and the external auditory canal.” 中，该短语意思是 “由…… 构成”，强调整体由部分组成，和 comprise 语义相近，但 consist 是不及物动词，常和 of 搭配。

3. localize sounds：“The pinna localizes sounds...” ，localize 在这里意为 “使…… 定位”，localize sounds 即 “定位声音”，是耳朵的一种功能描述。

4. act as：“The external auditory canal acts as a resonator...” ，act as 表示 “充当；起…… 作用”，说明外耳道起到了共鸣器的作用。

5. amplify...by：“The external auditory canal...amplifies sounds by 5 to 10 dB...” ，amplify...by 结构表示 “把…… 放大 / 增强了……（倍数或程度）” ，by 后接具体的增加幅度。

6. be separated from：“The middle ear is separated from the outer ear by the tympanic membrane.” ，be separated from 意为 “与…… 分开”，表明中耳和外耳由鼓膜分隔开。

7. ossicular chain：听小骨链，由锤骨、砧骨和镫骨组成，是中耳的重要结构，在声音传导和放大过程中发挥关键作用。

8. impedance matching：阻抗匹配，是一种物理现象，在文中指听小骨链通过这种方式放大传入的声能，使得声音能更有效地从外耳传递到内耳。

9. ultimately vibrating：“It contains the ossicular chain, which amplifies the incoming sound energy by impedance matching, ultimately vibrating the footplate of stapes.” ，ultimately vibrating 是现在分词短语作结果状语，说明听小骨链放大声能最终导致镫骨底板振动。

10. be transmitted to：“This movement is transmitted to the perilymph...” ，be transmitted to 表示 “被传递到……”，体现了声音振动从镫骨底板传递到外淋巴的过程。

11. wave - like motion：波状运动，描述基底膜在声音刺激下产生的运动形式，类似波浪的形态。

12. starting from...and progressing toward：“This movement is transmitted to the perilymph, causing wave-like motion of the basilar membrane, starting from the base of the cochlea and progressing toward the apex.” ，starting from...and progressing toward 结构表示 “从…… 开始并向…… 推进”，详细说明了基底膜运动起始和推进的方向。

13. traveling theory of Von Békésy：冯・贝凯西行波理论，该理论解释了声音在耳蜗内的传播和频率分析机制，即波沿着基底膜传播，不同频率的声音在基底膜的不同位置产生最大位移。

14. tonotopic or place theory：音调定位或部位理论，基于上述行波理论，阐述了不同频率声音在耳蜗内特定部位引起最大反应，从而实现声音频率的编码和感知。

15. produce the greatest displacement：“high - frequency sounds produce the greatest displacement of the basilar membrane near the basal end of the cochlea” ，produce the greatest displacement 意为 “产生最大位移”，用于描述声音频率与基底膜位移之间的关系。

16. tensor tympani and stapedius muscles：鼓膜张肌和镫骨肌，是内耳的两块肌肉，通过反射性收缩来减弱声音，保护耳蜗免受损伤。

17. attenuate sounds via：“The inner ear's tensor tympani and stapedius muscles attenuate sounds via reflex contraction...” ，attenuate sounds via 表示 “通过…… 减弱声音”，via 后接具体的方式，这里指通过反射性收缩。

18. play a crucial role：“The stapedius muscle plays a crucial role...” ，play a crucial role 意为 “起关键作用”，强调了镫骨肌在保护耳蜗功能中的重要性。

19. reflexive contraction：反射性收缩，指肌肉在受到特定刺激后自动发生的收缩反应，如镫骨肌在声音刺激下的收缩。

20. with a...latency：“The stapedius muscle plays a crucial role by attenuating low - frequency sounds greater than 80 to 90 dB through reflexive contraction, with a 100 to 200 ms latency.” ，with a...latency 表示 “有…… 的延迟”，描述了镫骨肌收缩的时间延迟特性。

21. acoustic trauma：听觉创伤，指由于声音强度过大或持续时间过长等原因对听觉系统造成的损伤，文中提到枪声等高强度脉冲噪声可导致此类创伤。

22. noise primer：噪声预警，在文中指在可能出现大声响之前提供的提示，目的是提前触发耳保护机制，如镫骨肌收缩。

23. otoprotective stapedial contraction：具有耳保护作用的镫骨收缩，强调镫骨收缩对耳朵的保护功能。

24. noise-induced cochlear synaptopathy：噪声引起的耳蜗突触病，一种由于噪声暴露导致的耳蜗内突触损伤的疾病，表现为内毛细胞突触损失，并引发耳鸣、听觉过敏等症状。

25. be considered as：“Because of its acute and cumulative effects on the cochlea, noise may be considered a type of toxin...” ，be considered as 意为 “被认为是……”，这里将噪声视为一种毒素。

26. in proportion to：“manifesting its effects in proportion to the total dose.” ，in proportion to 表示 “与…… 成比例”，说明噪声对耳蜗的影响程度与总剂量相关。

27. temporary threshold shift (TTS)：暂时性阈值位移，噪声性听力损失的一种表现形式，通常在短期暴露于噪声或听觉创伤后发生，且在几天内可恢复。

28. permanent threshold shift (PTS)：永久性阈值位移，也是噪声性听力损失的表现，由长期噪声暴露或严重听觉创伤引起，不可逆转，主要由于外毛细胞损失和听神经神经元变性导致。

29. reversible uncoupling：可逆性脱耦联，在文中指外毛细胞静纤毛与盖膜之间的连接发生可逆性分离，这是导致暂时性阈值位移的原因之一。

30. equal-energy principle：等能量原则，即等量的能量会造成等量的损伤，用于解释噪声性听力损失中，不同强度和时长的噪声暴露只要总能量相等，就可能导致相似程度的耳蜗损伤。