【翻譯練習】童年學習音樂有助成年聽力發展
Childhood music classes 'help adult hearing'
日期：22 August 2012
作者：Anna-Marie Lever
來源：http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19341829
Children who take music lessons have better hearing as adults, a study in the Journal of Neuroscience suggests.
一篇發表於神經科學期刊的研究指出，學過音樂的孩童，成年後擁有較佳聽力。
It found that children who played an instrument, even for as little as one to five years, had enhanced brain responses to complex sounds.
研究發現，演奏樂器的孩童，大腦增進了對於雜訊的反應能力，儘管只是短短一至五年的學習音樂，也有等同成效。
Compared with those who had never taken music classes, they were better at recognising different frequencies.
學習音樂的孩童比起未曾學習音樂的同儕更精於判別出不同頻率。
This improved hearing ability can help listeners follow conversations in noisy environments, such as restaurants.
聽力的增進，有助於聽者在餐廳之類的嘈雜環境中掌握對話內容。
Report author Prof Nina Kraus said: "Based on what we already know about the ways that music helps shape the brain, the study suggests that short-term music lessons may enhance lifelong listening and learning.
"We infer that a few years of music lessons also confers advantages in how one perceives and attends to sounds in everyday communication situations, such as noisy restaurants.
研究報告作者教授Nina Kraus說：｢從音樂有益於大腦發展的已知方式看來，研究顯示短期音樂課程即有可能增進一生的聽力與學習能力。並推論，數年期的音樂課，令學習者具備優勢，在嘈雜餐廳等的環境中更投注於當前對話。｣
Neural processing
神經處理
"The way you hear sound today is dictated by the experiences with sound you've had up until today."
｢你聽得到聲音，是因為你聽過聲音。｣
While previous work has indicated music can be good for the brain, this is the first study to suggest the effects are long lasting, even after people have given up the hobby.
先前研究已指出音樂有益腦部發展，然而此份研究是首次主張即使已中止音樂學習，音樂對腦部仍具有長遠的效應。
The team tested the responses of 45 adults to different complex sounds ranging in pitch, using electrodes to measure brain activity.
研究團隊利用電極量測腦部活動，測試45位成年人對於音調各異的雜訊的反應。
The adults were grouped depending on how much music training they had had as children - no experience, one to five years of training, or six to 11 years of music instruction.
受試成年人的分類依據為其幼時曾否受過音樂訓練：毫無音樂經歷、一至五年音樂訓練、或6至11年音樂訓練。
The people who had studied music even for just a few years had more robust neural processing of the different tests sounds.
學過音樂的受試者對於不同的測試音具有較穩健的神經反應，只學過幾年音樂的人也不例外。
They were particularly effective at being able to pull out the "fundamental frequency", the lowest frequency in sound, needed when listening to speech and music in noisy environments.
這些人尤其能夠分辨出｢基頻｣(維基百科：基本頻率（或簡稱基頻），當發聲體由於震動而發出聲音時，聲音一般可以分解為許多單純的正弦波，也就是說所有的自然聲音基本都是由許多頻率不同的正弦波組成的，其中頻率最低的正弦波即為基音，而其他頻率較高的正弦波則為泛音)，於嘈雜環境中需要基頻以聽認出演講或音樂演奏內容。
Prof Kraus said: "We help address a question on every parent's mind, 'Will my child benefit if she plays music for a short while?'"
Kraus教授說：｢每位父母都有如此疑惑：『如果我的小孩只學一陣子的音樂，這樣有用嗎？』而我們的研究算是回答了這些父母們的問題。｣
日期：22 August 2012
作者：Anna-Marie Lever
來源：http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19341829
Children who take music lessons have better hearing as adults, a study in the Journal of Neuroscience suggests.
一篇發表於神經科學期刊的研究指出，學過音樂的孩童，成年後擁有較佳聽力。
It found that children who played an instrument, even for as little as one to five years, had enhanced brain responses to complex sounds.
研究發現，演奏樂器的孩童，大腦增進了對於雜訊的反應能力，儘管只是短短一至五年的學習音樂，也有等同成效。
Compared with those who had never taken music classes, they were better at recognising different frequencies.
學習音樂的孩童比起未曾學習音樂的同儕更精於判別出不同頻率。
This improved hearing ability can help listeners follow conversations in noisy environments, such as restaurants.
聽力的增進，有助於聽者在餐廳之類的嘈雜環境中掌握對話內容。
Report author Prof Nina Kraus said: "Based on what we already know about the ways that music helps shape the brain, the study suggests that short-term music lessons may enhance lifelong listening and learning.
"We infer that a few years of music lessons also confers advantages in how one perceives and attends to sounds in everyday communication situations, such as noisy restaurants.
研究報告作者教授Nina Kraus說：｢從音樂有益於大腦發展的已知方式看來，研究顯示短期音樂課程即有可能增進一生的聽力與學習能力。並推論，數年期的音樂課，令學習者具備優勢，在嘈雜餐廳等的環境中更投注於當前對話。｣
Neural processing
神經處理
"The way you hear sound today is dictated by the experiences with sound you've had up until today."
｢你聽得到聲音，是因為你聽過聲音。｣
While previous work has indicated music can be good for the brain, this is the first study to suggest the effects are long lasting, even after people have given up the hobby.
先前研究已指出音樂有益腦部發展，然而此份研究是首次主張即使已中止音樂學習，音樂對腦部仍具有長遠的效應。
The team tested the responses of 45 adults to different complex sounds ranging in pitch, using electrodes to measure brain activity.
研究團隊利用電極量測腦部活動，測試45位成年人對於音調各異的雜訊的反應。
The adults were grouped depending on how much music training they had had as children - no experience, one to five years of training, or six to 11 years of music instruction.
受試成年人的分類依據為其幼時曾否受過音樂訓練：毫無音樂經歷、一至五年音樂訓練、或6至11年音樂訓練。
The people who had studied music even for just a few years had more robust neural processing of the different tests sounds.
學過音樂的受試者對於不同的測試音具有較穩健的神經反應，只學過幾年音樂的人也不例外。
They were particularly effective at being able to pull out the "fundamental frequency", the lowest frequency in sound, needed when listening to speech and music in noisy environments.
這些人尤其能夠分辨出｢基頻｣(維基百科：基本頻率（或簡稱基頻），當發聲體由於震動而發出聲音時，聲音一般可以分解為許多單純的正弦波，也就是說所有的自然聲音基本都是由許多頻率不同的正弦波組成的，其中頻率最低的正弦波即為基音，而其他頻率較高的正弦波則為泛音)，於嘈雜環境中需要基頻以聽認出演講或音樂演奏內容。
Prof Kraus said: "We help address a question on every parent's mind, 'Will my child benefit if she plays music for a short while?'"
Kraus教授說：｢每位父母都有如此疑惑：『如果我的小孩只學一陣子的音樂，這樣有用嗎？』而我們的研究算是回答了這些父母們的問題。｣