英语听力英语高级听力材料The Human Body Life Story.docx

英语听力英语高级听力材料The Human Body Life Story.docx

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英语听力英语高级听力材料TheHumanBodyLifeStory

Thereisonethingthateveryoneonearthhasincommon.Wealllive,eatandbreathewithinthehumanbody.FortwoyearsI’vebeenexploringthisuniquedwellingplace.IwanttoshowyouwhatI'veseen.

Tocomewithme,you'llhavetocrosstheglobefromAustraliathroughAfricatoAmerica.You'llhavetojourneyintospaceandintoaplaceasmysteriousbutmuchclosertohome.We'vedevelopednewtechniquestohelpyougetthere,newcamerastoshowyoutheway.（ah）Andwe'lllookatfamiliarthingswithafresheye.You'lljourneywithmeontheroadthatyourbodytakes,throughdangers,throughmiraclesandthroughtime.Wewillseethehumanbodyinallitsforms,fromourbeginningtoallourends.

Iamadoctorandascientist.I'vespentmyworkinglifelookingatthehumanbody.NowIamgoingtoseeitinanewlight.Comewithme.

ThisisCharlotte.Shewasbornjustafewhoursago.Likemostofusatbirth,there'sreallynothingtoher.Abitoffat,alittlesugar,abitofprotein,actuallySheis75percentwater!

Sheisreallyjustacollectionofchemicals.Andyetsheisthemostcomplicatedthingonearth.Andduringherlifetime,she'llachievethemostamazingthings.

Shewilleatfornearlythreeandahalfyears,consuming7,300eggs,and160kilogramsofchocolate.shewillproduce40,000litersofurineandspendover6monthsontheloop.Shewilldribble145litersofsalivabeforeherfirstbirthday.

She'llcrawl150kilometersbeforeshe'stwo.Fromthenon,she'lllearnanewwordeverytwohoursforthenext10years.Bythetimeshe'sten,herheartwouldhavebeaten368milliontimes.She'llspendalittleover12yearswatchingTVandtwoandahalfyearsonthetelephone.Shewillspend2weekskissing.She'llgrow28metersoffingernailsand950kilometersofhaironherheadandmorethan2metersuphernose.

Bytheageof21,she'dhavebreathedover3.5millionballoonsofair.She'llworkforatotalofjustover8years.Andshe'llproduce200billionnewredbloodcellseachandeveryday.She'llbeabletoputanameto2,000people,150ofthemshe’llcallherfriends.Shewillshed19kilogramsofdeadskin.

She'llhavesex2,580timeswith5differentpeople.She'llfallinlovetwice.She'llblink415milliontimesandhereyeswillbeabletodistinguishoveramillioncolours.Ifshegetsmarried,she'llspend6,809poundsonherweddingday.Andthereisa60%chanceshewillstaymarriedtothesamepersonfortherestofherlife.She'llhave2childrenand4grandchildren.Andwhentheygrowup,only2ofher8great-grandchildrenwillrememberwhathernamewas.InBritainshe'slikelytolivefor79years,inFrance82,inNorthAmerica80andinAfricaonly55.Bythattimeshe'llhavewalkedover22,000kilometersandtalkedfor12years.

It'sanamazinglist.Infact,nolifeisanordinarystory.We'lleachinourtimedoanincredibleamount.Andthedrivingforcebehindeverythingwedoisthemostcomplicatedorganinourbodiesandalsothemostmysterious.It'sourbrain.

"ThisissomethingI'veneverdonebeforeinmylife.AndIneverthoughtIwould.ButalthoughIhaveonlybeendoingitforafewhours,Icandoatleastabitofitonautopilot.Well,alittlebitofit,anyway."

Thiskindofdrivingtakesawholenewrangeofskills,andyouneedtobeabletousethemalmostautomatically.It'smybrainthatletsmedothat.

"Well,mybrainisnowdoinghalfadozentrickynewjobsallatonce,withoutmyeventhinkingaboutit,somuchsothatIcandevotesomeofmythoughtsandmyattentiontospeakingtoyou."

Andthat'swhatbrainsaresogoodat.Theymanagethingswithoutusevenbeingconsciousofthem..

..ontheinsidehere....

Yourbrainsaredoingitrightnow.BecausewhilstI'vebeencopingwithsixnewtrickythings,yourbrainshavebeendoingliterallytensofmillionsoftasksjustwhileyouarewatchingtelevision.

"Putitinanotherway,it'sasifyouwerenotjustdrivingthiscar,butdrivingeverycar,bus,motorbike,taxi,lorryinthecountry,allatthesametime.Youjustthoughtyouwereputtingyourfeeton."

Toseehowbusyyourbrainreallyis,yougottalookattheworlddifferently.

Everythingthat'saliveandquiteafewthingsthataren't,givesoffheat.That'swhatyouarelookingatnow.Everypartofyourbodyisburningupenergyandcreatingheatasitgoesaboutthebusinessofbeingyou.Butthehottestbitofyouisuphere,yourbrainisburningupmoreenergythananythingelseinyourbody,almostafifthofallthecaloriesyoueatanddrink.Anditusesupalmostthesameamountwhetheryouareconcentratingonsomethingreallydifficultorjustwonderingwhethertoputthecatout,becausedayandnight,yourbrainischallengedwiththemostdifficulttaskitwilleverface,keepingyoualive.

Rightnowforinstance,therearequiteafewthingsonyourmind,tonight'sdinnerforexample.Forstarters,yourbrainiscoordinatingamajorhaulageoperation.

Eventhoughtherouteisusuallydownhill,fooddoesn'tfallfromyourmouthtoyourstomach.Whenyourbraintellsyoutoswallow,ittriggerswavesofmusclecontractions.Theysqueezethingsalonginyouresophagusataround4centimeterspersecond.

Thefirstscheduledstopisthestomach.It'sessentiallyabiologicalliquidizer.Itsliningiscoveredindelicatefoldswhichallowittoexpandwitheachmouthful.Insideamixtureofenzymesandhydrochloricacidstarttodigestyourfood.Andveryprobablyyourdinnerisstillinthere,itchurnsawayforabout4hours.Soonitwillbereleasedintoyoursmallintestineandatacuefromyourbrain,bilewillbeadded.Thiswillhelpyoubreakdownfats.Youwillbecarryingtonight'sdinnerforabout24hours,soIhopeyoulikedit.Whenitdoesfinallyleaveyou,itwilltakearound25gramsofdeadcellsfromyourgutwithit.

Butdon'tworry,youareconstantlyreplacingcellsfromheadtotoe.

Yourbrainismanagingthebody'sworkforceofapproximately50,000billioncellsandmostofthemdon'tlastmorethanafewyears.Cellsareconstantlydyingandbeingreplacedbynewones.Uptoabillionnewcellsforoldeveryhour.Whatthisreallymeansisthatmostpartsofyourbodyareinfactagooddealyoungerthanyouare.Butremarkablythesecellsaren'treplacedandtheyareparticularlyspecial.Eachonehasanaturaltendencytotwitch.

Theyareheartcells,andseveralmillionofthemworkingatonceisaheartbeat.Inthiscase,it'syourheadthatrulesyourheartasit'syourbrainthatdecideswhatrateyourheartshouldbebeatingat.Thesamepartofyourbrainthat'scontrollingyourheartislookingaftertheoutsideofyou,too.Yourbodyneedstomaintainaconstanttemperatureof37degreescentigradeandyourbrainhasarangeoftricksupitssleevetodoit.

Thisisskinmagnifiedathousandtimes.Ifyoulookclosely,it'scoveredinholes.Theyaretheopeningsoftinyducts--tubesthroughwhichsweatcanflow.Thereareabout65,000ofthemonthepalmofyourhandalone.Ifyouaregettingtoohot,yourbrainswitchesonyoursweatglands.Asthesweatevaporates,itwillhelpcoolyoudown.Andshouldyourbraindecidethatstayingwarmiswhat'sneeded,it'sgotanotherplan,goosepimples.Theytrapwarmairneartotheskinandsokeepvitalheatin.

soallthatisbeingcontrolledfromhereinsideyourhead.Anddon'tthinkyouwillgetoutofallthehardworkbynoddingoff.Evenwhenwearecompletelyrelaxedorasleepourbrainsdon'tletup.Thisstrangecontraptioniscoveredinelectrodespickinguppartofmyownbrain'sactivity.128sensorsdetecttinysignalsemittedasmybraincellsfire.ThisisthepatternproducedwhenI'mrelaxed.Evenwithoutathoughtinmyhead,mybrainwavesshowI'mbusy.Thetruthisourbodiesarealwaysbusy.Theyjustdon'ttellusaboutit.Whatweseeasthemonotonyofourdailyliveswhenitseemsthatnothingeverreallyhappens...

...isactuallytheresultofimmeasurableactivityinsideourbodies.

Weareperformingliterallythousandsofdifferenttaskseverysecondofeveryday.Simplybeingispartofanintricatelycomplicatedbalancingact,themechanicsofwhicharecompletelyhiddenfromus.Andjustasourbodieshidefromusthemiracleofeverydaylife,sotheyhidefromusanevenbiggersurprise.

It'sthestoryofhowwecametobethewayweare.Anditisanamazingstory.Itwillchangethewayyouthinkaboutyourbody,thewaywelive,theshapeweare,eventhewaywethinkwasdecidedforusthousands,millionsevenbillionsofyearsago,whenthehumanbodydidn'tevenexist,andplanetearthwasalmostunrecognizable.

Hereweare.8,000feetabovesealevel,inAmerica'sYellowstoneNationalPark.Ifyou'dbeenonthesurfaceoftheplanetearththreebillonyearsago,itwouldhavelookedsomethinglikethis.Theearthwouldhavebeencoveredinvolcanoesandbillowingventsofsteamandsulphurouswater.

Hadyoubeenstandinghere,you'dhavebeenpresentasthestoryoflifewasunfolding.Andhadyoubeenstandinghere,you'dhavebeenstandingbythemostadvancedlifeformontheplanet.Inthisalmostboilingwater,therearethousandsoflongthinstrands.Theyareactuallycoloniesoftinyheatlovingcreatures,theyarebacteria.Once,longago,thiswasthemostcomplexformoflifeanywhereonearth.What'ssosurprisingisthatit'sstillheretoday,justlikeitwasthreebillionyearsago.Whereasdinosaurscameandwent,andliterallymillionsofotherspeciesdeveloped,witheredanddiedout,thishassurvivedpracticallyunchanged.

Theyhaven'tchangedbecausetheirenvironmenthasstayedthesame.Thewatertheyliveinbubblesupfromdeepintheearth,andsoit'salwayst