2016年12月四级第3套仔细阅读 Passage 2 原文翻译及答案解析

The secret to eating less and being happy about it may have been cracked years ago-by McDonald's. According to a new study from Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab, small non-food rewards-like the toys in McDonald's happy meals-stimulate the same reward centers in the brain as food does.

少吃并为此感到快乐的秘诀可能多年前就被麦当劳破解了。根据康奈尔大学食品与品牌实验室的一项新研究，像麦当劳快乐餐中的玩具这样的小非食物奖励，能刺激大脑中的奖赏中心，其效果与食物相同。

The researchers, led by Martin Reimann, carried out a series of experiments to see if people would choose a smaller meal if it was paired with a non-food item.

由Martin Reimann领导的研究人员进行了一系列实验，以观察人们是否会选择更小的餐食，如果它与一个非食物物品搭配。

They found that the majority of both kids and adults opted for a half-sized portion when combined with a prize. Both options were priced the same.

他们发现，当与奖品结合时，大多数儿童和成年人都选择了半份大小。两个选项的价格相同。

Even more interesting is that the promise of a future reward was enough to make adults choose the smaller portion. One of the prizes used was a lottery ticket, with a $10, $50 or $100 payout, and this was as effective as a tangible gift in persuading people to eat less.

更有趣的是，仅承诺未来的奖励就足以让成年人选择较小的份量。其中一个使用的奖品是彩票，赔付金额为10美元、50美元或100美元，这在说服人们少吃方面与实物礼物一样有效。

"The fact that participants were willing to substitute part of a food item for the mere prospect of a relatively small monetary award is interesting," says Reimann.

“参与者愿意用部分食物换取仅仅是相对较小金额奖励的前景，这一事实很有趣，” Reimann说。

He theorizes that it is the emotional component of these intangible prizes that make them more effective than options with hard odds included.

他理论认为，这些无形奖品的情感成分使其比包含硬性赔率的选项更有效。

"One explanation for this finding is that possible awards may be more emotionally provoking than certainty awards," says Reimann. "The uncertainty of winning provides added attraction and desirability through emotional 'thrills'. The possibility of receiving an award also produces a state -of hope-a state that is in itself psychologically rewarding." In other words, there's a reason why people like to gamble.

“对于这一发现的一种解释是，可能的奖励比确定的奖励更能激发情感，” Reimann说。“获胜的不确定性通过情感上的'刺激'提供了额外的吸引力和可取性。获得奖励的可能性也产生了一种希望状态——一种本身在心理上就有奖赏作用的状态。” 换句话说，人们喜欢赌博是有原因的。

How might this knowledge be used to help people eat more healthily?

这些知识如何能用来帮助人们更健康地饮食？

One possibility is a healthy option that offers the chance to win a spa weekend. Or maybe the reward of a half-sized dessert to be claimed only on a future date. That would get you back in the restaurant-and make you eat a little less.

一种可能性是提供有机会赢得水疗周末的健康选项。或者，奖励是半份甜点，但只能在未来的日期领取。这会让你回到餐厅——并让你少吃一点。