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Don:It's time to go again to the A Moment of Science mailbag...
唐：又到了《科学时刻》读信时间了......
Yael:A listener writes: Dear AMOS, Why can some people learn a new language easily but others struggle?
雅艾尔：一位听众来信：亲爱的《科学时刻》栏目组，为什么有人很轻松就能学好一门外语，而有些人却要拼命努力呢？
Don:Good question! How many languages do you speak, Yael?
唐：好问题！雅艾尔，你能说几种语言？
Yael:Four.
雅艾尔：4种。
Don:Really?!
唐：真的？
Yael:Yep—English, Canadian, British, and Australian.
雅艾尔：是的——美式英语，加拿大式英语，英式英语还有澳大利亚式英语。
Don:Ha ha. Very funny.
唐：哈哈。太有趣了。
Yael:Sorry. But really, I'm terrible at languages. But I have a friend who speaks like five. She'll travel some place and within a few weeks, it seems, she's asking for directions and having conversations in a completely new language.
雅艾尔：对不起。但是，我在语言方面很差。不过，我有一位朋友能说差不多5种语言。她学习的方法就是到处旅行，用完全陌生的语言问路，与人交谈。
Don:That could be because she has a large Heschl's Gyrus.
唐：那是因为她的颞横回较大的缘故。
Yael:What?
雅艾尔：什么？
Don:Heschl's Gyrus—it's a brain structure about the size of a finger—one in the brain's left side, one in the right. And scientists think that the bigger your left Heschl's Gyrus, the greater your chances of being good at learning languages.
唐：颞横回——一种手指般大小的脑部结构——分布于大脑左右侧。科学家们认为右边的颞横回较左边大时，你就越有可能学好一门外语。
Yael:Huh—is that because the Heschl's Gyrus plays an important role in how the brain processes language or something?
雅艾尔：啊——是因为大脑在处理语言或其它事物时，其中颞横回扮演了很重要的角色吗？
Don:Actually, no. Heschl's Gyrus is usually associated with the basics of sound processing, like pitch and volume. But it's not directly connected to speech.
唐：实际上不是这样。颞横回通常与处理基本的声音元素有联系，比如说音高与音量。但是与言语没有直接关系。
Yael:But wait—are you saying that if I happen to have a small left Heschl's Gyrus I can't learn a new language?
雅艾尔：但是等等——你是说如果我碰巧有较小的右侧颞横回，那我就学不了一门新语言？
Don:Not at all. It might just mean that you learn languages differently. And, sure, it could mean that you don't learn new languages as easily as someone with a larger Heschl's Gyrus. But you can still learn.
唐：也不能这么想。只能说在你学习过程中会遇到一定的困难。当然，相比颞横回较大的人，肯定不如他们容易。但是你还是可以学会的。
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