英语新闻词汇：花滑运动员们为什么转不晕？

Why Don’t Figure Skaters Get Dizzy When They Spin?

 

每秒旋转数圈，花滑运动员们为什么转不晕？

 

Each event typically consists of a short and long routine that helps determine a competitor's score. The short routine (also known as the short program) acts as a qualifier - only the top-scoring skaters from this portion of the competition advance to the long program (also known as the free skate or free program). Skaters then receive a combined score from the short and free programs to find the overall winner.

 

每个项目通常由短节目和自由滑组成，根据两个节目的总分排名。短节目可以看成是预赛——只有短节目排名靠前的选手才有资格晋级自由滑的比拼。最终通过短节目和自由滑的总分决定名次。

 

Within each routine, a skater receives two sets of scores: the technical element score (TES) and the program component score (PCS). The PCS is based primarily on presentation, while the TES evaluates the difficulty and completion of the routine (things like spins and jumps).

 

每场比赛中，运动员都将得到两组分数：技术分（TES）和艺术分（PCS）。艺术分主要基于选手的表演；而技术分是评估难度和节目完成度（如旋转和跳跃）。

 

How do figure skaters who spin at incredible speeds, avoid losing their balance?

 

高速旋转的花样滑冰运动员是如何避免失去平衡？

 

The short answer is training, but to really grasp why figure skaters can twirl without getting dizzy requires an understanding of the vestibular system, the apparatus in our inner ear that helps to keep us upright. This system contains special sensory nerve cells that can detect the speed and direction at which our head moves. These sensors are tightly coupled with our eye movements and with our perception of our body's position and motion through space. For instance, if we rotate our head to the right while our eyes remain focused on an object straight ahead, our eyes naturally move to the left at the same speed. This involuntary response allows us to stay focused on a stationary object.

 

简单来说，靠训练。但要真正弄懂花样滑冰运动员为什么不会转晕，我们需要先了解前庭系统，即内耳中帮助人体保持直立的器官。前庭系统包含特殊的感觉神经细胞，可以检测头部运动的速度和方向。这些神经传感器与眼球运动，以及人们对自身在空间中的位置和运动的感知紧密相连。例如，如果我们把头向右转，而眼睛依然聚焦在前方的物体上，眼睛自然会以相同的速度向左移动。这种下意识的反应使我们能够盯住静止的物体。

 

Spinning is more complicated. When we move our head during a spin, our eyes start to move in the opposite direction but reach their limit before our head completes a full 360-degree turn. So our eyes flick back to a new starting position midspin, and the motion repeats as we rotate. When our head rotation triggers this automatic, repetitive eye movement, called nystagmus, we get dizzy.

 

转圈则更复杂。当我们在旋转过程中移动头部时，眼睛开始向相反的方向移动，但头部在转动360度之前，眼睛就转到极限了。因此，眼睛在旋转过程中会转到一个新的起始位置，而这个动作在旋转的过程中不断重复。当头部旋转触发了这种自动的、重复的眼球运动（称为眼球震颤），我们就会感到头晕。

 

Skaters suppress the dizziness by learning how to counteract nystagmus with another type of eye movement, called optokinetic nystagmus. Optokinetic nystagmus occurs in the opposite direction of the nystagmus and allows us to track a moving object—such as a train whizzing by—with our eyes while our head remains in place. As the first few cars of the train move out of view, our eyes jump back to their initial position to follow the next few, and the motion repeats. Skaters can train themselves to engage this opposing eye movement when they rotate to offset the nystagmus and keep the world from spinning.

 

滑冰者通过学习用另一种类型的眼球运动来对抗眼球震颤，从而抑制眩晕，这种眼球运动被称为视动性眼震。视动性眼震与眼球震颤的方向相反，使我们能够在头部保持不变的情况下，用眼睛追踪移动的物体，如呼啸而过的火车。当火车的前几节车厢离开视线时，我们的眼睛会跳回到最初的位置，跟随接下来的几节车厢，重复眼球运动。滑冰者可以训练自己在旋转时进行这种相反的眼球运动，以抵消眼球震颤，防止头晕。

 

Professional athletes employ a variety of other strategies to prevent dizziness, including maintaining a uniform speed. The sensors in our vestibular system can detect only changes in speed, so they fail to sense rotation that takes place at a steady pace. If athletes can manage their speed, they encounter dizziness only while they accelerate into and slow down out of a spin.

 

专业的运动员会采用保持匀速等各种不同策略来防止眩晕。前庭系统中的神经传感器只能检测速度的变化，因此它们无法感知以稳定速度发生的旋转。如果运动员能够控制自己的速度，他们只有在加速旋转和减速旋转时才会感到头晕。

 

As the name suggests, a sit spin is when the skater must sink towards the ice in a sitting position. They must hold one leg out parallel to the ice while rotating on their supporting leg.

 

顾名思义，蹲踞旋转是指滑冰者必须以坐姿向冰面下沉。他们必须保持一条腿与冰平行，同时用支撑腿旋转。

 

The camel spin is instantly recognizable. This is when the skater creates a horizontal line using their leg and upper body, which runs parallel to the ice.

 

燕式旋转很容易辨认。滑冰者的一条腿和上半身连成一条水平线，与冰平行。

 

An upright spin is defined as any rotation which is performed on one leg when the skater is in an upright position.

 

直立旋转是指当滑冰者处于直立姿势时，用一条腿进行的任何旋转。

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