TED英語演講稿：我們在出生前學(xué)到了什么mysubjecttodayislearning.andinthatspirit,iwanttospringonyouallapopquiz.ready?whendoeslearningbegin?nowasyouponderthatquestion,maybeyou’rethinkingaboutthefirstdayofpreschoolorkindergarten,thefirsttimethatkidsareinaclassroomwithateacher.ormaybeyou’vecalledtomindthetoddlerphasewhenchildrenarelearninghowtowalkandtalkanduseafork.maybeyou’veencounteredthezero-to-threemovement,whichassertsthatthemostimportantyearsforlearningaretheearliestones.andsoyouranswertomyquestionwouldbe:learningbeginsatbirth.welltodayiwanttopresenttoyouanideathatmaybesurprisingandmayevenseemimplausible,butwhichissupportedbythelatestevidencefrompsychologyandbiology.andthatisthatsomeofthemostimportantlearningweeverdohappensbeforewe’reborn,whilewe’restillinthewomb.nowi’masciencereporter.iwritebooksandmagazinearticles.andi’malsoamother.andthosetworolescametogetherformeinabookthatiwrotecalledorigins.originsisareportfromthefrontlinesofanexcitingnewfieldcalledfetalorigins.fetaloriginsisascientificdisciplinethatemergedjustabouttwodecadesago,andit’sbasedonthetheorythatourhealthandwell-beingthroughoutourlivesiscruciallyaffectedbytheninemonthswespendinthewomb.nowthistheorywasofmorethanjustintellectualinteresttome.iwasmyselfpregnantwhileiwasdoingtheresearchforthebook.andoneofthemostfascinatinginsightsitookfromthisworkisthatwe’realllearningabouttheworldevenbeforeweenterit.whenweholdourbabiesforthefirsttime,wemightimaginethatthey’recleanslates,unmarkedbylife,wheninfact,they’vealreadybeenshapedbyusandbytheparticularworldwelivein.todayiwanttosharewithyousomeoftheamazingthingsthatscientistsarediscoveringaboutwhatfetuseslearnwhilethey’restillintheirmothers’bellies.firstofall,theylearnthesoundoftheirmothers’voices.becausesoundsfromtheoutsideworldhavetotravelthroughthemother’sabdominaltissueandthroughtheamnioticfluidthatsurroundsthefetus,thevoicesfetuseshear,startingaroundthefourthmonthofgestation,aremutedandmuffled.oneresearchersaysthattheyprobablysoundalotlikethethevoiceofcharliebrown’steacherintheoldpeanutscartoon.butthepregnantwoman’sownvoicereverberatesthroughherbody,reachingthefetusmuchmorereadily.andbecausethefetusiswithherallthetime,ithearshervoicealot.oncethebaby’sborn,itrecognizeshervoiceanditpreferslisteningtohervoiceoveranyoneelse’s.howcanweknowthis?newbornbabiescan’tdomuch,butonethingthey’rereallygoodatissucking.researcherstakeadvantageofthisfactbyrigginguptworubbernipples,sothatifababysucksonone,ithearsarecordingofitsmother’svoiceonapairofheadphones,andifitsucksontheothernipple,ithearsarecordingofafemalestranger’svoice.babiesquicklyshowtheirpreferencebychoosingthefirstone.scientistsalsotakeadvantageofthefactthatbabieswillslowdowntheirsuckingwhensomethingintereststhemandresumetheirfastsuckingwhentheygetbored.thisishowresearchersdiscoveredthat,afterwomenrepeatedlyreadaloudasectionofdr.seuss’thecatinthehatwhiletheywerepregnant,theirnewbornbabiesrecognizedthatpassagewhentheyhearitoutsidethewomb.myfavoriteexperimentofthiskindistheonethatshowedthatthebabiesofwomenwhowatchedacertainsoapoperaeverydayduringpregnancyrecognizedthethemesongofthatshowoncetheywereborn.sofetusesareevenlearningabouttheparticularlanguagethat’sspokenintheworldthatthey’llbeborninto.astudypublishedlastyearfoundthatfrombirth,fromthemomentofbirth,babiescryintheaccentoftheirmother’snativelanguage.frenchbabiescryonarisingnotewhilegermanbabiesendonafallingnote,imitatingthemelodiccontoursofthoselanguages.nowwhywouldthiskindoffetallearningbeuseful?itmayhaveevolvedtoaidthebaby’ssurvival.fromthemomentofbirth,thebabyrespondsmosttothevoiceofthepersonwhoismostlikelytocareforit--itsmother.itevenmakesitscriessoundlikethemother’slanguage,whichmayfurtherendearthebabytothemother,andwhichmaygivethebabyaheadstartinthecriticaltaskoflearninghowtounderstandandspeakitsnativelanguage.butit’snotjustsoundsthatfetusesarelearningaboutinutero.it’salsotastesandsmells.bysevenmonthsofgestation,thefetus’tastebudsarefullydeveloped,anditsolfactoryreceptors,whichallowittosmell,arefunctioning.theflavorsofthefoodapregnantwomaneatsfindtheirwayintotheamnioticfluid,whichiscontinuouslyswallowedbythefetus.babiesseemtorememberandpreferthesetastesoncethey’reoutintheworld.inoneexperiment,agroupofpregnantwomenwasaskedtodrinkalotofcarrotjuiceduringtheirthirdtrimesterofpregnancy,whileanothergroupofpregnantwomendrankonlywater.sixmonthslater,thewomen’sinfantswereofferedcerealmixedwithcarrotjuice,andtheirfacialexpressionswereobservedwhiletheyateit.theoffspringofthecarrotjuicedrinkingwomenatemorecarrot-flavoredcereal,andfromthelooksofit,theyseemedtoenjoyitmore.asortoffrenchversionofthisexperimentwascarriedoutindijon,francewhereresearchersfoundthatmotherswhoconsumedfoodanddrinkflavoredwithlicorice-flavoredaniseduringpregnancyshowedapreferenceforaniseontheirfirstdayoflife,andagain,whentheyweretestedlater,ontheirfourthdayoflife.babieswhosemothersdidnoteataniseduringpregnancyshowedareactionthattranslatedroughlyasyuck.whatthismeansisthatfetusesareeffectivelybeingtaughtbytheirmothersaboutwhatissafeandgoodtoeat.fetusesarealsobeingtaughtabouttheparticularculturethatthey’llbejoiningthroughoneofculture’smostpowerfulexpressions,whichisfood.they’rebeingintroducedtothecharacteristicflavorsandspicesoftheirculture’scuisineevenbeforebirth.nowitturnsoutthatfetusesarelearningevenbiggerlessons.butbeforeigettothat,iwanttoaddresssomethingthatyoumaybewonderingabout.thenotionoffetallearningmayconjureupforyouattemptstoenrichthefetus--likeplayingmozartthroughheadphonesplacedonapregnantbelly.butactually,thenine-month-longprocessofmoldingandshapingthatgoesoninthewombisalotmorevisceralandconsequentialthanthat.muchofwhatapregnantwomanencountersinherdailylife--theairshebreathes,thefoodanddrinksheconsumes,thechemicalsshe’sexposedto,eventheemotionsshefeels--aresharedinsomefashionwithherfetus.theymakeupamixofinfluencesasinpidualandidiosyncraticasthewomanherself.thefetusincorporatestheseofferingsintoitsownbody,makesthempartofitsfleshandblood.andoftenitdoessomethingmore.ittreatsthesematernalcontributionsasinformation,aswhatiliketocallbiologicalpostcardsfromtheworldoutside.sowhatafetusislearningaboutinuteroisnotmozart’smagicflutebutanswerstoquestionsmuchmorecriticaltoitssurvival.willitbebornintoaworldofabundanceorscarcity?willitbesafeandprotected,orwillitfaceconstantdangersandthreats?willitlivealong,fruitfullifeorashort,harriedone?thepregnantwoman’sdietandstresslevelinparticularprovideimportantcluestoprevailingconditionslikeafingerliftedtothewind.theresultingtuningandtweakingofafetus’brainandotherorgansarepartofwhatgiveushumansourenormousflexibility,ourabilitytothriveinahugevarietyofenvironments,fromthecountrytothecity,fromthetundratothedesert.toconclude,iwanttotellyoutwostoriesabouthowmothersteachtheirchildrenabouttheworldevenbeforethey’heautumnof1944,thedarkestdaysofworldwarii,germantroopsblockadedwesternholland,turningawayallshipmentsoffood.theopeningofthenazi’ssiegewasfollowedbyoneoftheharshestwintersindecades--socoldthewaterinthecanalsfrozesolid.soonfoodbecamescarce,withmanydutchsurvivingonjust500caloriesaday--aquarterofwhattheyconsumedbeforethewar.asweeksofdeprivationstretchedintomonths,someresortedtoeatingtulipbulbs.bythebeginningofmay,thenation’scarefullyrationedfoodreservewaspletelyexhausted.thespecterofmassstarvationloomed.andthenonmay5th,1945,thesiegecametoasuddenendwhenhollandwasliberatedbytheallies.thehungerwinter,asitcametobeknown,killedsome10,000peopleandweakenedthousandsmore.buttherewasanotherpopulationthatwasaffected--the40,000fetusesinuteroduringthesiege.someoftheeffectsofmalnutritionduringpregnancywereimmediatelyapparentinhigherratesofstillbirths,birthdefects,lowbirthweightsandinfantmortality.butotherswouldn’tbediscoveredformanyyears.decadesafterthehungerwinter,researchersdocumentedthatpeoplewhosemotherswerepregnantduringthesiegehavemoreobesity,morediabetesandmoreheartdiseaseinlaterlifethaninpidualswhoweregestatedundernormalconditions.theseinpiduals’prenatalexperienceofstarvationseemstohavechangedtheirbodiesinmyriadways.theyhavehigherbloodpressure,poorercholesterolprofilesandreducedglucosetolerance--aprecursorofdiabetes.whywouldundernutritioninthewombresultindiseaselater?oneexplanationisthatfetusesaremakingthebestofabadsituation.whenfoodisscarce,theypertnutrientstowardsthereallycriticalorgan,thebrain,andawayfromotherorgansliketheheartandliver.thiskeepsthefetusaliveintheshort-term,butthebillesduelateroninlifewhenthoseotherorgans,deprivedearlyon,beemoresusceptibletodisease.butthatmaynotbeallthat’sgoingon.itseemsthatfetusesaretakingcuesfromtheintrauterineenvironmentandtailoringtheirphysiologyaccordingly.they’repreparingthemselvesforthekindofworldtheywillencounterontheothersideofthewomb.thefetusadjustsitsmetabolismandotherphysiologicalprocessesinanticipationoftheenvironmentthatawaitsit.andthebasisofthefetus’predictioniswhatitsmothereats.themealsapregnantwomanconsumesconstituteakindofstory,afairytaleofabundanceoragrimchronicleofdeprivation.thisstoryimpartsinformationthatthefetususestoorganizeitsbodyanditssystems--anadaptationtoprevailingcircumstancesthatfacilitatesitsfuturesurvival.facedwithseverelylimitedresources,asmaller-sizedchildwithreducedenergyrequirementswill,infact,haveabetterchanceoflivingtoadulthood.therealtroubleeswhenpregnantwomenare,inasense,unreliablenarrators,whenfetusesareledtoexpectaworldofscarcityandareborninsteadintoaworldofplenty.thisiswhathappenedtothechildrenofthedutchhungerwinter.andtheirhigherratesofobesity,diabetesandheartdiseasearetheresult.bodiesthatwerebuilttohangontoeverycaloriefoundthemselvesswimminginthesuperfluouscaloriesofthepost-warwesterndiet.theworldtheyhadlearnedaboutwhileinuterowasnotthesameastheworldintowhichtheywereborn.here’sanotherstory.at8:46.onseptember11th,XX,thereweretensofthousandsofpeopleinthevicinityoftheworldtradecenterinnewyork--mutersspillingofftrains,waitressessettingtablesforthemorningrush,brokersalreadyworkingthephonesonwallstreet.1,700ofthesepeoplewerepregnantwomen.whentheplanesstruckandthetowerscollapsed,manyofthesewomenexperiencedthesamehorrorsinflictedonothersurvivorsofthedisaster--theoverwhelmingchaosandconfusion,therollingcloudsofpotentiallytoxicdustanddebris,theheart-poundingfearfortheirlives.aboutayearafter9,hebabiesofthosewomenwhodevelopedpost-traumaticstresssyndrome,orptsd,followingtheirordeal,researchersdiscoveredabiologicalmarkerofsusceptibilitytoptsd--aneffectthatwasmostpronouncedininfantswhosemother