为什么你总是控制不了自己，暴饮暴食，总是想吃东西，吃饱了还想吃，...，
最新的一项研究发现，其实这不能怪你！不是我们自制力不行，是身体内的“饥饿激素”在作怪！“饥饿激素”会让食物看起来更诱人！
今天我们就一起来了解一下这一最新研究，文章选自「Scientific American」。
其实，早在2008年5月7日出版的《细胞—代谢》（Cell Metabolism）上就提到了这一个现象。科学家对志愿者进行测试分析，发现一种叫ghrelin的荷尔蒙能增强大脑中包括脑杏仁核（amygdala）、前额叶眶回（orbitofrontal cortex）、前岛脑（anterior insula）以及纹状体（striatum）在内的数个区域对于食物图像的神经反应。
结果表明，ghrelin能通过增强对食物的快感或激励反应，从而增加人们食物的摄入量。所以，这就是为什么你控制不了自己，不停吃吃吃了！
"Hunger Hormone" Ghrelin Aids Overindulgence
饥饿激素助你暴饮暴食
Ghrelin, the hormone that makes you hungry, also makes food, and food smells, irresistibly appealing. Karen Hopkin reports.
ghrelin
ghrelin /ˈɡrɛlɪn/ 表示“胃饥饿素，食欲刺激素”，英文解释为“a hormone produced in the body that stimulates appetite”。
hormone
表示“激素，荷尔蒙”，英文解释为“A hormone is a chemical, usually occurring naturally in your body, that makes an organ of your body do something.”
irresistibly
该副词由形容词irresistible变形而来，所以主要讲解形容词irresistible的意思，
1）表示“无法抗拒的；非常诱人的”，英文解释为“so attractive, desirable etc that you cannot prevent yourself from wanting it”，举个🌰：
Tax-cutting proposals could prove irresistible to lawmakers.
减税议案可能最终会让立法者无法抗拒其诱惑。
2）表示“（力量太强大而）不可遏止的；不可避免的”，英文解释为“too strong or powerful to be stopped or prevented ”，举个🌰：
I was overcome by an irresistible urge to cry.
我控制不住想大哭一场。
值得一提的是，写作中在形容词前加上合适的副词可以使文章更具体生动。
‘Tis the season…for overeating! But it’s not just your lack of willpower or the omnipresent holiday treats. No, you can lay some of the blame on ghrelin. Because a new study shows that ghrelin, the hormone that makes you hungry, also makes food…and food smells…irresistibly appealing. The finding appears in the journal Cell Reports. [Jung Eun Han et al, Ghrelin Enhances Food Odor Conditioning in Healthy Humans: An fMRI Study]
tis the season
这其实是一个slang，表示“到了...的季节”，英文解释为“'Tis the season is a phrase from the Christmas song "Deck the Halls" often used to indicate it's a particular time of year.”举个🌰：
又到了吃小龙虾的季节。
'Tis the season to eat crayfish.
这个词最早出现在一首叫做“Deck the Halls”的圣诞颂歌。
omnipresent
这个词有些同学可能不陌生，表示“无所不在的”，英文解释为“Something that is omnipresent is present everywhere or seems to be always present. ”举个🌰：
The sound of sirens was an omnipresent background noise in New York.
在纽约，警报声是无处不在的背景噪音。
lay the blame (for sth) on
其实一眼就可以猜出这个短语的意思，就是“责备”，英文解释为“to blame one”，值得一提的是，中间的blame可以换成responsibility，举个🌰：
The author lays the blame/responsibility for the state of the environment squarely on the government.
Cell Reports
和上文提到的《细胞—代谢》（Cell Metabolism）一样，《Cell Reports》也是一个期刊名，文章包括广泛跨越生命科学学科的研究论文。
Ghrelin is produced in the stomach, and its levels rise before your habitual mealtimes and after you haven’t eaten for an extended period. So the hormone reminds you to put something in your belly. Injecting rats with ghrelin encourages them to eat…and people who receive a dose of ghrelin grab extra helpings from the buffet.
grab extra helpings
要理解这个短语的意思，首先得理解helping是什么意思，表示“一份食物”，英文解释为“an amount of food given to one person at one time”如：
a small/large helping of pasta
一小份/大份意大利面食
所以这个短语的大概意思就是“吃得更多”。
But how does the hormone induce overindulgence? To find out, researchers at McGill University trained volunteers to associate random images with the smell of food. For example, every time they saw a tree, they might get a whiff of freshly baked bread. At the same time, some of the subjects received ghrelin; others got only saline.
overindulgence
名词，表示“过分放纵，过分任性”，英文解释为“behaviour in which you allow yourself to have too much of something enjoyable, especially food or drink”，举个🌰：
Overindulgence could lead to problems with digestion.
过度放纵(暴饮暴食)会引起消化问题。
whiff
表示“（气味等）微弱的一阵”，英文解释为“If there is a whiff of a particular smell, you smell it only slightly or only for a brief period of time, for example, as you walk past someone or something. ”举个🌰：
He caught a whiff of her perfume.
他闻到了她身上的一丝香水味。
saline
表示“生理盐水”，英文解释为“a special mixture of water and salt”。
The volunteers were then ushered into an fMRI machine, where the researchers watched their brains to see which parts got turned on by different images.
usher
表示“引，领”，英文解释为“If you usher someone somewhere, you show them where they should go by going with them. ”举个🌰：
I ushered him into the office.
我领他进了办公室。
usher还可以用作名词，表示“（婚礼、音乐会等的）引座员”，英文解释为“An usher is a person who shows people where to sit, for example at a wedding or at a concert. “举个🌰：
He did part-time work as an usher in a theatre.
他曾在一家剧院做兼职引座员。
turn on
除了熟知的意思外，还可以表示“令...兴奋”，这里不过多解释了。
fMRI 功能磁共振成像（Functional magnetic resonance imaging）
Seems that in subjects under the influence of ghrelin, the brain region involved in pleasure and reward lit up only when volunteers viewed the images they associated with food aromas. Their brain pleasure centers were disinterested in images that had not been paired with food smells.
subject
小作业：此处subject的意思是？
aroma
表示“芳香”，英文解释为“An aroma is a strong, pleasant smell.”，如：
the wonderful aroma of freshly baked bread
新烤面包的美妙香味
小作业：还有哪些表示“香味”的词呢？
be paired with
表示“把…配对”，英文解释为“If one thing is paired with another, it is put with it or considered with it. ”举个🌰：
The trainees will then be paired with experienced managers.
这些实习生之后将被配给有经验的经理们。
Also, when participants were then asked to rate the pleasantness of the images, the ones who'd been exposed to ghrelin gave higher grades to the food-associated pictures than did folks who got no ghrelin.
So when visions of sugarplums…or the smell of apple pie…get your stomach growlin'…you can thank—or blame—your ghrelin. As you reach for a fork.
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