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濒死体验是玄学还是科学？
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这些人说，他们离开了身体躯壳，走向无比耀眼的光源，已经逝世的亲人在那里迎接他们。
双语精读
For several years, Jimo Borjigin, a professor of neurology at the University of Michigan, had been troubled by the question of what happens to us when we die. She had read about the near-death experiences of certain cardiac-arrest survivors who had undergone extraordinary psychic journeys before being resuscitated.
几年来，密歇根大学神经学教授吉莫·博尔吉金一直被一个问题所困扰，那就是我们死去的时候会发生什么。她读到过某些心脏骤停幸存者的濒死体验，这些人在复苏之前经历了非凡的灵性旅程。
Sometimes, these people reported travelling outside of their bodies towards overwhelming sources of light where they were greeted by dead relatives. Others spoke of coming to a new understanding of their lives, or encountering beings of profound goodness.
有时候，这些人说，他们离开了身体躯壳，走向无比耀眼的光源，已经逝世的亲人在那里迎接他们。其他人谈到濒死体验让他们对生活有了新的理解，或者遇到了至善的生灵。
Borjigin didn't believe the content of those stories was true -- she didn't think the souls of dying people actually travelled to an afterworld -- but she suspected something very real was happening in those patients' brains.
博尔吉金并不相信那些故事的内容是真实的----她不认为垂死之人的灵魂真的会前往来世----但她怀疑在这些病人的大脑中确实发生了一些非常真实的事情。
In her own laboratory, she had discovered that rats undergo a dramatic storm of many neurotransmitters, including serotonin and dopamine, after their hearts stop and their brains lose oxygen.
在她自己的实验室里，她发现老鼠在心脏停止跳动和大脑缺氧后，会经历许多神经递质的剧烈活动，包括血清素和多巴胺。
She wondered if humans' near-death experiences might spring from a similar phenomenon, and if it was occurring even in people who couldn't be revived.
她想知道人类的濒死体验是否可能起源于类似的现象，以及这种现象是否也发生在那些无法复苏的人身上。
Dying seemed like such an important area of research -- we all do it, after all -- that Borjigin assumed other scientists had already developed a thorough understanding of what happens to the brain in the process of death. But when she looked at the scientific literature, she found little enlightenment.
死亡看起来是一个非常重要的研究领域----毕竟我们都会经历死亡----所以博尔吉金以为其他科学家已经对死亡过程中的大脑情况有了深入的了解。但当她查阅科学文献时，她几乎没有得到什么启发。
Since the 1960s, advances in resuscitation had helped to revive thousands of people who might otherwise have died. About 10% or 20% of those people brought with them stories of near-death experiences in which they felt their souls or selves departing from their bodies.
自20世纪60年代以来，复苏技术的进步帮助挽救了成千上万人的生命，否则他们可能已经死亡。其中大约10%或20%的人带来了他们濒死体验的故事，在这些故事中，他们感觉自己的灵魂或自我离开了身体。
A handful of those patients even claimed to witness, from above, doctors' attempts to resuscitate them.
有少数病人甚至声称，他们从上方看到了医生试图复苏他们的过程。
According to several international surveys and studies, one in 10 people claims to have had a near-death experience involving cardiac arrest, or a similar experience in circumstances where they may have come close to death.
根据几项国际调查和研究，每10个人中就有1个人声称有过涉及心脏骤停的濒死体验，或在可能接近死亡的情况下有过类似濒死的经历。
That's roughly 800 million souls worldwide who may have dipped a toe in the afterlife.
这就意味着全球大约8亿条灵魂可能已经一只脚踏进过来世。
As remarkable as these near-death experiences sounded, they were consistent enough that some scientists began to believe there was truth to them: maybe people really did have minds or souls that existed separately from their living bodies.
虽然这些濒死体验听起来非同寻常，但它们也足够一致，以至于一些科学家开始相信其中有真相：也许人们真的有独立于他们身体而存在的思想或灵魂。
In the 1970s, a small network of cardiologists, psychiatrists, medical sociologists and social psychologists in North America and Europe began investigating whether near-death experiences proved that dying is not the end of being, and that consciousness can exist independently of the brain.
20世纪70年代，北美和欧洲的一个由心脏病专家、精神病学家、医学社会学家和社会心理学家组成的小型网络开始调查，濒死体验是否证明死亡并非生命的终结，以及意识是否可以独立于大脑而存在。
The field of near-death studies was born.
濒死研究领域就此诞生。
词汇预习
roughly [高考]
美[ˈrʌfli] | 英[ˈrʌfli]
adv. 粗略地；大约；粗暴地；粗糙地；粗鲁地
dramatic [高考]
美[drəˈmætɪk] | 英[drəˈmætɪk]
adj. 戏剧性的；引人注目的；给人深刻印象的；激动人心的
remarkable [高考]
美[rɪˈmɑːrkəbl] | 英[rɪˈmɑːkəbl]
adj. 非凡的；值得注意的；显著的；异常的；卓越的
undergo [高考]
美[ˌʌndərˈɡoʊ] | 英[ˌʌndəˈɡəʊ]
vt. 经历；经受；遭受
separately [高考]
美[ˈsɛpərɪtlɪ] | 英[ˈseprətli]
adv. 分别地；个别地；独立地；分开地
goodness [高考]
美[ˈɡʊdnəs] | 英[ˈɡʊdnəs]
n. 善良；美德；精华 int. 天哪
profound [高考]
美[prəˈfaʊnd] | 英[prəˈfaʊnd]
adj. 深奥的；渊博的；极度的；意义深远的
revive [高考]
美[rɪˈvaɪv] | 英[rɪˈvaɪv]
vt. 使重生；恢复精神；唤醒 vi. 复生
otherwise [高考]
美[ˈʌðərwaɪz] | 英[ˈʌðəwaɪz]
adv. 否则；不同地；在不同方面 adj. 不同的
phenomenon [高考]
美[fəˈnɑːmɪnən] | 英[fəˈnɒmɪnən]
n. 现象；奇人；奇事
witness [高考]
美[ˈwɪtnəs] | 英[ˈwɪtnəs]
n. 目击者；证人 vt. 目击；经历；见证；出席；观察 vi. 证明；为(宗教信仰)做见证
extraordinary [高考]
美[ɪkˈstrɔːrdəneri] | 英[ɪkˈstrɔːdnri]
adj. 非凡的；特别的；特派的
thorough [高考]
美[ˈθɜːroʊ] | 英[ˈθʌrə]
adj. 彻底的；完全的；详尽的；细致深入的
arrest [高考]
美[əˈrest] | 英[əˈrest]
vt. 逮捕；拘留 n. 逮捕；拘留
consistent [高考]
美[kənˈsɪstənt] | 英[kənˈsɪstənt]
adj. 始终如一的；持续的；一致的
handful [高考]
美[ˈhændfʊl] | 英[ˈhændfʊl]
n. 一把；少数，少量； 难以控制的人（或事物）
living [高考]
美[ˈlɪvɪŋ] | 英[ˈlɪvɪŋ]
adj. 活着的；生动的 n. 生活；生计
where [高考]
美[wer] | 英[weə(r)]
adv. 在哪里；在那个地方 conj. 在 ... 地方
consciousness [四级]
美[ˈkɑːnʃəsnəs] | 英[ˈkɒnʃəsnəs]
n. 意识；知觉；自觉；觉悟
toe [四级]
美[toʊ] | 英[təʊ]
n. 脚趾；足尖 vt. 趾触；趾踢 vi. 踮着脚尖走 abbr. 吨油当量（=Ton Oil Equivalent）
independently [四级]
美[ˌɪndɪˈpɛndəntlɪ] | 英[ˌɪndɪ'pendəntlɪ]
adv. 独立地；自立地
enlightenment [四级]
美[ɪnˈlaɪtnmənt] | 英[ɪnˈlaɪtnmənt]
n. 启蒙 n. 【佛教】 开悟
overwhelming [四级]
美[ˌoʊvərˈwelmɪŋ] | 英[ˌəʊvəˈwelmɪŋ]
adj. 势不可挡的；压倒的；无法抗拒的
dying [四级]
美[ˈdaɪɪŋ] | 英[ˈdaɪɪŋ]
adj. 垂死的；临终的 n. 死；死亡
felt [专八]
美[fɛlt] | 英[felt]
n. 毛毡；毡制品 vt. 制毡；使粘结 vi. 毡合
neurology [考研]
美[nʊˈrɑlədʒi] | 英[njʊəˈrɒlədʒi]
n. 神经学；神经病学
afterlife [托福]
美[ˈæftərlaɪf] | 英[ˈɑ:ftəlaɪf]
n. 来世；后来的岁月
重点讲解
For several years, Jimo Borjigin, a professor of neurology at the University of Michigan, had been troubled by the question of what happens to us when we die. She had read about the near-death experiences of certain cardiac-arrest survivors who had undergone extraordinary psychic journeys before being resuscitated.
几年来，密歇根大学神经学教授吉莫·博尔吉金一直被一个问题所困扰，那就是我们死去的时候会发生什么。她读到过某些心脏骤停幸存者的濒死体验，这些人在复苏之前经历了非凡的灵性旅程。
undergo v. 经历，遭受（不愉快的事）
【例】to undergo surgery 做手术
to undergo trials 经受考验
【近义词】go through 经历；遭受
【辨析】undertake v. 进行；从事
【例】to undertake research 从事研究工作
psychic adj. 通灵的；超自然的
【例】psychic abilities/energy 通灵能力/超自然能量
【拓展】psyche n. 心理；精神状态
psycho adj./n. 疯子；精神变态的人
psychiatrist n. 精神病医生；心理医生
Sometimes, these people reported travelling outside of their bodies towards overwhelming sources of light where they were greeted by dead relatives. Others spoke of coming to a new understanding of their lives, or encountering beings of profound goodness.
有时候，这些人说，他们离开了身体躯壳，走向无比耀眼的光源，已经逝世的亲人在那里迎接他们。其他人谈到濒死体验让他们对生活有了新的理解，或者遇到了至善的生灵。
overwhelming adj. 压倒性的；无法抗拒的
【例】overwhelming sadness 莫大的悲哀
overwhelming victory 压倒性的胜利
profound adj. 深远的；深邃的
【例】a profound influence 深远的影响
a profound sadness 深切的悲哀
a profound theory 深奥的理论
content n.
1. （书、演讲、节目等的）内容
【例】the content of the book 这本书的内容
2. 容纳的东西；装进去的东西
【例】the contents of the bag 包里面装的各种东西
3. 目录
【例】the contents page 目录页
Borjigin didn't believe the content of those stories was true -- she didn't think the souls of dying people actually travelled to an afterworld -- but she suspected something very real was happening in those patients' brains.
博尔吉金并不相信那些故事的内容是真实的----她不认为垂死之人的灵魂真的会前往来世----但她怀疑在这些病人的大脑中确实发生了一些非常真实的事情。
overwhelming adj. 压倒性的；无法抗拒的
【例】overwhelming sadness 莫大的悲哀
overwhelming victory 压倒性的胜利
profound adj. 深远的；深邃的
【例】a profound influence 深远的影响
a profound sadness 深切的悲哀
a profound theory 深奥的理论
content n.
1. （书、演讲、节目等的）内容
【例】the content of the book 这本书的内容
2. 容纳的东西；装进去的东西
【例】the contents of the bag 包里面装的各种东西
3. 目录
【例】the contents page 目录页
In her own laboratory, she had discovered that rats undergo a dramatic storm of many neurotransmitters, including serotonin and dopamine, after their hearts stop and their brains lose oxygen.
在她自己的实验室里，她发现老鼠在心脏停止跳动和大脑缺氧后，会经历许多神经递质的剧烈活动，包括血清素和多巴胺。
spring from 起源于；来自
【例】All our errors have sprung from carelessness.
我们所有的错误都是由粗心造成的。
Where did you spring from?
你从哪里冒出来的？
【拓展】spring up 迅速出现；突然兴起
【例】New restaurants are springing up all over the city.
城市里面突然出现了许多新餐厅。
She wondered if humans' near-death experiences might spring from a similar phenomenon, and if it was occurring even in people who couldn't be revived.
她想知道人类的濒死体验是否可能起源于类似的现象，以及这种现象是否也发生在那些无法复苏的人身上。
spring from 起源于；来自
【例】All our errors have sprung from carelessness.
我们所有的错误都是由粗心造成的。
Where did you spring from?
你从哪里冒出来的？
【拓展】spring up 迅速出现；突然兴起
【例】New restaurants are springing up all over the city.
城市里面突然出现了许多新餐厅。
Dying seemed like such an important area of research -- we all do it, after all -- that Borjigin assumed other scientists had already developed a thorough understanding of what happens to the brain in the process of death. But when she looked at the scientific literature, she found little enlightenment.
死亡看起来是一个非常重要的研究领域----毕竟我们都会经历死亡----所以博尔吉金以为其他科学家已经对死亡过程中的大脑情况有了深入的了解。但当她查阅科学文献时，她几乎没有得到什么启发。
enlightenment n. 启蒙；阐明
【例】The newspapers provided little enlightenment about the cause of the accident.
报纸对事故原因并未解释清楚。
spiritual enlightenment 精神开悟
【拓展】enlighten v. 启发；阐明
enlightening adj. 让人受启发的；让人涨知识的
Since the 1960s, advances in resuscitation had helped to revive thousands of people who might otherwise have died. About 10% or 20% of those people brought with them stories of near-death experiences in which they felt their souls or selves departing from their bodies.
自20世纪60年代以来，复苏技术的进步帮助挽救了成千上万人的生命，否则他们可能已经死亡。其中大约10%或20%的人带来了他们濒死体验的故事，在这些故事中，他们感觉自己的灵魂或自我离开了身体。
depart from 离开；违背
【例】to depart from Beijing 从北京出发
to depart from the usual practice 违背惯常的做法
【反义词】depart for 前往
A handful of those patients even claimed to witness, from above, doctors' attempts to resuscitate them.
有少数病人甚至声称，他们从上方看到了医生试图复苏他们的过程。
depart from 离开；违背
【例】to depart from Beijing 从北京出发
to depart from the usual practice 违背惯常的做法
【反义词】depart for 前往
According to several international surveys and studies, one in 10 people claims to have had a near-death experience involving cardiac arrest, or a similar experience in circumstances where they may have come close to death.
根据几项国际调查和研究，每10个人中就有1个人声称有过涉及心脏骤停的濒死体验，或在可能接近死亡的情况下有过类似濒死的经历。
dip a toe in 涉足；尝试
【例】I'm not sure I want to join, but I'd like to dip a toe in it.
我不确定我想不想加入，但我愿意试试。
With this surging growth, more entrepreneurs and investors have decided to dip a toe in the water.
面对兴旺的发展，更多的创业者和投资者决定来试试水。
consistent adj. 一致的；符合的
【例】The results are entirely consistent with our earlier research.
这些结果与我们早些时候的研究完全吻合。
【拓展】coherent adj. 连贯的；逻辑一致的
【例】a coherent plan of action 内容协调的行动计划
That's roughly 800 million souls worldwide who may have dipped a toe in the afterlife.
这就意味着全球大约8亿条灵魂可能已经一只脚踏进过来世。
dip a toe in 涉足；尝试
【例】I'm not sure I want to join, but I'd like to dip a toe in it.
我不确定我想不想加入，但我愿意试试。
With this surging growth, more entrepreneurs and investors have decided to dip a toe in the water.
面对兴旺的发展，更多的创业者和投资者决定来试试水。
consistent adj. 一致的；符合的
【例】The results are entirely consistent with our earlier research.
这些结果与我们早些时候的研究完全吻合。
【拓展】coherent adj. 连贯的；逻辑一致的
【例】a coherent plan of action 内容协调的行动计划
As remarkable as these near-death experiences sounded, they were consistent enough that some scientists began to believe there was truth to them: maybe people really did have minds or souls that existed separately from their living bodies.
虽然这些濒死体验听起来非同寻常，但它们也足够一致，以至于一些科学家开始相信其中有真相：也许人们真的有独立于他们身体而存在的思想或灵魂。
dip a toe in 涉足；尝试
【例】I'm not sure I want to join, but I'd like to dip a toe in it.
我不确定我想不想加入，但我愿意试试。
With this surging growth, more entrepreneurs and investors have decided to dip a toe in the water.
面对兴旺的发展，更多的创业者和投资者决定来试试水。
consistent adj. 一致的；符合的
【例】The results are entirely consistent with our earlier research.
这些结果与我们早些时候的研究完全吻合。
【拓展】coherent adj. 连贯的；逻辑一致的
【例】a coherent plan of action 内容协调的行动计划
In**** the 1970s,**** a small network of**** cardiologists,**** psychiatrists,**** medical sociologists**** and social**** psychologists in**** North America and Europe**** began investigating whether near****-death experiences proved**** that**** dying is**** not the end of**** being,**** and that**** consciousness can exist independently of**** the brain.****
20世纪70年代，北美和欧洲的一个由心脏病专家、精神病学家、医学社会学家和社会心理学家组成的小型网络开始调查，濒死体验是否证明死亡并非生命的终结，以及意识是否可以独立于大脑而存在。
The field of**** near****-death studies was born****.****
濒死研究领域就此诞生。
课后练习
What question has been troubling Jimo Borjigin?
A. The physiological changes in the brain of near-death patients.
B. The impact of near-death experiences on people’s mindset.
C. The experiences and phenomena in the process of death.
D. The reason why some people survive cardiac-arrests.
What hypothesis does Jimo Borjigin have regarding the near-death experiences reported by patients?
A. She believes that these experiences are true despite a lack of evidence.
B. She assumes that these experiences are identical between humans and rats.
C. She thinks that these experiences might be caused by unusual brain activities.
D. She suspects that these experiences are psychological and have no biological basis.
What happened after the advances in resuscitation in the 1960s?
A. Many survivors revealed their near-death experiences.
B. About 10% or 20% of critically endangered people were revived.
C. The deaths caused by cardiac arrest has decreased dramatically.
D. International studies on the process of death become more common.
What led to the creation of the field of near-death studies in the 1970s?
A. The breakthrough made by the network of scientists in America and Europe.
B. The motive to explore the existence of souls and consciousness.
C. The investigation into ways to prolong people’s life span.
D. The effort to reveal the lies in near-death stories.