研究：数钱可止痛

        Britain spends at least ￡500 million a year on over-the-counterpainkilling pills and the figure is increasing every year.

　　英国每年在非处方止痛药物上的花费至少为5亿英镑，而且这一数字还在逐年增加。

　　But scientists remain baffled by why some people appear to feel pain more easily than others.

　　但科学家仍不明白为什么有些人似乎比其他人更容易感觉到疼痛。

　　In the latest study, a group of students were asked to count outa wadof cash consisting of 80 one-hundred dollar bills, or just 80 slips of blank paper. They had been told researchers were simply testing their dexterity in handling the notes.

　　在这项最新的研究中，研究人员让一组学生数一叠80张100美元的钞票或80张空白的纸片，并告诉他们这只是为了测试他们点钞的熟练程度。

　　Each volunteer was then asked to dip their hands into a bowl of very hot water, to see how painful they found it and how long they could last.

　　接下来研究人员让每位志愿者把手浸入一碗很烫的开水中，以观察他们感到的疼痛程度，以及能够坚持多久。

　　The results, published in a recent edition of the journal Psychological Science, showed those who had handled money reported less pain and lasted longer.

　　这一在最新一期《心理科学》期刊上发表的研究报告显示，那些之前数过钱的人感到的疼痛较轻，且坚持得更久。

　　The results support other studies highlighting how the brain can be tuned to ward off pain without the use of pills.

　　这一结果为其他一些强调在不用止痛药的情况下通过调控大脑来止痛的研究提供了支持。

　　A University of Los Angeles team of scientists found just looking at a photograph of a loved one can also be a powerful form of pain relief.

　　洛杉矶大学的一组科研人员发现，看看自己所爱的人的照片也能有效缓解疼痛。