文本选自：Scientific American（科学美国人）
作者：Jordan Kinard
原文标题：Why Dying People Often Experience a Burst of Lucidity
原文发布时间：12 Jun. 2023
Why Dying People Often Experience a Burst of Lucidity
"Around 1959 humans discovered a method to restart the heart in people who would have died, and we called this CPR," says Sam Parnia, a critical care physician at NYU Langone Health. Parnia has studied people's recollections after being revived from cardiac arrest—phenomena that he refers to as "recalled experiences surrounding death." Before CPR techniques were developed, cardiac arrest was basically synonymous with death. But now doctors can revive some people up to 20 minutes or more after their heart has stopped beating. Furthermore, Parnia says, many brain cells remain somewhat intact for hours to days postmortem—challenging our notions of a rigid boundary between life and death.
Advancements in medical technology and neuroscience, as well as shifts in researchers' perspectives, are revolutionizing our understanding of the dying process. Research over the past decade has demonstrated a surge in brain activity in human and animal subjects undergoing cardiac arrest. Meanwhile large surveys are documenting the seemingly inexplicable periods of lucidity that hospice workers and grieving families often report witnessing in people with dementia who are dying.
Poet Dylan Thomas famously admonished his readers, "Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light." But as more resources are devoted to the study of death, it is becoming increasingly clear that dying is not the simple dimming of one's internal light of awareness but rather an incredibly active process in the brain.
为什么濒死之人会突然清醒
精听党背景导读
最近发表在PNAS上的一项研究引起了人们对濒死体验和大脑活动之间关系的关注。这项研究探讨了临床停止呼吸机支持前后垂死人脑的神经元活动，并旨在了解垂死过程是否会影响人脑的功能。
濒死体验是指人们在面临死亡威胁的情况下，经历到一系列奇特的、超越人类正常感知的体验，例如离体经历、光明隧道等等。这种体验往往会在人体脱离生命威胁之后消失。
文本选自：Scientific American（科学美国人）作者：Jordan Kinard原文标题：Why Dying People Often Experience a Burst of Lucidity原文发布时间：12 Jun. 2023关键词：死亡 清醒 大脑
精听党带着问题听
1.“重症监护”用英语可以怎么表达？2. 如何理解段一中的“intact”？3. 在死亡过程中，大脑发生了什么？
精听党选段赏析
标题解读
Why Dying People Often Experience a Burst of Lucidity
为什么濒死之人会突然清醒
burst n. 突发，迸发；1. v. 爆炸，爆裂，胀开；冲，闯，突然出现；猛然打开；
Then the applause burst out. 随后爆发出掌声。
lucidity n. 明朗；清澈；清醒度；1. He had moments of lucidity before he died. 他在去世前有清醒的时刻。
段一
“Around 1959 humans discovered a method to restart the heart in people who would have died, and we called this CPR,” says Sam Parnia, a critical care physician at NYU Langone Health. Parnia has studied people’s recollections after being revived from cardiac arrest—phenomena that he refers to as “recalled experiences surrounding death.” Before CPR techniques were developed, cardiac arrest was basically synonymous with death. But now doctors can revive some people up to 20 minutes or more after their heart has stopped beating. Furthermore, Parnia says, many brain cells remain somewhat intact for hours to days postmortem—challenging our notions of a rigid boundary between life and death.
CPR abbr. 心肺复苏术（cardiopulmonary resuscitation）；
critical care physician 重症监护医生；1. critical adj. 严重的，危急的；病重的，重伤的；2. physician n. 医生，（尤指）内科医生；3. critical care 重症监护；
He was taken to the critical care unit. 他被送到重症监护室。
recollection n. 记忆力，回忆；回忆起的事物（或景象），往事；1. My recollection of events differs from his. 我回忆的情况和他不一样。2. She shared her recollections of the event. 她分享了她对那个事件的回忆。
revive vt. 复苏；1. They were able to revive him. 他们能够使他复苏。
cardiac adj. 心脏的；（与）贲门（有关）的；1. cardiac arrest 心脏骤停；
He suffered a cardiac arrest. 他患有心脏骤停。
synonymous adj. 同义的；1. The two terms are synonymous. 这两个词是同义的。
intact adj. 完好无损的；1. The building remained intact after the earthquake. 地震后，这座建筑物仍然完好无损。
postmortem adj. 死后的；死后发生的；1. The autopsy was conducted postmortem. 尸检是在死后进行的。
notion n. 概念，想法；观念；1. His notions about politics are very different from mine. 他关于政治的观念与我的非常不同。
rigid boundary 严格的边界；1. There is a rigid boundary between the two countries. 两国之间有严格的边界。
参考译文
“大约在1959年，人类发现了一种让即将死亡的人的心脏重新跳动的方法，我们称之为心肺复苏术，”纽约大学朗格尼医疗中心（NYU Langone Health）的重症监护医生萨姆·帕尼亚（Sam Parnia）说。帕尼亚研究了人们从心脏骤停中苏醒后的回忆——他将这种现象称为“与死亡有关的回忆经历”。在心肺复苏术发明之前，心脏骤停基本上等同于死亡。但现在，医生可以让一些人在心脏停止跳动20分钟或更长时间后苏醒过来。此外，帕尼亚说，许多脑细胞在死后数小时到数天内保持完整，这挑战了我们关于生与死之间严格界限的观念。
段二
Advancements in medical technology and neuroscience, as well as shifts in researchers’ perspectives, are revolutionizing our understanding of the dying process. Research over the past decade has demonstrated a surge in brain activity in human and animal subjects undergoing cardiac arrest. Meanwhile large surveys are documenting the seemingly inexplicable periods of lucidity that hospice workers and grieving families often report witnessing in people with dementia who are dying.
advancement n. 进步；1. There have been many advancements in technology. 技术取得了许多进步。
neuroscience n. 神经科学；1. She is studying neuroscience in college. 她在大学学习神经科学。
revolutionize vt. 使革命化；1. The invention is revolutionizing the industry. 这项发明正在使行业革命化。
surge n. 激增；1. There was a surge in demand for the product. 这种产品的需求激增。
inexplicable adj. 难以解释的；1. His behavior was inexplicable. 他的行为难以解释。
hospice workers 临终关怀工作者；1. Hospice workers provide care and support for terminally ill patients. 临终关怀工作者为晚期病人提供护理和支持。
dementia n. 痴呆症；1. His grandmother suffers from dementia. 他的祖母患有痴呆症。
参考译文
医学技术和神经科学的进步，以及研究人员观点的转变，正在彻底改变我们对死亡过程的理解。过去十年的研究表明，人类和动物在心脏骤停时大脑活动激增。与此同时，大量的调查记录了看似无法解释的清醒时期，是临终关怀工作者和悲伤的家属经常在垂死的痴呆症患者身上观察到的。
段三
Poet Dylan Thomas famously admonished his readers, “Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” But as more resources are devoted to the study of death, it is becoming increasingly clear that dying is not the simple dimming of one’s internal light of awareness but rather an incredibly active process in the brain.
admonish vt. 告诫；劝告；1. She admonished him for his behavior. 她因为他的行为而训诫他。
rage vi. 愤怒；1. He raged against the injustice. 他对不公正感到愤怒。
resource n. 资源；1. The country has abundant natural resources. 这个国家拥有丰富的自然资源。
devote vt. 奉献；1. He devoted his life to helping others. 他奉献一生帮助他人。
increasingly clear 越来越清楚；1. It is becoming increasingly clear that we need to take action. 越来越清楚我们需要采取行动。2. increasingly important 越来越重要；
dimming n. 调光；变暗；1. dim v. （使）变暗；变淡漠，失去光泽；（使）变模糊
The lights were dimming as the show began. 随着演出的开始，灯光变暗了。
awareness n. 意识；1. He lost awareness after the accident. 事故发生后，他失去了意识。
incredibly active process 非常活跃的过程；1. Learning is an incredibly active process. 学习是一个非常活跃的过程。
参考译文
诗人迪伦·托马斯曾告诫他的读者:“不要温和地走进那个良夜。怒斥吧，怒斥光的消逝。”但是，随着越来越多的资源投入到死亡研究中，越来越清楚的是，死亡并不是一个人内在意识之光的简单暗淡，而是大脑中一个极其活跃的过程。
精听党每日单词
burst
/bɜːrst/ n. 突发，迸发；
lucidity
/luːˈsɪdəti/ n. 明朗；清澈；清醒度；
CPR
abbr. 心肺复苏术（cardiopulmonary resuscitation）；
critical care physician
重症监护医生；
recollection
/ˌrekəˈlekʃ(ə)n/ n. 记忆力，回忆；回忆起的事物（或景象），往事；
revive
/rɪˈvaɪv/ vt. 复苏；
cardiac
/ˈkɑːrdiæk/ adj. 心脏的；（与）贲门（有关）的；
synonymous
/sɪˈnɑːnɪməs/ adj. 同义的；
intact
/ɪnˈtækt/ adj. 完好无损的；
postmortem
/ˌpoʊstˈmɔːrtəm/ adj. 死后的；死后发生的；
notion
/ˈnoʊʃ(ə)n/ n. 概念，想法；观念；
rigid boundary
严格的边界；
advancement
/ədˈvænsmənt/ n. 进步；
neuroscience
/ˈnʊroʊsaɪəns/ n. 神经科学；
revolutionize
/ˌrevəˈluːʃənaɪz/ vt. 使革命化；
surge
/sɜːrdʒ/ n. 激增；
inexplicable
/ˌɪnɪkˈsplɪkəb(ə)l/ adj. 难以解释的；
hospice workers
临终关怀工作者；
dementia
/dɪˈmenʃə/ n. 痴呆症；
admonish
/ædˈmɑːnɪʃ/ vt. 告诫；劝告；
rage
/reɪdʒ/ vi. 愤怒；
resource
/ˈriːsɔːrs/ n. 资源；
devote
/dɪˈvoʊt/ vt. 奉献；
increasingly clear
越来越清楚；
dimming
/ˈdɪmɪŋ/ n. 调光；变暗；
awareness
/əˈwernəs/ n. 意识；
incredibly active process
非常活跃的过程；
精听党文化拓展
研究人员在一位病人身上首次观测到了“回忆脑电波”信号，证明了这位病人在濒死的关头，陷入了极速回忆当中，死亡的瞬间会出现很多记忆深刻的场景。这一现象让科学家感到非常惊讶，只不过他们无法解释这种现象。
这场观测发生在加拿大温哥华综合医院的一位87岁的病人身上，主导人是神经外科学家Ajmal Zemmar博士。他在帮病人清除脑血肿之后，发现病人开始出现抽搐，甚至偏瘫的情况。为了持续监测病人的病情，医生用脑电图(EEG)来记录病人的脑电信号。
在脑电图中，Zemmar博士和同事们发现了此前从未观测到的惊人细节。也正是这样，才让人类第一次观察到死亡瞬间的大脑。
科学家意外获得的这份“濒死脑电波”，因为患者暂时出现了呼吸暂停的情况，这才让科学家记录到了他那一瞬间的状态。他们认为人类死亡的瞬间，会在大脑中回放一些记忆深刻的事情，这本身是一件让人不可思议的事情，连科学家都无法对这种现象进行解释。
科学研究必须要遵守伦理道德，正是因为这方面的约束，才让科学家没有办法对人类的死亡瞬间进行研究。当然有一些研究者对人死后的世界非常感兴趣，他们对那些经历过濒临死亡的人进行采访，发现他们描述的死后世界，基本上是一致的。
根据对这些人的采访，认为濒临死亡时的意识会变得轻飘飘，甚至有人能够看到躺在病床上的自己。他们这时候会感到有一股神秘的力量，似乎在拉扯自己进入黑洞，这个黑暗的世界让他们感到非常害怕。只不过黑暗并不会持续太长的时间，之后会出现温暖的光线。
“通过发出的和记忆检索有关的脑波振荡，我们可以推断，这位老人在死前很可能对人生中一些重大事件进行了一次飞速的回忆，这和曾经报道过的那些‘濒死体验’非常相似。”
精听党每日美句
A person both calculated plan, if not promptly carry out, will come to regret.
一个人既有成算，若不迅速进行，必至后悔莫及。