The Science of Hiccups

The Science of Hiccups, written by Kate Follett. Focus question, what are hiccups and why do we get them?

《打嗝的科学》，作者：凯特·福利特。 思考问题：什么是打嗝，我们为什么会打嗝呢？

Hiccup help. You just finished lunch, and hic. Uh -oh. You drank a fizzy drink, and now hic. You have the hiccups. Your friends try to help. Hold your breath, says one. Drink a glass of water upside down, suggests another.

帮你止打嗝。 你刚吃完午饭，就打了个嗝。 哎呀。 你喝了气泡饮料，现在又打了个嗝。 你开始不停打嗝了。 朋友们都来帮你想办法。 一个朋友说：“屏住呼吸试试。” 另一个朋友提议：“倒过来喝一杯水试试。”

What? you ask. Not really, your friend tells you. I was just trying to scare the hiccups away. You try a few tricks, but nothing works. Eventually, the hiccups go away on their own. Usually, hiccups are no big deal, and they come and go quickly.

你纳闷地问：“什么？” 朋友告诉你：“其实没什么用啦。” “我只是想把打嗝吓跑呀。” 你试了好几个办法，可都不管用。 到最后，打嗝还是自己慢慢消失了。 一般来说打嗝不是大问题，来得快去得也快。

What are hiccups? A hiccup is a muscle spasm or twitch. The muscle that twitches is called the diaphragm. You use your diaphragm to breathe. Your diaphragm sits below your lungs and stretches across the bottom of your rib cage. Nerves carry signals from your brain to your diaphragm. To breathe in, your brain tells the diaphragm to tighten. When your diaphragm tightens, it moves downward, which pulls air into your lungs. When your brain tells your diaphragm to relax again, the muscle moves up to push air back

什么是打嗝呢？ 打嗝就是肌肉痉挛抽搐。 这块抽搐的肌肉叫做横膈膜。 我们靠横膈膜完成呼吸动作。 横膈膜长在肺部下方，横亘在胸腔的底部。 神经会把大脑的信号传递给横膈膜。 吸气的时候，大脑会命令横膈膜收紧。 横膈膜收紧时会向下移动，把空气吸进肺里。 当大脑再次命令横膈膜放松时，这块肌肉会上移，把空气推出去

During a hiccup, your brain sends a signal to your diaphragm to suddenly jerk downward. Your diaphragm pulls a quick gasp of air into your lungs, and flaps in your throat slam shut. That is why you make a sudden hic sound.

打嗝的时候，大脑会给横膈膜发信号，让它突然向下猛抽。 横膈膜猛地把空气拽进肺里，喉咙里的瓣膜会猛然合上。 这就是你会突然发出“嗝”声的原因。

The spasm can be strong enough to make your whole body jerk. Sometimes, if you have a full stomach, it can even be painful. However, hiccups are not harmful.

痉挛厉害的时候，能让你整个人都跟着猛地一抖。 有时候吃得太饱，打嗝甚至会有点疼。 不过，打嗝对身体是没有害处的。