Sniffing Out Mr. Right

Birth-control pill masks women's discerning sense of smell.

We've all heard people say chemistry a bit hard to define as a key ingredient in the successful relationships. So some scientists did some research on that topic, turns out a woman needs a good sense of smell to find a man who is just right for her. And a common contraceptive may interfere with that process. Mike Lee reports from London.

Women of the world, are you smelling Mr. Right or Mr. Wrong?

Um, I wouldn’t really know. But I do like the way men smell, so they smell good, I kindda get more attracted to.

People choose to be chosen, you know, love is love. So eventually you know maybe you can sniff the right man out.

Maybe, if your sniffer is working properly and that is exactly the point of the New Liverpool University study, which concludes that birth-control pills can cause you to select the wrong man for you, because your brain sends a false signal that it smells like Mr. Right. (這兒which從句用作非限制性定語從句更好。)

I spoke to the lead researcher in Liverpool by telephone and he told me that by nature a woman's sense of smell can attract her, often subconsciously to men whose genes will work well with her genes to produce healthy and strong children， that’s keeping the human species going. He said the study suggest that birth control pills can disrupt that instinctive selective process, an intriguing and provocative thought for the men and women we spoke to in America.

I think that’s ridiculous and a little degrading towards women to suggest that they are blindly following their sense of smell rather than their other senses.

I do believe that sense of smell can affect to you, might pick to go out on a date with, who your partner might be. But it’s also a lot about, you know, just your personal preference on what type of guy you like.

The University’s study does not recommend against birth control pills only that women be aware that their scent may be altered. So the eternal question: what do women want?

Clean, yeah, clean，clean will be really good.

Maybe like he just came out of the shower, I don't wanna anybody who smells sweaty, like if he just came out of the gym.

I like them to wear some sort of clothes, something like kinda of gown should be cared of when my clothes smell like him afterwards, something I like that.

Woo, but do men know how to smell for suspicion?

I bathe, I… regularly, I brush my teeth. I wear different clothes every day. Those are pretty good ones I think.

I am so much like just trying a perfume pursuing to have a clean scent that is well, this guy really just care himself.

So, gentlemen just smell like a man whatever that is. And ladies if you are concerned about sniffing out the wrong guy there may now be some truth in the punch line of an old joke between two ladies “Don’t worry darling, all women marry beneath themselves”.

Mike Lee, ABC news.

參考中文翻譯：

我們常聽人說，化學物質不能定義為影響成功的愛情關系的關鍵要素。一些科學家針對這個話題做了一項研究，結果顯示，女性需要良好的嗅覺來找出合適的意中人。但是常用的避孕藥會影響這個過程。以下是來自倫敦的Mike Lee 的報道。

你是能頂半邊天的女人，你能聞的出哪個男人適合你嗎？

哦，我不確定。但是我喜歡有些男人的味道，如果聞上去感覺比較好的話，我會更傾心于他。

人們在選擇，同時也被選擇，你知道，愛情是雙方面的。所以最終你知道或許你可以聞出你的意中人。

或許，如果你的嗅覺機能正常的話，這正是新利物浦大學的一項研究得出的結論：避孕藥會讓你選到不適合你的人，因為大腦發出錯誤的信號，讓你誤認為那就是你的意中人。

我跟利物浦的首席研究員通過電話，他告訴我，從本性上來講，如果一個男人的基因能夠和一個女人的基因有效結合，生出健康強壯的孩子，那么這個女人的嗅覺會下意識的被這個男人吸引，正是這樣使得人類不斷繁衍。他說，這項研究表明，避孕藥會擾亂這個本能的選擇過程，對我們的美國聽眾來說，這聽上去很有趣，也很刺激。

我想，如果暗示女性朋友們，她們在盲從她們的嗅覺而不利用其它感覺的話，這很可笑，也有點侮辱女性。
我相信嗅覺可以影響你，可以為你選擇出約會對象。但是也和你對男人的個人偏好有關。

利物浦大學的研究并不是要反對避孕藥，只是提醒女性，她們的嗅覺可能被改變了。所以仍然是那個永恒的問題：女人到底喜歡什么樣的呢？

干凈，對，干凈是最好的素質。

或許就像他剛洗完澡，我想聞到任何人有汗臭味，比方說剛從健身房出來的時候。

但是男人知道怎樣使自己聞上去干凈一點嗎？

我每天都洗澡，經常刷牙。我每天穿不同的衣服。我想這應該是不錯的。

我想嘗試灑些香水，這會讓我有比較干凈的味道，可以讓人覺得，嗯，不錯，這個小伙子很在意自己。

紳士聞上去就有男人味。如果女士們擔心嗅出錯誤的男人，那么你可以聽一下下面兩位女士之間的笑話：“親愛的，別擔心。所有女人都嫁給了配不上她的人。”

單詞注解：

discerning 形容詞 有識別力的;眼光敏銳的
ingredient名詞 (混合物的)組成部分;(烹調的)原料
(構成)要素,因素
contraceptive避孕藥
Birth-control pill 避孕藥
subconsciously 下意識地