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Some of these are even visible, such as higher density of the grey matter
有些好處，甚至可以看得見，例如大腦灰白質(zhì)的密度增加，
that contains most of your brain's neurons and synapses,
那里包含了腦部大多數(shù)的神經(jīng)元和突觸，
and more activity in certain regions when engaging a second language.
而且學(xué)習(xí)第二語言時(shí)，大腦部分區(qū)域會變得更活躍。
The heightened workout a bilingual brain receives throughout its life can also help delay the onset of diseases,
使用雙語的大腦，持續(xù)不斷地接受強(qiáng)化訓(xùn)練，能夠讓一些疾病的發(fā)作，
like Alzheimer's and dementia by as much as five years.
例如阿茲海默癥與失智癥，延遲高達(dá)五年之久。
The idea of major cognitive benefits to bilingualism may seem intuitive now,
關(guān)于使用雙語有助于人類認(rèn)知的觀點(diǎn)，在今天看似理所當(dāng)然，
but it would have surprised earlier experts.
但是對于從前的專家，他們必定會大吃一驚。
Before the 1960s, bilingualism was considered a handicap that slowed a child's development
在1960年代以前，人們認(rèn)為使用雙語對于兒童的發(fā)展是一種障礙，
by forcing them to spend too much energy distinguishing between languages, a view based largely on flawed studies.
因?yàn)樾枰仁箖和ㄙM(fèi)精神去分辨兩種語言，而這種觀點(diǎn)主要來自于錯(cuò)誤的研究。
And while a more recent study did show that reaction times and errors increase for some bilingual students in cross-language tests,
最新的硏究顯示，在跨語言測驗(yàn)當(dāng)中，使用雙語學(xué)生的反應(yīng)時(shí)間與錯(cuò)誤次數(shù)增加了這個(gè)結(jié)果顯示，
it also showed that the effort and attention needed to switch between languages triggered more activity in,
學(xué)生需要更努力與專注于轉(zhuǎn)換語言，
and potentially strengthened, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
這也使得前額葉腦區(qū)不僅更加活躍，而且能強(qiáng)化它的功能。
This is the part of the brain that plays a large role in executive function, problem solving,
前額葉腦區(qū)的主要工作，是進(jìn)行決策、解決問題，
switching between tasks, and focusing while filtering out irrelevant information.
以及在多重任務(wù)中進(jìn)行轉(zhuǎn)換，還有集中注意力，同時(shí)排除無關(guān)的資訊。
So, while bilingualism may not necessarily make you smarter,
雖然學(xué)習(xí)雙語，未必能讓你更聰明，
it does make your brain more healthy, complex and actively engaged,
但是可以讓大腦更加健康、多元以及活化。
and even if you didn't have the good fortune of learning a second language as a child,
即使在你年幼時(shí)沒有機(jī)會學(xué)習(xí)第二種語言，
it's never too late to do yourself a favor
但是現(xiàn)在學(xué)習(xí)，永遠(yuǎn)不會太晚。
and make the linguistic leap from, "Hello" to "Hola", "Bonjour" or "Nihao"
就是開始把"Hello"，轉(zhuǎn)換為："Hola"、"Bonjour"或是 "您好"。
because when it comes to our brains a little exercise can go a long way.
只是小小的訓(xùn)練，就能對于大腦有所幫助。
