科学家们发现了第一个与左撇子有关的基因指令。这些指令似乎还与大脑的结构和功能密切相连，尤其是与语言有关的区域。

Around one in ten of us is left-handed - but why? A team at the University of Oxford analysed 400,000 people's DNA. They then compared lefties and righties in a giant game of genetic spot-the-difference.

每十个人中就有一个人是左撇子，但这是为什么呢？牛津大学的一个研究小组分析了 40 万人的 DNA（脱氧核糖核酸）。然后，他们通过一个基因 “找不同” 游戏对左撇子和习惯用右手的人进行了比较。

They found four genetic instructions that influenced left-handedness. These seem to work by altering how the brain develops. They're involved in building the intricate "scaffolding", known as the cytoskeleton that organises the inside of our body’s cells and culminate in a brain that is wired differently in left-handed people. Scans showed regions of the brain involved in language were better connected and more coordinated as a result.

他们发现了影响左撇子的四种基因指令。这些指令似乎是通过改变大脑的发育来起作用的。指令参与构建复杂的 “脚手架”，即细胞骨架，它组织我们体内的细胞，最终形成一个构造有别于惯用右手的人的左撇子大脑。扫描结果显示，左撇子的大脑中与语言有关的区域连接得更好，也更协调。

The researchers speculate the findings may give left-handed people greater verbal skills. The study also showed slightly higher risks of schizophrenia and slightly lower risks of Parkinson's disease in left-handed people.

研究人员推测，这些发现可能证实左撇子拥有更强的语言能力。此项研究还显示，左撇子患精神分裂症的风险略高，患帕金森病的风险略低。

词汇

left-handed 惯用左手的
lefties 惯用左手的人
righties 惯用右手的人
genetic 基因的，遗传信息的
spot-the-difference 找不同
instructions （基因）指令
intricate 错综复杂的
scaffolding 脚手架（这里指细胞组建）
cytoskeleton 细胞骨架
culminate in 以……告终
wired （大脑的）构造
coordinated 协调的
verbal skills 言语技能
schizophrenia 精神分裂症
Parkinson's disease 帕金森病

阅读理解：请在读完上文后，回答下列问题。

1. True or false? In every ten people, around two are left-handed.

2. How did the researchers conduct the study?

3. Based on the scans, which regions of a left-handed person’s brain were better connected and more coordinated?

4. Which word in the text means ‘slightly changing or modifying’?

答案

1. True or false? In every ten people, around two are left-handed.
False. According to the text, in every ten people, around one is left-handed.

2. How did the researchers conduct the study?
They conducted the study by analysing 400,000 people’s DNA and then comparing lefties and righties in a giant game of genetic spot-the-difference.

3. Based on the scans, which regions of a left-handed person’s brain were better connected and more coordinated?
The regions involved in language were better connected and more coordinated, according to the scans.

4. Which word in the text means ‘slightly changing or modifying’?
Altering. ('These seem to work by altering how the brain develops.')