特别广播英语第 240 课：Can a Full Moon Really Affect Our Behavior?
月光光，心慌慌？-2

One study in the United States found that people drink less alcohol and eat more during a full moon. 美国一项研究发现人们在满月时饮酒量减少而食量增加。

Italian researchers found that more babies seem to be born in the one or two days following a full moon. 意大利研究人员发现，月圆后的一两天内，婴儿的出生人数较多。

And Britain's largest telecommunications company claims that Internet use increases during the seven days before a full moon. 而英国最大的电讯公司则宣称，在月圆的前7天，网络使用率会增加。

Other researchers, however, have found serious methodological flaws in some of the studies that claim to demonstrate a relationship between a full moon and human behavior. 然而其他研究人员发现，某些宣称能证明月圆与人类行为有关的研究存在方法上的严重错误。

Also, no research has yet found a direct link between the phases of the moon and attacks of depression or mania. 而且没有一项研究发现月亮圆缺与人类忧郁症或颠狂症的发作有直接联系。

With only weak scientific evidence relating madness to the moon, perhaps the best way to explain the existence of this myth is to call it a relic of the past:只有微弱的科学证据能证明疯狂举动与月亮有关，也许解释这个说法存在的最好方法是把它当作一种过去的遗俗。

Long before electricity, bright moonlight was an invitation for extra nighttime activity. 在发明电之前很长一段时间，皎洁的月光会诱发特别的夜间活动。

And for some people, even just one night without sleep is enough to induce mania in them—whether or not they have hair on their hands. 对一些人来说，即使只是一晚不睡，也足以让他们发狂──不管他们手上有没有长毛。