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Your brain controls everything you do. It makes it possible for you to think， learn， create and feel， to blink1 and breathe and for your heart to beat—this fantastic2 control center is your brain. It is so amazing3 that a famous scientist once called it“the most complex4 thing we have yet discovered in our universe5”.
你的大脑控制你所做的一切。它可以让你思考、学习、创造和感觉，让你眨眼和呼吸，甚至让你的心脏跳动——这个神奇的控制中心就是你的大脑。它是如此的神奇，一位著名的科学家曾经把它称为“我们在宇宙中发现的最复杂的存在”。
Can this small grey organ6， which weighs less than one and a half kilos， really do so much？ Amazingly， your brain contains about 100 billion neurons7—it would take you over 3，000 years to count them all. Believe it or not， the activity in your brain never stops. Your neurons create and send more message than all the phones in the world. And although one neuron creates only a little electricity， all your neurons together can produce enough electricity to power a light bulb8.
这个小小的灰色的器官，重量不到1.5公斤，真的可以做如此多的事情吗？令人惊讶的是，你的大脑含有大约1000亿个神经元——你需要3000多年才能将它们数完。信不信由你，你大脑里的活动从未停止过。你的神经元创建和发送的信息比世界上所有的电话发送的信息还要多。虽然一个神经元只产生一点点电，你所有的神经元共同产生的电力足够供一个灯泡发亮。
So exactly how fast does your brain work？ Well， imagine this： A bee lands on your foot. Neurons in your skin send this information to your brain at a speed of more than 240 kilometers per hour. Your brain then uses other neurons to send the message back to your foot to shake the bee off quickly. These neurons can send this information at more than 320 kilometers per hour. No computer has your brain’s unbelievable9 ability to deal with the amount10 of information coming from your eyes， ears and other sensory11 organs.
那么你的大腦工作起来到底有多快呢？好吧，想象一下：一只蜜蜂落在你的脚上。在你皮肤上的神经元以超过240公里的时速将这些信息发送到你的大脑。然后大脑用其他的神经元将信息发送回你的脚，让你迅速摆脱蜜蜂。这些神经元可以以超过320公里的时速来给你发送这些信息。没有一台计算机能有大脑这般令人难以置信的能力来处理来自你的眼睛、耳朵和其他感觉器官的大量的信息。
But how does your brain allow you to learn things that you will use in the future？ The structure12 of your brain changes every time you have a new thought， remember or learn something. For example， riding a bike seems impossible at first， but soon you are able to do it. How？ As you practice， your brain sends “bike riding” messages again and again. Soon， the actions are learned and you are able to ride a bike easily from then on.
但是，你的大脑如何让你学习一些你在未来会用到的技能呢？当你有一个新的想法、记忆或学新东西的时候，你的大脑结构会发生变化。例如，一开始，骑自行车看起来是不可能做到的，但很快你就能够做到。怎么做到的呢？当你练习时，你的大脑一次又一次的发出“骑自行车”的信息。很快，这项技能你就学会了，并且从那时候开始，你就能轻而易举地骑自行车了。
你的大脑控制你所做的一切。它可以让你思考、学习、创造和感觉，让你眨眼和呼吸，甚至让你的心脏跳动——这个神奇的控制中心就是你的大脑。它是如此的神奇，一位著名的科学家曾经把它称为“我们在宇宙中发现的最复杂的存在”。
Can this small grey organ6， which weighs less than one and a half kilos， really do so much？ Amazingly， your brain contains about 100 billion neurons7—it would take you over 3，000 years to count them all. Believe it or not， the activity in your brain never stops. Your neurons create and send more message than all the phones in the world. And although one neuron creates only a little electricity， all your neurons together can produce enough electricity to power a light bulb8.
这个小小的灰色的器官，重量不到1.5公斤，真的可以做如此多的事情吗？令人惊讶的是，你的大脑含有大约1000亿个神经元——你需要3000多年才能将它们数完。信不信由你，你大脑里的活动从未停止过。你的神经元创建和发送的信息比世界上所有的电话发送的信息还要多。虽然一个神经元只产生一点点电，你所有的神经元共同产生的电力足够供一个灯泡发亮。
So exactly how fast does your brain work？ Well， imagine this： A bee lands on your foot. Neurons in your skin send this information to your brain at a speed of more than 240 kilometers per hour. Your brain then uses other neurons to send the message back to your foot to shake the bee off quickly. These neurons can send this information at more than 320 kilometers per hour. No computer has your brain’s unbelievable9 ability to deal with the amount10 of information coming from your eyes， ears and other sensory11 organs.
那么你的大腦工作起来到底有多快呢？好吧，想象一下：一只蜜蜂落在你的脚上。在你皮肤上的神经元以超过240公里的时速将这些信息发送到你的大脑。然后大脑用其他的神经元将信息发送回你的脚，让你迅速摆脱蜜蜂。这些神经元可以以超过320公里的时速来给你发送这些信息。没有一台计算机能有大脑这般令人难以置信的能力来处理来自你的眼睛、耳朵和其他感觉器官的大量的信息。
But how does your brain allow you to learn things that you will use in the future？ The structure12 of your brain changes every time you have a new thought， remember or learn something. For example， riding a bike seems impossible at first， but soon you are able to do it. How？ As you practice， your brain sends “bike riding” messages again and again. Soon， the actions are learned and you are able to ride a bike easily from then on.
但是，你的大脑如何让你学习一些你在未来会用到的技能呢？当你有一个新的想法、记忆或学新东西的时候，你的大脑结构会发生变化。例如，一开始，骑自行车看起来是不可能做到的，但很快你就能够做到。怎么做到的呢？当你练习时，你的大脑一次又一次的发出“骑自行车”的信息。很快，这项技能你就学会了，并且从那时候开始，你就能轻而易举地骑自行车了。