月圆之夜

武汉大学附属外国语学校 侯冬意供稿

月圆之夜

武汉大学附属外国语学校 侯冬意供稿

You have probably seen it in movies:when the moon is full,a man turns into a hairy(毛茸茸的),frightening creature and runs around the city,tearing(撕裂)people to pieces.Youmay laugh at stories of wolfmen(狼人),but have you ever wondered where the association(联系)of a fullmoon with crazy goings-on (举动；发生的事情) came from?

Such notions(观念)have been around a lot longer than scary(吓人的)movies.Theword lunacy,meaning“madness”,is derived(起源) from Luna.And,a hundred years ago in some European hospitals,with the fear of violence during fullmoons,doctorswould chain up patients who were thought to be lunatics(精神错乱的).

It is surprising thatmany people still believe that the moon can affect human behavior in unusual ways.For example,many medical workers are convinced (确信的)that the number of emergency cases increases during a full moon.One study in the United States found that people drink less alcohol and eatmore during a fullmoon.Italian researchers found thatmore babies seem to be born in the one or two days following a fullmoon.And Britain’s largest telecommunications (电讯)company claims that Internet use increases during the seven days before a fullmoon.

Other researchers,however,have found serious methodological(方法的)flaws(缺陷；瑕疵)in some of the studies that claim to demonstrate (证明)a relationship between a fullmoon and human behavior. Also,no research has yet found a direct link between the phases(月亮、行星的位相)of themoon and attacksof depression or lunacy.

With only weak scientific evidence(证据)relatingmadness to the moon,perhaps the bestway to explain the existence of thismyth is to call it a relic(遗物；纪念物)of the past:Long before electricity,bright moonlight was an invitation to open the window or go out the door to enjoy the night scene—whether or not they have hair on their hands.

你可能曾经在电影中看到过：月圆的时候，一个男人变成毛茸茸的骇人怪物在城市里四处横行，把人撕成碎片。你也许对狼人的故事感到好笑，但你可曾好奇过满月与疯狂举动之间的联系从何而来？

这种观念在恐怖电影出现之前便已流传许久。“lunacy”这个表示“疯狂”的词源自“月亮”。一百年多前，在欧洲的一些医院，医生们因为担心在月圆时会出现暴力行为，会用链子绑住那些被认为是疯子的患者。

令人惊讶的是现在仍有很多人相信月亮会让人行为失常。例如，许多医务工作者相信月圆时急诊病例会增多。美国的一项研究发现人们在满月时饮酒量减少而食量增加。意大利的研究人员发现，月圆后的一两天内，婴儿的出生人数更多。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。

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。而且没有一项研究发现月相（月亮圆缺）与人类忧郁症或癫狂举动的发作有直接联系。

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：在电发明之前的很长一段时间里，皎洁的月光会诱使人们推开窗子或者走出门去欣赏夜景——无论他们的手上是否会长出长毛。