080307愁更愁

华南虎

080307愁更愁

作家の山口瞳が飲み助について書き連ねている。「純粋である。だから酒にむかってゆく。傷つきやすい。だから酒を飲む」（『酒食生活』ハルキ文庫）。大日本酒乱党を宣言した人らしい心意気だが、凡人の当方、その境地には遠い。

作家山口瞳写了许多有关酒鬼的事。“酒鬼很单纯，所以眼中只有酒。酒鬼很容易受伤，所以他们喝酒”（《酒食生活》春木文库）。好一副大日本酒鬼党宣言的气派，远非我等平庸之辈所能企及。

「悪い酒」は翌朝がいけない。失恋にせよ人事にせよ、やけ酒に走らせた現実は微動だにしていない。二日酔いが加わり、飲み代が消えているだけだ。さらには、酒が「嫌な記憶」を深めるとの説が本日の科学面で紹介されている。東大の松木則夫教授らによる動物実験だ。

“胡喝”后第二天醒来就惨了。失恋也好贬谪也罢，现实并不因你大喝闷酒而会有丝毫的改变。只会徒费酒资，留下宿醉。今天本报的科学版还介绍道，喝酒会加深“痛苦记忆”。这一结论来自东大 松木则夫教授等人的动物实验。

箱のネズミに弱い電気刺激を与えると、次からは箱に入れただけで身をすくめるようになる。こうして恐怖を学習したネズミを、アルコールを注射する群としない群に分け、その後の反応を追った。

给盒子里的老鼠以弱电击，下次只要把它们放入盒子，就会缩成一团。然后，将这些学会了恐惧的老鼠分成两组，给其中的一组注射了酒精，并跟踪观察其反应。

２週間後、「しらふ」の群は箱ですくむ時間が半減したが、「酔った」群はほぼ同じだった。どうやらアルコールには、一度思い出した記憶を強める働きがあるらしい。松木教授が語る。「嫌なことを思い出しながら飲むと、友の激励は忘れても、元の記憶はかえって強く刻まれかねない」。

2周后发现，“滴酒不沾”组放入盒子后拳缩的时间减半了，“酩酊大醉”组则与上一次几乎相同。似乎酒精有强化回想过的记忆的功能。松木教授说：“沉浸在痛苦回忆中喝酒，朋友的鼓励会抛在脑后，可原先的记忆反到更深刻了”。

ありもしないやけ酒の効用に、科学がとどめを刺したかに見える。ネズミが示す通り、つらい出来事も悔しい体験も、時が薄めていくものだ。明日を全力で生きるための本能かもしれない。

似乎科学已给无谓的闷酒判了死刑。正如老鼠所显示的那样，时间能够淡化心头隐痛。这也许是一种力保明天继续生存的本能吧。

悲喜こもごもの異動の季節。職場という小さな箱で、身をすくめている人もいよう。気分転換の早道は、心だけでも箱から出すことだ。外は「楽しい記憶」の手がかりであふれている。

眼下正是悲喜交集的人事调动的季节。恐怕也有人正在职场这只小小的盒子里缩成一团吧。光是心也好，跳出盒子外，就是心情转换的捷径。盒子外有的是能成为“美好记忆”的种子。

英译：

If you are unhappy, don't drown your sorrows
03/08/2008


In "Shushoku Seikatsu" (Life of drinking and eating), published by Kadokawa Haruki Corp., novelist Hitomi Yamaguchi (1926-1995) has a lot to say about boozers. "They are pure," he writes. "That's why they reach for the bottle. They are easily hurt. That's why they drink."

The self-proclaimed founder of Dai-Nihon Shuran-to (Heavy drinkers' party of Japan), Yamaguchi shows considerable spirit. I, being mediocre, am still far from attaining Yamaguchi's state of inebriated enlightenment.

Drinking to drown one's sorrows makes for a wretched morning after. Whether one has been jilted by a lover or passed over for promotion, getting drunk doesn't change reality in any way. All it does is to give one a hangover and leave a hole in one's pocket thanks to the previous night's binge.

According to a story that appeared Friday in the science section of the vernacular Asahi Shimbun, drinking apparently intensifies the memories one is trying to forget.

This conclusion was drawn from animal experiments by a research team led by Norio Matsuki, a professor at the University of Tokyo.

The team placed mice in a box and gave them a weak electric shock. When the animals were placed in the box again later, they cringed, even though no electric shock was administered the second time.

After the mice had been thus conditioned to fear the box, Matsuki's team separated them into two groups, and gave alcohol injections to only one group.

Two weeks later, the mice were placed in a box with no electric shocks. Those mice that had not been injected with alcohol stopped cringing in about half the time they used to take. But the group that had been injected with alcohol took the same amount of time to calm down as in the previous experiment--showing that alcohol apparently reinforces bad memories.

"If you keep dwelling on your bad memories while you drink, you may not remember your friend's words of encourage, but your unhappy memories could become etched more deeply in your mind," Matsuki says.

Drunks believe in the "benefits" of drinking away their miseries, but science seems to have proven them wrong. As the mice demonstrated, even painful experiences and bitter disappointments fade over time. Perhaps this is nature's way of helping us keep living on day after day.

In this spring season, many companies hand out transfers to workers, generating mixed emotions. Some people may cringe in their work cubicles. They should instead refresh themselves by taking a look around and reflecting on the things that trigger their happy memories.

--The Asahi Shimbun, March 7(IHT/Asahi: March 8,2008)