If you are looking for a loan, serving your bank manager breakfast might just do the trick.

如果你準備申請貸款，不妨為銀行經理準備早餐，問題即可迎刃而解。

A compound found in eggs makes people much more generous, new research suggests.

最新研究表明，雞蛋中含有的化合物可以讓人變得更慷慨。

Scientists say that tryptophan, an amino acid found in some foods, can change our behavior.

科學家指出，一些食物中所含名為色氨酸的一種氨基酸能夠改變我們的行為。

In experiments they found that consuming a small portion of tryptophan - the equivalent of that found in three eggs - doubled the sum volunteers gave to charity.

通過實驗他們發現，攝入少量色氨酸(相當于三顆雞蛋中該物質的含量)就會使志愿者的捐款數目增加一倍。

Eggs and other foods such as fish and milk are rich in tryptophan, an amino acid that is converted in the body into the feel-good chemical serotonin.

雞蛋和魚，奶等食物均富含色氨酸，色氨酸在人體內會轉化成讓人感到快樂的化學物質血清素。

The substance is also marketed as a food supplement called TRP.

這種物質也做為一種叫做TRP的食品添加劑在市場上發售。

Psychologists from Leiden University in the Netherlands, writing in the Frontiers in Psychology journal, said: ‘For the first time, we investigated whether the administration of a compound contained in food such as fish, eggs, soy, and milk can promote charitable donating. ‘Our study is the first demonstration that charitable donating can be enhanced by serotonin-related food supplements.’

荷蘭萊頓大學的心理學家在發表于心理學期刊《前沿》中寫道：“這是我們首次對魚、蛋、豆、奶等食物中所含化合物的應用，是否會對人們的行善捐贈有所促進所進行的研究。我們的實驗率先證明了含色氨酸的食物可以提高慈善捐款。”

The authors carried out an experiment on 32 men and women, in which half were given a powder containing 0.8 grams of TRP, and the others were given a harmless placebo powder.

作者對32名男女進行了實驗，其中一半人服用一種含有0.8克的色氨酸粉末，另一半人則食用了無害的安慰劑粉末。

Each participant was given ￡7.50 ($11.25) for taking part in the research and asked whether they were willing to donate part of their financial reward to charity.

每位參與者都因參加研究 獲得7.5英鎊的酬金，且他們被詢問是否愿意把所得部分酬金捐給慈善機構。

Four boxes for Unicef, Amnesty International, Greenpeace, and World Wildlife Fund were left on a table.

桌面上擺放著來自聯合國兒童基金會、大赦國際、綠色和平組織和世界野生動物基金會四個慈善機構的募款箱。

When the psychologists counted the takings, they found that those given the TRP powder donated an average of 75p ($1.15), while those who received the placebo donated half as much.

事后心理學家統計箱內募款時，發現服用了TRP的受試者平均捐款為75便士，而食用安慰劑的人則只捐出了一半的數額。

Just how a food supplement could have such an effect is not clear, but the scientists suggest the involvement of oxytocin, the so-called ‘cuddle’ hormone produced by women during breastfeeding and lovemaking.

雖然食品添加劑如何能產生這樣效果的原因尚未可知，但科學家指出這可能與催產素有關，女性在哺乳和性交期間會產生這種所謂的“擁抱”荷爾蒙。

The researchers point to the closeness of the areas of the brain associated with serotonin and oxytocin.

研究人員指出大腦跟血清素和催產素關聯的臨近區域。

They wrote: ‘It may be likely that the willingness to donate money to a charity is modulated by the effect that serotonin exerts on oxytocin levels.‘Our results support the materialist approach that “you are what you eat”.

他們寫道：“捐款的意愿可能受血清素對催產素水平影響調控。”我們的研究結果驗證了唯物主義者的說法‘吃什么東西就會產生什么行為’。

‘The idea [is] that the food one eats has a bearing on one’s state of mind. The food we eat may thus act as a cognitive enhancer that modulates the way we deal with the “social” world.'

這種觀點認為，人們吃的食物影響到大腦的狀態。食物就這樣扮演了認知促進者，調控了人們應對‘社交’世界的方式。”

Commenting on the research, Dr Adam Perkins, neurobiologist at King’s College London, said the study could be useful in prisons to encourage harmony among inmates.

倫敦國王學院的神經生物學家亞當·柏金思（ Adam Perkins）對實驗點評稱，該研究可運用于監獄，使身陷囹圄的犯人相處得更加和諧。

He said: ‘These results are interesting because they raise the possibility that dietary supplements containing TRP could be used to assist with boosting charitable attitudes and behavior in the population.’

他說：“研究結果非常有趣，因為增加含有色氨酸的食物添加劑，為極大地促進人們行善的意愿和行動提供了可能。”

Vocabulary

tryptophan: 色氨酸
amino acid: 氨基酸
serotonin: 血清素
psychologist: 心理學家
placebo: 安慰劑
oxytocin: 催產素
materialist: 唯物主義者

（譯者：菠蘿油八戒  編輯：丁一）