QQs: Why Does Your Stomach Make Noises?
快問快答：為什麼你的胃會發出怪聲音？
Our digestive systems seem to like making noise—especially when we most desperately do not want them to be making strange gurgling sounds. And I mean, even though stomach growling is probably one of the less offensive noises your guts can produce, it's still not something you want happening in the middle of a thoughtful pause during a job interview.
我們的消化系統似乎很愛製造噪音－－特別在我們超級不想要它們發出怪異咕嚕聲的時候。我是說，就算胃的咕嚕聲可能是消化器官所能發出較不討厭的聲音之一，那仍不是你想要在工作面試時沉思的空檔間發生的事。
Now, you'd think that simply eating right before that important interview would avoid that problem. Because if you're not hungry, your stomach isn't going to growl, right? Well, it might help a little, but you could still be in for some awkward moments, because even though stomach rumbles do have something to do with hunger, that's not their immediate cause. Instead, those noises are caused by the movement of air through your digestive tract. And even though that air isn't actually escaping your body, it does create some distinctive acoustic effects.
現在，你會以為只要在重要面試前吃東西就能預防那種問題了。因為如果你不餓，你的胃就不會叫，對吧？這個嘛，那或許有一點點幫助，但你還是可能會遇到一些尷尬時刻，因為即使胃的咕嚕聲確實和飢餓有關，那卻不是它們的直接原因。那些聲音反而是氣體通過消化道的活動所造成。而即便那氣體並不是真的在排出你的身體，它確實製造了一些明顯的音效。
Your digestive system moves things around using muscle contractions. Mostly, it's just trying to transport partially digested food, but in the process, air gets shifted around too, creating sound vibrations. In your stomach and small intestine, that air makes a noise that's sort of like when you blow bubbles through a straw in your drink—except that the bubbles are either moving up toward your stomach or down toward your...other end.
你的消化系統利用肌肉收縮移動東西。通常那只是在試著運送未完全消化的食物，不過在過程中，空氣也會被運來運去，造成聲音振動。在你的胃和小腸中，那空氣會產生一種聲音，有點像你透過吸管吹泡泡到飲料中的聲音－－只不過那些泡泡不是往上跑到胃裡，就是往下跑到你的...另一端。
Hunger can make it worse, too. Being hungry can cause extra muscle contractions to flare up, because your digestive system has to clear out the remains of your last meal to prepare for the next round of food. When you eat, not only does that help calm down those contractions, but having some food in there also helps muffle the sound a little. But in the end, it doesn't really matter if you're hungry or not, because if your digestive system is active, it's gonna make noise. And like the rest of your bodily functions, there's not a whole lot you can do about it.
飢餓也會讓情況更糟。肚子餓可能會讓額外的肌肉收縮活動加劇，因為你的消化系統必須清空上一餐的殘餘來準備塞下一輪食物。當你吃東西時，那不只舒緩了那些收縮，肚子裡有些食物也能幫忙稍微減低聲音。不過到頭來，你餓不餓並沒有差別，因為如果你的消化系統有在活動，它就會發出聲音。而就像身體其他功能一樣，你不太能做什麼。
A big thanks to Sarah A., a supporter on Patreon, for asking us this question. If you'd like to submit questions to be answered or get these Quick Questions videos a few days early, check out patreon.com/scishow.
十分感謝 Sarah A.，Patreon 平台上的一位支持者，感謝她問我們這個問題。 如果你想提出有待解答的問題，或提早幾天看到這些快問快答影片，就到 patreon.com/scishow 看看吧。
