雅思课外读物--Why do humans kiss?

It is mind-boggling(无法想象的)to think that kissing might have originated simultaneously(同时地) as an act of love and as an act of defiance(反抗) against stifling courtship practices, as the Paolo and Francesca story implies. From that period on, kissing has become the romantic act par excellence(杰出的，卓越的). What’s more romantic than two people hugging, looking into each other’s eyes, and then, to put the final touches on the idyllic moment, kissing each other on the lips? At that instant, the kiss transports the lovers to another plane of existence – high above the mundane(世俗的). Only when romance ends does the power of the kiss fade. Because of the global village in which we live, the kiss has spread throughout the world, finding its way into traditions and courtship practices everywhere. It continues to be a subversive act of love. There’s a lot riding on a kiss, setting off a complex set of chemical reactions that enhance romantic feelings and make physical acts such as sexual intercourse much more meaningful and intimate.(亲吻作用重大，它能启动一系列复杂的化学反应，促进浪漫感情，让性行为这样的身体动作显得更有意味，更加亲密。) The kiss is, in a phrase, an intoxicating(令人陶醉的) “elixir”(灵丹妙药).

In the end, romance is an ideal; it is part of the way we fantasize about the world. Everyone wants to be part of a great love story, even though it may never happen. The kiss is about the ideal, not the real. For a moment in time, it suspends(搁置)the real and makes the world perfect. When it works, it shatters the habitual, making us forget the trivial (不重要的)things that make up everyday life. (当亲吻起作用时，它会打碎常规，让我们忘记日常生活的细枝末节。)Let’s celebrate it always and hope that it never disappears.

Vocabulary

ritual 仪式

sanction 惩罚

instinctively 本能地

treatise 论文;论点

intertwine 交织;缠绕

implore 请求

at one's beck and call 受某人支使

prenuptial 婚前的

prerequisite 前提条件

in all likelihood 极有可能地

be imbued with 充满......

subversive 颠覆的;反抗的

reverse 逆转

star-croseed 命运多舛的

chivalry 骑士般的

immortalize 使不朽

solidify 巩固

deform 变形;畸形

subsequent 后来的

awe-inspiring 令人敬畏的

kindle 点燃

transcend 超越

from the outset 从一开始

furtive 偷偷摸摸的

inexorably 不可避免地

conduit 渠道

prelude 序曲

juxtapose 与......并置

mind-boggling 不可想象的

simultaneously 同时地

defiance 反抗

par excellence 卓越的

mundane 世俗的

intoxicating 令人陶醉的

elixir 灵丹妙药

suspend 悬置;搁置

trivial 不重要的

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