The Southpaws Have It | 左撇子万岁！

by Li Chen

On average, lefties are more intelligent, imaginative, and talented than righties.

一般而言，左撇子比右撇子更聪明、更有想象力及天份。

What do Leonardo da Vinci, Oprah Winfrey, Martina Navratilova, Celine Dion, and Bill Gates all have in common? _(1)_ Although there is no clear-cut explanation for why some people are born left-handed, most experts believe it is genetic since it commonly runs in families. Making up eight to 13 percent of the world's population, lefties sense more with their right brains, whereas right-handed people process more with their left brains. The right half of the brain controls music, art, creativity, perception, emotions, and genius, while the left half is in charge of speech, language, writing, logic, mathematics, and science. _(2)_ Studies also show that left-handed people with IQs over 140, which is the genius bracket, outnumber their right-handed counterparts.

_(3)_ Being left-handed was considered sinister. With its origins in Latin, the word sinister started out meaning on the left hand, but over the years, it changed to mean evil since it was connected with Satan and witchcraft. Lefties have also been viewed as clumsy and awkward. In fact, this is not their fault. _(4)_

Now, things are changing thanks to International Left-handers Day and the organizations behind it. Since 1976, August 13 has been celebrated annually as a day for lefties. _(5)_ They include a left-handed tea party, left versus right sports competitions, and doing various activities only using the left hand. Despite all their setbacks, left-handers still have the right stuff.

(A) In addition to raising public awareness about the plight of being left-handed, organizers hold events that celebrate left-handedness.

(B) It's no wonder that lefties are creative and visual thinkers, better at three-dimensional perception, and stronger in activities involving hand-to-eye coordination.

(C) Left-handers are forced to live in a completely opposite world since almost all tools, machinery, and everyday items are made for right-handers.

(D) However, left-handers haven't always been held in a positive light.

(E) They are all left-handed people, also known as lefties, left-handers, or southpaws.

       李奥纳多‧达文西、欧普拉‧温芙蕾、娜拉提诺娃、席琳‧狄翁和比尔‧盖兹，这些人之间有什么共通点？他们全都是惯用左手的人，也就是所谓的左撇子。关于有些人为什么天生是左撇子，虽然没有很明确的解释，但由于这项特征通常都是家族遗传，所以大部分专家都认为是基因遗传所致。全世界左撇子的人口比例占百分之八至百分之十三，这些人较常使用右脑感知，而右撇子的人则是多用左脑处理事务。右脑控制的是音乐、艺术、创造力、认知、情感以及才能，而左脑则掌管说话能力、语言、写作、逻辑、运算以及科学。这也难怪左撇子的人会具有创造力和视觉思维，以及较佳的立体感知能力，并且在需要手眼协调的活动上表现较突出。研究也指出智商高过 140（为天才等级）的人，左撇子占的人数多于右撇子。

　　不过，左撇子并非总是获得正面的看法。左撇子曾被视为是邪恶的（sinister）。sinister这个字来自拉丁文，一开始的意义是『左边的』，但经年累月下来，这个字因为与撒旦和巫术有关而变成了有『邪恶』的意义。左撇子也一直被视为手脚不灵活。事实上，这并非左撇子的错。由于几乎所有的工具、机器以及日常用品都是为右撇子设计的，所以左撇子被迫生活在一个完全相反的世界里。

　　而现在多亏国际左撇子日以及相关的组织机构，事情变得不一样了。自 1976 年以来，每年的 8 月 13 日都成为左撇子的庆祝之日。除了让大众意识到左撇子遇到的困境外，组织者还会举办一些活动来庆祝左撇子。这些活动包括左撇子茶会、左撇子和右撇子之间的运动竞赛，以及各式只能使用左手进行的活动。尽管左撇子遇到重重挫折，但他们仍有自己的一套本领。

答案：  1. (E)2. (B)3. (D)4. (C)5. (A)

For Your Information

英国科学家表示，许多动物像是猫、狗、鹦鹉甚至是鱼，也有左撇子或右撇子。这项发现是伯尔发斯特女王大学（Queen's University Belfast）的心理学家为了研究，与 42 只宠物猫连续玩几周后所得的结果。

他们发现，母猫是右撇子，公猫则较喜欢用左手。狗也一样，直到牠们切掉卵巢或绝育，差异才会消失，由此说明荷尔蒙在左、右撇子中发挥作用。科学家也表示，蟾蜍大多是右撇子，鱼在躲避掠食者时，往右或往左也各有所好，甚至是大翅鲸，牠们在被喂食时，也较喜欢用右颚。（数据源：联合新闻网）