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KAPLANのTOEFL Listening Practice CD-ROM



CD1 Lecture 16 (Biological Sciences)

Listen to part of lecture on breathing given in a biology class.

Though adults breathe 12 times a minute, breathing is so automatic that the average person hardly ever thinks about it.

But how does it happen?

The breathing process is quite complex and controlled by the medulla of the brain, in an area called the breathing center

medulla 髄

The power required for breathing comes from the intercostals muscles and diaphragm.

intercostals muscles 肋間筋
diaphragm だいアフラム　横隔膜

During quiet normal breathing inhalation or the intake of air occurs when the intercostals or thoracic muscle, the muscle within the rib cage contract, and the three dimensions of the chest expand allowing the expansion of the lungs.

thoracic 胸部の
rib cage 胸郭
contract 引き締める

When the pressure inside the lungs increases, the air is exhaled.

Interestingly, while inhalation during quiet breathing required muscle contraction, exhalation does not.

interestingly 面白い事に

In circumstances which more air needs to be exhaled than normal, such as when blowing out candles on the birthday cake, the abdominal muscles may contract to facilitate the exhalation.

While the basic breathing pattern remains the same, there can be variations depending on the location of the expansion during inhalation.

Some people exhibit a large protrusion of the abdominal wall.

protrusion 突出部

They stick their stomach out, while others show more lateral expansion in the thoracic region.

lateral 横に向った

These two types of breathing are called diaphragmatic and thoracic, respectively.

respectively それぞれに（語尾に用いる）

A third type of breathing involved expanding the muscle of the extreme upper chest.

People with this breathing pattern often lift their shoulders as their inhale.

For this reason, this breathing type is known as clavicular relating to the clavicle.

clavicle クらバコォル　鎖骨

People who breathe in this manner may have an extensive tension in their throat and often few as though they can get it enough air due to their shallow breathing.