You can tell whether someone is physically weak or strong simply by listening to their voice, a study shows。

　　一项研究表明，仅仅依靠听一个人说话，就可以从嗓音中判定出他的身体状况是好还是糟。

　　In tests, volunteers accurately judged a stranger's strength after hearing a brief snippet of speech。

　　在试验中，志愿者们在倾听过陌生人的简短发言后，就准确的判断出他的力量。

　　Although both sexes give clues to their strength every time they open their mouths, male voices are much easier to judge than female ones, the researchers found。

　　研究者发现，尽管男女在开口说话时都提供了判断他们力量的线索，男性还是比女性容易判断一些。

　　The deepness of a voice is not an accurate guide to whether someone is muscular or weedy. Instead, people rely on a subconscious, mysterious 'x-factor' in the voice to work out someone's physique。

　　然而声音的低沉程度并不是判别一个人肌肉结实或者瘦弱的标准，实际上人们依靠着直觉--声音里一种未知的因素来总结出一个人的结实程度。

　　Dr Aaron Sell, of the University of California, Santa Barbara, believes the ability to assess strength from voices evolved to help our ancestors avoid picking fights they were likely to lose。

　　美国加州圣巴巴拉大学的阿隆赛尔博士相信我们的祖先演化出这种依靠声音判断力量强弱的本能，以此来避免卷入对自己很可能不利的争斗。

　　It may also have helped women select strong mates, he said。

　　他认为，这种本能很可能也帮助女性来寻找强健的男性。

　　“Both men and women were equally accurate at assessing strength in the voice,” said Dr Sell

　　赛尔博士说：“男生和女生都同样可以从声音中判断力量强弱。”

　　He believes it makes evolutionary sense for people to be better at predicting a man's strength than a woman's, because 'most of the physical aggression is caused by males'。

　　他相信从进化论来讲男性比女性更能判断出他人的力量强弱是合乎逻辑的，毕竟绝大多数进攻行为是由男性挑起的。