When you hiccup,
your diaphragm involuntarily contracts. (The  diaphragm
is a dome-shaped muscle that separates the chest cavity from
the abdomen. It plays an extremely important role
in breathing.)
This contraction of the diaphragm then causes an immediate
and brief closure of the vocal cords, which produces
the characteristic sound of a hiccup. What actually causes
the hiccup is difficult to say - in most instances, there
is no obvious cause.
Attacks of the hiccups seem to be associated with a few different
things: eating or drinking too fast; being nervous or excited;
or having irritation in the stomach and/or throat.
In some extremely rare cases, the underlying cause
of hiccups can be pleurisy (inflammation of the membrane
lining of the lungs and chest cavity), pneumonia,
certain disorders of the stomach or esophagus,
pancreatitis, alcoholism, or hepatitis.
Any one of these conditions can cause irritation of the diaphragm
or of the phrenic nerves that supply the diaphragm - it's
the irritation that causes the hiccups.
Still, the cause of most attacks of the hiccups remains a
mystery.
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hiccup: 打嗝
diaphragm: 横隔膜
involuntarily: 不自觉地
contract: 收缩
abdomen: 腹部
cords: 声带
underlying: 潜在的，根本的
pleurisy: 胸膜炎
pneumonia: 肺炎
esophagus: 食道
pancreatitis: 胰腺炎
alcoholism: 酒精中毒
hepatitis: 肝炎
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