英语听力文摘 English Digest 273、令人烦恼的青春痘

　　Zits Versus¹ Hairy Faces
痤疮是发生在毛囊皮脂腺的慢性皮肤病，发生的因素多种多样，但最直接的因素就是毛孔堵塞。毛孔堵塞以后，毛囊里面的油脂排不出来，越积越多就形成一个个小痘痘，青春痘就是这样发生的。不太严重的青春痘通常都能看到一个白色或者黑色的顶，这就是白头粉刺与黑头。粉刺，你也可以挤出一些白色的分泌物，这就是堆积在毛孔里面的油脂，并非脏的东西，也不是所谓的螨虫。只要毛孔不堵塞，痘痘就不会轻易冒出来。粉刺痤疮的形成一般都是由于内分泌失调所引起的，这种粉刺痤疮可以用一些专业药物进行调理；粉刺痤疮是一种皮肤疾病，形成一般与内分泌失调、雄性激素分泌旺盛相关，不是口服哪一种药物或者涂抹化妆品便能治愈的，一定要接受正规的皮肤病专科医院或者皮肤科的治疗，进行内分泌的调理与体内雄性激素的平衡，只要坚持治疗一般都是可以根治的。

　　One of the least pleasant things about being human is the appearance at adolescence² of pimples³.  Not only do they make their entrance just at the time when people are most self-conscious, but they come and go for the rest of your life.  It would almost be better to have a hairy face.
Ironically, the general covering of our bodies in hair —  what we call “fur” on other animals — is at the root of our problem with acne.  In the course of evolution human beings lost  their entirely⁴ hairy faces and now have a lot of exposed skin there: even a bearded man with bushy eyebrows⁵ has much of his face bare.
The structures in the facial skin that once gave rise to hair, however, have not disappeared entirely: many still contain tiny vestigial hairs which do not grow.  That means there is nothing to open up the pore itself; and that means the pore is a great place for oils, dirt and bacteria to get clogged⁶.  You can get zits anywhere vestigialfollicles become clogged.
The big culprit on faces, though, isn’t dirt so much as an internally-produced substance called sebum that makes the skin cells shed inside the pores.  These dead cells, unable to (1)flake away, collect until they become an irritation⁷ to the pore.  At this point the body reacts in a miniature version of the way it deals with any other invasion: it sends white blood cells to the site to attack the invading body.  The result is a mild inflammation at the site of battle.  That inflammation is the zit.
So evolution, while having cleaned our hairy faces, gave us pimply⁸ skin instead.
Notes:
(1)flake away 剥落
The paint is flaking⁹ away in this dry weather.
在这种干燥的天气中，油漆正在剥落。

1 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

2 adolescence   

n.青春期，青少年

参考例句：

• Adolescence is the process of going from childhood to maturity.青春期是从少年到成年的过渡期。
• The film is about the trials and tribulations of adolescence.这部电影讲述了青春期的麻烦和苦恼。

3 pimples   

n.丘疹，粉刺，小脓疱( pimple的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It gave me goose pimples just to think about it. 只是想到它我就起鸡皮疙瘩。
• His face has now broken out in pimples. 他脸上突然起了丘疹。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

5 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

6 clogged   

（使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞

参考例句：

• The narrow streets were clogged with traffic. 狭窄的街道上交通堵塞。
• The intake of gasoline was stopped by a clogged fuel line. 汽油的注入由于管道阻塞而停止了。

7 irritation   

n.激怒，恼怒，生气

参考例句：

• He could not hide his irritation that he had not been invited.他无法掩饰因未被邀请而生的气恼。
• Barbicane said nothing,but his silence covered serious irritation.巴比康什么也不说，但是他的沉默里潜伏着阴郁的怒火。

8 pimply   

adj.肿泡的；有疙瘩的；多粉刺的；有丘疹的

参考例句：

• Now, we won't submit to impertinence from these pimply, tipsy virgins. 现在我们决不能忍受这群长着脓包、喝醉了的小兔崽子们的无礼举动。 来自辞典例句
• A head stuck out cautiously-a square, pimply, purplish face with thick eyebrows and round eyes. 车厢里先探出一个头来，紫酱色的一张方脸，浓眉毛，圆眼睛，脸上有许多小疱。 来自互联网

9 flaking   

刨成片，压成片； 盘网

参考例句：

• He received ointment for his flaking skin. 医生给他开了治疗脱皮的软膏。
• The paint was flaking off the walls. 油漆从墙上剥落下来。