时差N小时 听诊器的发明是个尴尬的意外(下)

Laennec named his invention the stethoscope, from the Greek words for “chest” and “to view,”

雷奈克将这一发明命名为听诊器，该词取自希腊语中的“胸部”及“观察”二词，

because it opened a new window into what was happening in the heart and lungs.

因为这一发明为心肺诊断技术开辟了一条新捷径。

After experimenting with different materials, Laennec decided¹ that wood cylinders³ conducted sound best.

在对不同材料进行对比后，雷奈克发现木质圆筒的听诊效果最为理想。

He spent the rest of his life interpreting heart and lung sounds, conducting autopsies⁴ when possible to confirm the diagnoses he’d made by sound.

他的余生都在研究心肺听诊，尽可能会通过尸检验证之前通过听诊确定的诊断。

Although the stethoscope revolutionized Western medicine, it met with great resistance at first.

虽然听诊器完全改变了西医的诊断方法，但在最初推广时也受到了很大的阻力。

In the 1820s, many physicians felt that listening through the cylinder² would be too time consuming, inconvenient⁵, and well, even silly!

19世纪20年代，许多医生认为通过圆筒听诊既耗时又麻烦，甚至看起来很愚蠢！

But soon the value of Laennec’s modest invention became clear.

不久，雷奈克这项发明的价值逐渐显现出来。

And today, the stethoscope is a nearly universal symbol of medicine and health care.

如今，听诊器已经成为医学和医疗保健的普遍象征。

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 cylinder   

n.圆筒，柱(面)，汽缸

参考例句：

• What's the volume of this cylinder?这个圆筒的体积有多少？
• The cylinder is getting too much gas and not enough air.汽缸里汽油太多而空气不足。

3 cylinders   

n.圆筒( cylinder的名词复数 )；圆柱；汽缸；（尤指用作容器的）圆筒状物

参考例句：

• They are working on all cylinders to get the job finished. 他们正在竭尽全力争取把这工作干完。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• That jeep has four cylinders. 那辆吉普车有4个汽缸。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 autopsies   

n.尸体解剖( autopsy的名词复数 )；验尸；现场验证；实地观察

参考例句：

• Autopsies cannot be performed and thus no recent histological examinations have been reported. 不能进行尸体解剖，因此没有新近的组织学检查的报道。 来自辞典例句
• I told you to supervise autopsies, not to set up a lot of fancy rules. 我叫你监督解剖室，不是去制定一些空想的规定。 来自辞典例句

5 inconvenient   

adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的

参考例句：

• You have come at a very inconvenient time.你来得最不适时。
• Will it be inconvenient for him to attend that meeting?他参加那次会议会不方便吗？