万物简史 第385期:浩瀚的海洋(4)

 　　Water is so vital to us that it is easy to overlook that all but the smallest fraction of the water on Earth is poisonous to us, 水对我们太重要了，因此我们不容易注意到，地球上绝大部分的水对我们来说都是有毒的，

　　deadly poisonous—because of the salts within it. 而且毒得厉害，因为里面含有盐。

　　We need salt to live, but only in very small amounts, and seawater contains way more— about seventy times more—salt than we can safely metabolize. 有盐我们才能活下去，但只要很小的量。海水里含盐量太大——大了大约70倍——我们无法平安无事地将其新陈代谢。

　　A typical liter of seawater will contain only about 2.5 teaspoons¹ of common salt—the kind we sprinkle on food, 1升海水里只含有大约2.5茶匙普通的盐——我们撒在食物上的那种盐，

　　but much larger amounts of other elements, compounds, and other dissolved solids, which are collectively known as salts. 但还含有大量的其他元素、化合物和别的已经溶解的团体，这一些通称为盐。

　　The proportions of these salts and minerals in our tissues is uncannily similar to seawater 盐和矿物质在我们肌体组织里的比例，与在海水里的比例也差不多，

　　we sweat and cry seawater, as Margulis and Sagan have put it—but curiously² we cannot tolerate them as an input³. 正如马吉利斯和萨根说的，我们出的汗是海水，流的泊是海水。但是，说来也怪，我们却无法忍受外来的盐。

　　Take a lot of salt into your body and your metabolism⁴ very quickly goes into crisis. 要是把大量盐摄人自己体内，你的新陈代谢很快会陷入危机。

　　From every cell, water molecules⁵ rush off like so many volunteer firemen to try to dilute⁶ and carry off the sudden intake⁷ of salt. 每个细胞里的水分子都会匆匆离去，像是许多志愿消防员急着要去稀释和冲走突然增加的盐分那样。

　　This leaves the cells dangerously short of the water they need to carry out their normal functions. 结果，细胞严重缺水、无法正常运转。

　　They become, in a word, dehydrated. 简而言之，细胞脱水了。

　　In extreme situations, dehydration⁸ will lead to seizures⁹, unconsciousness, and brain damage. 在极端情况下，脱水会造成疾病发作、昏迷和大脑损伤。

　　Meanwhile, the overworked blood cells carry the salt to the kidneys, which eventually become overwhelmed and shut down. 与此同时，劳累过度的血细胞会把盐输送到肝脏，最后肾脏会负担过重，停止运转。

　　Without functioning kidneys you die. 要是肾脏不能正常运转，你就会死去。

　　That is why we don't drink seawater. 这就是你不能饮用海水的原因。

1 teaspoons   

n.茶匙( teaspoon的名词复数 )；一茶匙的量

参考例句：

• Add two teaspoons of salt. 加两小匙盐。
• Add 3 heaped teaspoons of sugar. 加满满的三匙糖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

3 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

4 metabolism   

n.新陈代谢

参考例句：

• After years of dieting,Carol's metabolism was completely out of whack.经过数年的节食，卡罗尔的新陈代谢完全紊乱了。
• All living matter undergoes a process of metabolism.生物都有新陈代谢。

5 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

6 dilute   

vt.稀释，冲淡；adj.稀释的，冲淡的

参考例句：

• The water will dilute the wine.水能使酒变淡。
• Zinc displaces the hydrogen of dilute acids.锌置换了稀酸中的氢。

7 intake   

n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口

参考例句：

• Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
• There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。

8 dehydration   

n.脱水，干燥

参考例句：

• He died from severe dehydration.他死于严重脱水。
• The eyes are often retracted from dehydration.眼睛常因脱水而凹陷。

9 seizures   

n.起获( seizure的名词复数 )；没收；充公；起获的赃物

参考例句：

• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year. 今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Other causes of unconsciousness predisposing to aspiration lung abscess are convulsive seizures. 造成吸入性肺脓肿昏迷的其他原因，有惊厥发作。 来自辞典例句