时差N小时 我们为什么需要细菌?

The word “bacteria” likely conjures¹ up nasty images in your mind of E. coli, several strains of which are a common cause of food poisoning. You're reminded of the Black Death, a series of bacteria-inspired plagues that swept through 14th century Europe. Where To Find Bacteria? But bacteria are not so isolated² from us physically³. To be found only in some contaminated foods stuff, like some bad E. coli.

一听到“细菌”这个词，便会让人们联想到恶心的大肠杆菌的画面，其中有几种大肠杆菌常常引起食物中毒。你还会想起14世纪席卷欧洲大陆的黑死病，这也是由于细菌引发的瘟疫。细菌存在于哪里？细菌并不能离开宿主独立存在。例如一些糟糕的大肠杆菌会寄生在被污染的食物内。

In fact, they can be found almost everywhere on and in the human body—on our skin, in our mouths, guts⁵, kidneys—just to name a few, and they are present in almost unbelievable numbers. On average, a human body has about ten times more bacteria cells living in and on it, than it has human cells.

实际上，在人体表面或者体内都能发现细菌——皮肤上，口腔内，内脏和肾脏内都能找到，数不胜数，而且细菌的数量庞大得令人难以置信。平均来说，寄生在每个人体内的细菌细胞数量比人体细胞多十倍。

So in a very real sense, you're more bacteria than human. Additionally not all bacteria are such bad guys, in fact quite the opposite is true. Your skin, for example, hosts a zoo of friendly bacteria that fight off real micro bad guys, giving you a sort of “invisible armor” against harmful intruders.

因此从本质上讲，你比人类更细菌。此外，并不是所有的细菌都有害，事实上却完全相反。例如你的皮肤上就寄生了各种友好的细菌，它们抵抗真正有害的微生物，为你提供一种“无形的护甲”以抵挡有害入侵。

And you have trillions more bacteria in your intestines⁶ helping⁷ you digest your food, and keeping your immune system running strong. And further studies have found that some bacteria in the human gut⁴ may help adults ward⁸ off kidney stones and prevent children from developing asthma⁹.

而且你的肠道内也寄生着上万亿的细菌，帮助你消化食物，维护你的免疫系统正常运行。进一步的研究发现内脏里的一些细菌有助于成年人预防肾结石，防止小孩患上哮喘。

So the next time you hear the word “bacteria”, don't let the few rotten apples spoil your opinion of the whole bunch, for many more of them are your friends than are your enemies.

因此，下次你再听到“细菌”这个词时，不要再让烂苹果坏了你对细菌的印象，因为友好细菌还是远多于有害细菌的。

1 conjures   

用魔术变出( conjure的第三人称单数 )； 祈求，恳求； 变戏法； （变魔术般地） 使…出现

参考例句：

• The word 'birthday' conjures up images of presents and parties. “生日”这个词使人想起礼物和聚会的情景。
• The name Sahara conjures up images of a desert of aridity. "撒哈拉"这个名字使人想起干旱的沙漠情景。

2 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

3 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

4 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

5 guts   

v.狼吞虎咽，贪婪地吃，飞碟游戏（比赛双方每组5人，相距15码，互相掷接飞碟）；毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的第三人称单数 )；取出…的内脏n.勇气( gut的名词复数 )；内脏；消化道的下段；肠

参考例句：

• I'll only cook fish if the guts have been removed. 鱼若已收拾干净，我只需烧一下即可。
• Barbara hasn't got the guts to leave her mother. 巴巴拉没有勇气离开她妈妈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 intestines   

n.肠( intestine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Perhaps the most serious problems occur in the stomach and intestines. 最严重的问题或许出现在胃和肠里。 来自辞典例句
• The traps of carnivorous plants function a little like the stomachs and small intestines of animals. 食肉植物的捕蝇器起着动物的胃和小肠的作用。 来自辞典例句

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

9 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。