万物简史 第213期:把铅撵出去(2)

 　　Lead is a neurotoxin. Get too much of it and you can irreparably damage the brain and central nervous system. Among the many symptoms associated with overexposure are blindness, insomnia¹, kidney failure, hearing loss, cancer, palsies, and convulsions. In its most acute form it produces abrupt² and terrifying hallucinations, disturbing to victims and onlookers³ alike, which generally then give way to coma⁴ and death. You really don't want to get too much lead into your system.

　　铅是一种神经毒素。体内铅的含量过高，就会无可挽回地损害大脑和中枢神经系统。与铅过分接触会引起很多病症，其中有丧失视力、失眠、肾功能衰竭、失聪、癌症、瘫痪和抽搐。急性发作的时候，人可以突然产生恐怖的幻觉，令患者和旁人措手不及。一般来说，这种症状接着会导致昏迷或死亡。谁也不愿意让自己的身体摄入过量的铅。

　　铅丸

　　On the other hand, lead was easy to extract and work, and almost embarrassingly profitable to produce industrially—and tetraethyl lead did indubitably stop engines from knocking. So in 1923 three of America's largest corporations, General Motors, Du Pont, and Standard Oil of New Jersey⁵, formed a joint⁶ enterprise called the Ethyl Gasoline Corporation (later shortened to simply Ethyl Corporation) with a view to making as much tetraethyl lead as the world was willing to buy, and that proved to be a very great deal. They called their additive⁷ "ethyl" because it sounded friendlier and less toxic⁸ than "lead" and introduced it for public consumption (in more ways than most people realized) on February 1, 1923.

　　另一方面，铅很容易提炼和开采，大规模生产极其有利可图──四乙铅确实可以防止发动机爆震。所以，在1923年，美国三家最大的公司──通用汽车公司、杜邦公司和新泽西美孚石油公司──成立了一家合资企业，名叫四乙铅汽油公司（后来又简称为四乙公司），世界愿买多少四乙铅，它就生产多少四乙铅。结果证明，世界的需要量很大。他们之所以把公司称做“四乙公司”，是因为“四乙”听上去比较悦耳，不像“铅”那样含有毒物的意味。1923年2月1日，他们把这个名字（以比大多数人知道的更多方式）推向市场，让公众接受。

　　Almost at once production workers began to exhibit the staggered gait and confused faculties⁹ that mark the recently poisoned. Also almost at once, the Ethyl Corporation embarked¹⁰ on a policy of calm but unyielding denial that would serve it well for decades.

　　第一线的工人几乎马上出现走路不稳、官能混乱等症状，这是中毒不久后的标志。四乙公司也几乎马上执行一条行若无事、坚决否认的方针，而且在几十年里行之有效。

1 insomnia   

n.失眠，失眠症

参考例句：

• Worries and tenseness can lead to insomnia.忧虑和紧张会导致失眠。
• He is suffering from insomnia.他患失眠症。

2 abrupt   

adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的

参考例句：

• The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
• His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。

3 onlookers   

n.旁观者，观看者( onlooker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A crowd of onlookers gathered at the scene of the crash. 在撞车地点聚集了一大群围观者。
• The onlookers stood at a respectful distance. 旁观者站在一定的距离之外，以示尊敬。

4 coma   

n.昏迷，昏迷状态

参考例句：

• The patient rallied from the coma.病人从昏迷中苏醒过来。
• She went into a coma after swallowing a whole bottle of sleeping pills.她吃了一整瓶安眠药后就昏迷过去了。

5 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

6 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

7 additive   

adj.附加的；n.添加剂

参考例句：

• Colour is often an additive in foods.颜料经常是各种食物中的添加物。
• Strict safety tests are carried out on food additives.对食品添加剂进行了严格的安全检测。

8 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

9 faculties   

n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院

参考例句：

• Although he's ninety, his mental faculties remain unimpaired. 他虽年届九旬，但头脑仍然清晰。
• All your faculties have come into play in your work. 在你的工作中，你的全部才能已起到了作用。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 embarked   

乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。
• She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。