Thanking Nature for Medicine 大自然的医药宝库

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Surprising remedies can make all the difference   出人意表的药物可望产生重大影响

If someone saves your life, you want to express your gratitude however you can – a gesture, a “thank you” or somehow returning the favor. Yet when you owe your life to a plant found thousands of miles away, the task becomes much harder.

如果有人救了你一命，你就会想竭尽所能地表达感激之意，无论是一个动作、一声谢谢、或是想办法回报对方。但如果救你一命的是数千哩外的植物，要有所回报就困难多了。

As a nurse, I’ve known for years that many life-saving medicines come from plants and animals found around the world. But I never thought that one day I would have to rely on the bark of a rare Asian tree to survive.

身为护士，多年来我深知许多救命良药来自世界各地的动植物。但是我作梦也没想到，有一天我会必须仰赖亚洲罕见树种的树皮来活命。

Nine years ago, I was diagnosed with appendiceal cancer and told that had only months to live. The mother of two young children at the time, I could not accept the prognosis. Luckily, I found a doctor who was willing to help me fight. I had major abdominal surgery and months of chemotherapy.

九年前，我被诊断出罹患阑尾癌，被告知只剩下几个月的生命。当时还有两个年幼的孩子要养育，身为母亲的我实在无法接受这种预后。但我很幸运，找到了一位愿意帮我一起和癌症奋战的医师。我接受了腹腔的大型手术，以及好几个月的化疗。

Today I am cancer free, in large part because of irinotecan. A drug that helps block the growth of cancer cells, irinotecan is derived from a tree with banana-shaped pods found only in China and Tibet and aptly called the “Chinese Happy Tree.” Yet, this tree and many other potential sources of future treatments are endangered and could soon be gone forever.

如今我的体内已无癌细胞，主要是因为抗癌妥这种药物的关系。抗癌妥能阻止癌细胞生长，提炼自果荚如香蕉状的喜树。喜树仅见于中国与西藏，名字取得真是贴切。不过这种树和许多具有未来治疗潜力的生物，都面临濒危，也许很快就会永久灭绝。

Enhancing the quality of life  改善生活质量

I have lived many years past my life expectancy. And countless others are alive and healthy today because of other medicines – from those that help lower cholesterol to those used to fight malaria – originally derived from natural sources.

我已经比医师原先预期的寿命多活了好几年，还有数不尽的人们至今依然健在，也要感谢从大自然提炼而来的其他药物，包括降低胆固醇的药和治疗疟疾的药。

Across the globe, however, many of our remaining wild areas that shelter plants and animals that could be the future source of numerous other new drugs are quickly disappearing. The razing of a forest in what seems like a remote corner of the world could have life-or-death consequences for people.

然而在世界各地，许多现存的野生地区正在迅速消失中，栖息生长在这些地区的动植物很可能就是未来无数新药的来源。看似位处世界偏远角落的森林遭到砍伐，对人类可能造成攸关生死的后果。

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More Information

gesture [ˋdʒɛstʃɚ] n. 用动作的示意

appendiceal [əpendɪˋsil] adj. 阑尾的

abdominal [æbˋdɑmən!] adj. 腹部的

pod [pɑd] n. 荚；豆荚

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Where natural remedies come from  自然药物的来源

Plants can’t move to escape harm, so they use a complex chemical arsenal to protect themselves from insects, diseases and other threats. And many of these compounds have the potential to protect not only plants, but us as well. Indeed, half of all of the new drugs developed in the last 25 years, and 70 percent of the drugs currently used to treat cancer, have been derived from nature. Medicines have also been obtained from many species, some on the verge of extinction.

植物无法靠移动来逃离危险，所以它们用一套复杂的化学武器来保护自己，以抵挡昆虫、疾病和其他威胁。在这些化合物中，有许多不仅能保护植物，也能保护人类。确实，过去二十五年来研发出的新药中，有半数提炼自大自然，目前用来治疗癌症的药物中有七成也是如此。还有些药物是从许多种动物身上取得，这些动物有些还是濒临灭绝的物种。

In 40 years, however, the habitats of these plants and animals may be gone. We lost 32 million acres of forests each year. Scientists estimate that two-thirds of all species could become severely endangered by the end of this century. Yet researchers have only had the opportunity to test 1 percent of rainforest plants for organic compounds that could benefit human health. If we don’t act soon, natural sources that could cure cancer, arthritis, HIV, diabetes, heart disease and innumerable other illnesses, may be lost to us forever.

然而四十年后，这些动植物的栖息地可能都会消失。我们每年失去三千两百万英亩的森林，科学家估计，有三分之二的物种在本世纪末可能都会严重濒危。为了找出有益人体健康的有机化合物，研究人员尚只检测过百分之一的雨林植物而已。如果不赶快采取行动，那么可望治疗癌症、关节炎、艾滋病毒、糖尿病、心脏病以及无数其他疾病的药物天然来源，也许就会永远消失了。

Strengthening conservation efforts  加强保育努力

Most of the plant’s species live in the world’s poorest nations and that’s why I traveled, along with other cancer survivors from around the nation, to Washington last month to support a new effort in Congress to strengthen our nation’s international conservation efforts. Introduced earlier this spring, the Global Conservation Act would establish a national strategy that will help our government assist in preserving the natural areas of developing countries that are too poor to do so on their own.

地球上物种大多数都存在于世界上最贫穷的国家中，那也就是为什么我和全国其他癌症幸存者，上个月会到华府去支持国会一项加强美国国际保育努力的新方案的原因。今年春天稍早时提出的《全球保育法案》将设立国家策略，帮助我国政府对财力不足以独力负担的发展中国家提供协助，以保存这些国家的自然区域。

I’m grateful for the Chinese Happy Tree, which helped save my life and allowed me to watch my two daughters grow up. Speaking out for nature and all the medical treatments that come from it is just my way of saying “thank you.”

我很感激喜树，它救了我一命，让我能够看着两个女儿长大。为大自然与所有来自大自然的医疗方式请命，只是我表达谢意的方式。

－by Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik

单词发音

Vocabulary Focus

prognosis [prɑgˋnosɪs] n. 预后﹐ 预断〔医生对于病情如何发展的预测〕a doctor’s judgment of the likely or expected development of a disease or of the chances of getting better

chemotherapy [͵kɛmoˋθɛrəpɪ] n.〔治疗癌症的〕化学疗法 the treatment of diseases using chemicals

aptly [ˋæptlɪ] adv. 命名/描述/称呼等很恰当 suitable or right for a particular situation

raze [rez] v. 拆毁，夷平 to completely destroy a city, building, etc.

arsenal [ˋɑrsnəl] n. 储藏的武器 a collection of weapons

on the verge  [vɝdʒ]  of (idiom) 濒临  very close to experiencing something

arthritis [ɑrˋθraɪtɪs] n. 关节炎 a serious condition in which a person’s joints (the places where two bones are connected) become painful, swollen and stiff

 Extended Version: Protecting Nature's Pharmacy - Survivors Speak Out For The Global Conservation Act

Actor Don Cheadle Speaking in Support of the Global Conservation Act