EZCNN 易英网

Botox: Taking Pains to Relieve Headaches 肉毒杆菌──也是偏头痛克星！？

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

Anyone who has ever suffered from migraine headaches can tell you that they make you feel as though every hair on your head is about to blow up. However, there’s a new treatment available that many people say can alleviate migraines considerably. It’s called Botox, and it may be the key to helping the nine million Americans for whom standard headache drugs provide no relief.

患过偏头痛的人都能告诉你，头痛起来时，感觉就好像每根头发都要竖起来一样。不过现在已有新疗法问市，据许多人说它能大幅减轻偏头痛的不适，这种新药叫做肉毒杆菌，美国有九百万人患有偏头痛，服用一般的头痛药都没有效，肉毒杆菌或许是他们摆脱偏头痛的救星。

Doctors say that Botox relaxes muscles in the head, neck, and jaw regions which become inflamed and cause headaches in many patients. Botox was originally used to remove wrinkles, but words soon spread among patients and doctors that it not only made people look younger, but also took away their headaches. During recent experiments, 92% of patients reported an improvement in their migraine symptoms after undergoing the full four-hour Botox treatment.

医生表示，肉毒杆菌可以舒缓头部、颈部、颚部的肌肉，许多病人即是因为这些部位发炎导致头痛。起初肉毒杆菌被用来为病人除去皱纹，但是不久就有消息在医师病人之间传开：肉毒杆菌不但让人看起来更年轻，也解决了他们的头痛之苦。最近有实验证明，百分之九十二的病人在接受肉毒杆菌四小时的全部疗程之后，表示偏头痛症状得到改善。

However, there are drawbacks to Botox. Each treatment consists of thirty to forty injections around the head, neck, and shoulders. The treatment costs a thousand U.S. dollars or more, and its beneficial effects only last a few months. Botox shots may be modern medicine’s latest blessing, but migraine sufferers must still choose the lesser of two big pains in the neck.

不过肉毒杆菌也有缺点，它每次的疗程在头部、颈部、肩部必须打上三至四十针，所需费用约至少一千元美金，但效果却只能维持几个月。肉毒杆菌针剂或许是现代医学提供的最新福祉，但是偏头痛患者还是必须在打针与头痛之间，做一个较不痛苦的选择。

Vocabulary

单词发音

migraine [ˋmaɪgren] n.【医】偏头痛

blow up 爆炸, 炸毁

alleviate [əˋlivɪ͵et] v. 减轻；缓和

considerably [kənˋsɪdərəblɪ] adv. 相当，非常，颇

jaw [dʒɔ] n. 下颌，下巴

inflamed [ɪnˋflemd] adj. 发炎的；红肿的

wrinkle [ˋrɪŋk!] n. 皱；皱纹

drawback [ˋdrɔ͵bæk] n. 缺点，短处，不利条件

blessing [ˋblɛsɪŋ] n. 好处，幸事

lesser [ˋlɛsɚ] adj. 较小的；更少的；次要的

pain in the neck【口】令人厌烦的人或事物

Sentence of the Day

That's head and shoulders above other choices.

这个选择更胜一筹。

head and shoulders above 大大胜过

课文讲解

Josh has just left the doctor’s office when he runs into Meg:  贾许刚离开医生办公室，碰见梅格：

M: Hi, Josh. You look awful!

嗨，贾许，你看起来很糟糕！

J: I feel awful! I’ve had an excruciating migraine all day.

我是觉得很糟！我的偏头痛痛了一天，痛死我了。

M: Have you tried one of those new drugs that regulate your brain’s serotonin levels? They did the trick for my headaches.

有种新药能让你脑子里的血清素维持稳定，你试过吗？对我的头痛满有效的。

J: I have. Along with anti-inflammatory and anti-seizure medicines too, none have helped me.

试过了，其他什么消炎药、抗痉挛的药也都试过了，都没效。

M: What about Botox shots? My doctor said Botox relaxes the head and neck muscles that cause migraines.

肉毒杆菌注射呢？我的医生说，肉毒杆菌可以舒缓头部、颈部这些引起头痛部位的肌肉。

J: Actually, my doctor just told me about Botox. I didn’t know that it is actually the botulism bacteria – a toxin –extracted from spoiled food.

实际上，我的医生才刚告诉我肉毒杆菌这种疗法，我以前不知道肉毒杆菌原来是从腐败食物中提炼出的一种毒素。

M: Yeah. In small dosages, it has been used for about 20 years to treat a number of different eye disorders as well as remove wrinkles. Lately, it’s been found to help migraine sufferers.

是啊，医生以小剂量除去皱纹，也用来治疗许多不同的眼疾大概有廿年了，最近还发现它对偏头痛也有疗效。

J: It’ll be a godsend to me if it can really help. My doctor has warned me about some of the possible side effects of Botox like nausea, redness and soreness, but I can’t just hope my headaches will cure themselves.

如果肉毒杆菌真的有效，我就得救了，但医生也警告我，肉毒杆菌可能会有副作用，譬如恶心、脸潮红、和局部酸痛。不过我总不能奢望头痛自己会好吧。

M: And it will get rid of your wrinkles too.

况且肉毒杆菌还能消除你的皱纹呢。

J: Ha ha! Very funny. Hey! My headache is gone!

哈哈！真好笑。嘿！我的头不痛了！

M: Well, people say that “laughter is the best medicine.”

所以人家说，「笑是最佳良药」嘛。

－by Patrick O’Boyle

Vocabulary

单词发音

awful [ˋɔfʊl] adj.【口】极坏的，极糟的

excruciating [ɪkˋskruʃɪ͵etɪŋ] adj. 令人难以忍受的

serotonin [͵sɛrəˋtonɪn] n.（血液中的）血清素

seizure [ˋsiʒɚ] n.（病的）发作; 痉挛

botulism [ˋbɑtʃə͵lɪzəm] n. 肉毒（杆）菌﹐腊肠毒菌病

godsend [ˋgɑd͵sɛnd] n. 天赐之物

nausea [ˋnɔʃɪə] n.【正式】恶心; 呕吐感

soreness [ˋsornɪs] n. 疼痛

Sentence of the Day

That hit the nail on the head.

那是正中要害，一针见血。

hit the nail on the head  说得中肯; 打中要害