咖啡因是世界上最好的药物：英语精读讲义

Every day the world consumes 300 tons of caffeine,

每天全球消耗300吨咖啡因，

enough for one cup of coffee for every man, woman, and child. 語法

足够给每个男人、女人和孩子提供一杯咖啡。

The world's largest buyer of coffee, the US,

全球最大的咖啡买家美国，

has to import nearly all of this as the coffee trees from which caffeine is harvested 語法

几乎得进口所有这些咖啡，因为生产咖啡因的咖啡树

will only grow at commercial levels between the Tropic of Cancer 文化背景

只能在北回归线

and the Tropic of Capricorn,

和南回归线之间以商业规模种植，

in an area called the coffee belt. 文化背景

这个区域被称为咖啡带。

Only a single state, Hawaii,

只有夏威夷一个州，

is within this belt.

位于这个带内。

However,

然而，

the United States is only the largest buyer because it's so populous.

美国之所以成为最大的买家，仅仅是因为人口众多。

The most enthusiastic coffee drinkers per capita are, 用詞

人均最狂热的咖啡饮用者是，

in increasing order, 短語搭配

按递增顺序排列，

the Netherlands, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and the world champions, Finland,

荷兰、丹麦、冰岛、挪威，以及世界冠军芬兰，

where they drink three times as much coffee a day as the average American. 語法

他们每天喝的咖啡是普通美国人的三倍。

All of these countries are outside the coffee belt and must import 100% of their caffeine supply.

所有这些国家都不在咖啡带内，必须100%进口他们的咖啡因供应。

To get this caffeine,

为了获得这种咖啡因，

first bees must pollinate the flowers of a coffee tree,

首先蜜蜂必须给咖啡树的花授粉，

and these flowers develop into bright red berries. 短語搭配

然后这些花发育成鲜红色的浆果。

Unlike more cooperative domestic plants, 語法

与更配合的家养植物不同，

the coffee tree does not ripen all its berries at the same time,

咖啡树不会让所有浆果同时成熟，

so they need to be handpicked and sorted. 語法

所以它们需要手工采摘和分拣。

Once picked, 語法

采摘后，

the coffee bean is removed from inside the berry.

咖啡豆从浆果中被取出。

This young seedling of the tree is then dried, heated, ground,

这颗幼小的树苗随后被干燥、加热、研磨，

and submerged in boiling water to get out the precious, precious caffeine. 短語搭配

并浸入沸水中，以提取出极其珍贵的咖啡因。

It takes about 40 coffee beans to make one shot of espresso. 語法

制作一杯浓缩咖啡大约需要40颗咖啡豆。

But why is caffeine in the coffee beans in the first place? 短語搭配

但是，为什么咖啡因一开始会存在于咖啡豆中呢？

It's not like the coffee trees want to have humans cutting bits off of them 語氣意圖

这可不是因为咖啡树想让人类把它们切成碎片，

and committing a holocaust of their offspring. 用詞

并对它们的后代进行大屠杀。

Well, the trees, of course, don't want or feel anything.

好吧，树木当然没有欲望，也感觉不到任何东西。

They originally evolved caffeine for their own benefit. 短語搭配

它们最初进化出咖啡因是为了自己的利益。

Caffeine is an insecticide that effectively paralyzes or kills bugs chomping on the tree. 用詞

咖啡因是一种杀虫剂，能有效麻痹或杀死啃食咖啡树的虫子。

Whether or not these insects go out experiencing the greatest caffeine high ever is not known. 語法

这些昆虫在嗝屁前是否体验了史无前例的咖啡因狂嗨，就不得而知了。

While caffeine is technically lethal,

虽然咖啡因在技术上是致命的，

it's adapted for 1 gram bugs,

但它是为1克的虫子准备的，

not monkeys a 100,000 times more massive,

而不是质量大10万倍的猴子，

so you'd really have to try to win this Darwin award. 文化背景

所以你真的得非常努力才能赢得这个达尔文奖。

But if you must, 語氣意圖

但如果你非要这么做，

to calculate the dose of caffeine you'll need to ingest to have a 50% chance of death,

计算你有50%几率致死的咖啡因摄入量，

take your mass in kilograms and multiply it by 150 mg.

请用你以公斤为单位的体重乘以150毫克。

Or in terms of coffee, 短語搭配

或者用咖啡来换算，

for every kilogram of mass you have, 語法

你的体重每有一公斤，

you need to drink one latte to get a visit from the Grim Reaper. 文化背景

你就需要喝一杯拿铁才能见到死神。

That's a lot of coffee,

那可是很多咖啡，

so it's not surprising that there are no recorded deaths in healthy adults from this method. 語法

所以这种方法没有健康成年人死亡的记录，也就不足为奇了。

And it's doubtful that it's even possible,

这甚至值得怀疑是否可能，

because while you're busy getting coffee in, 表達脈絡

因为当你忙着把咖啡灌进去时，

your body is busy getting it out by one way or another. 習語

你的身体正忙着通过各种方式把它排出去。

The rare recorded deaths from caffeine are from diet pills, pep pills,

罕见的咖啡因死亡记录来自于减肥药、提神药，

and crazy people who eat the drug in its pure form.

以及吃纯态这种药物的疯子。

Poison though caffeine is, 語法

尽管咖啡因有毒，

you do still develop an addiction to this stuff, 語法

你仍然会对这东西上瘾，

and it's a real physiological addiction,

而且这是一种真实的生理成瘾，

not a wimpy psychological addiction like people claim for video games and the internet.

而不是像人们宣称的对电子游戏和互联网那种软弱的心理成瘾。

But caffeine isn't heroin,

但咖啡因不是海洛因，

rapid withdrawal won't kill you.

快速戒断不会杀了你。

It might make you cranky and give you a wicked headache, 用詞

它可能会让你暴躁，让你头痛欲裂，

but since caffeine releases dopamine to make you happy and it gets rid of headaches, 短語動詞

但由于咖啡因会释放多巴胺让你快乐，并能消除头痛，

there's really no reason to ever stop using this stuff.

真的没有理由停止使用这东西。

And who would want to give it up anyway? 短語動詞

况且，又有谁会想戒掉它呢？

I mean, aside from converts to Mormonism and Rastafarianism. 文化背景

我的意思是，除了皈依摩门教和拉斯塔法里教的人。

Caffeine is the world's most used psychoactive drug, 用詞

咖啡因是世界上使用最广泛的精神活性药物，

and with good reason.

且理由充分。

It's pure awesome.

它简直棒极了。

It increases concentration, decreases fatigue, and gives you better memory.

它能提高注意力、减少疲劳，并给你更好的记忆力。

And this isn't just a placebo, 用詞

这不仅仅是安慰剂效应，

these are real effects replicable in a laboratory. 用詞

这些是可以在实验室复制的真实效果。

And, contrary to popular belief, 短語搭配

而且，与普遍的看法相反，

drinking coffee isn't a Faustian bargain where the devil gives you the ability to work faster, 文化背景

喝咖啡不是一种浮士德式的交易：魔鬼给你更快工作的能力，

but in exchange makes your life shorter. 短語搭配

但作为交换会让你的寿命缩短。

For normal healthy humans,

对于正常的健康人类，

there are no medical concerns.

没有任何医疗顾虑。

Coffee and the caffeine within it may even have medical benefits

咖啡和其中的咖啡因甚至可能有医疗益处，

such as protection from cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and Parkinson's.

例如预防心血管疾病、糖尿病和帕金森症。

Caffeine can even get rid of migraines,

咖啡因甚至可以消除偏头痛，

but the amount required and the method of ingestion is uncomfortable. 用詞

但所需的剂量和摄入方法令人不适。

Moving right along. 表達脈絡

好了，继续说。

You know what else you can thank caffeine for? 表達脈絡

你知道还有什么是可以归功于咖啡因的吗？

A little thing called the Enlightenment. 文化背景

一件叫做启蒙运动的小事。

In the 1600s,

在17世纪，

people drank more beer and gin than water,

人们喝的啤酒和杜松子酒比水还多，

but with the introduction of coffee and tea,

但随着咖啡和茶的引入，

people switched from a depressant to a stimulant. 短語搭配

人们从镇静剂转向了兴奋剂。

It's not surprising then that this time was an intellectual boon compared to earlier centuries. 用詞

毫不奇怪，与早先的世纪相比，这个时期是一个智力爆发的时代。

Ben Franklin and Edward Lloyd loved their coffee for the same reason that modern workers and students do. 語法

本·富兰克林和爱德华·劳埃德热爱他们的咖啡，其原因与现代工人和学生一样。

It's invaluable for staying awake and concentrating 短語搭配

它对于保持清醒和集中注意力是无价的，

when you need to finish a TPS report or get through that boring physics class. 講解

尤其是当你需要完成一份TPS报告或熬过那枯燥的物理课时。

Coffee is the fuel of the modern world, 習語

咖啡是现代世界的燃料，

so go grab a cup guilt-free and get working smarter and faster. 講解

所以放心去喝一杯吧，聪明而快速地工作起来。