人类能体验到的最痛苦的事：英语精读讲义

Have you ever wondered how much pain you could endure? 語法

你是否曾想过自己能忍受多少疼痛？

It's not such a merry subject to muse upon, 用詞

这并非一个令人愉快的思考话题，

but you can be sure whatever kinds of physical distress you have imagined,

但你可以确定，无论你想象过哪种肉体上的痛苦，

someone somewhere on the planet at one point in time had to suffer it.

在地球上的某个地方，某个人在某个时间点一定经历过。

When imagining such gruesome scenarios,

在想象这些可怕的场景时，

we often invoke methods of torture.

我们常常会想到酷刑。

The grim fiction of Hollywood films depicting ad hoc tooth extraction 用詞

比如好莱坞电影中描绘残酷的拔牙场景，

or the fingernails being ripped from their rightful place.

或是生生拔去指甲的可怕虚构画面。

We might also cast our minds back to ancient and medieval history when humans were burnt at the stake, 講解

我们可能还会回想古代和中世纪的历史，那时人们被绑在火刑柱上烧死，

had their limbs ripped off, or their hearts ripped out.

被四马分尸，或者被掏出心脏。

Today we will focus not so much on those macabre aspects of human nature, 語法

今天，我们不会把重点放在人性中那些令人毛骨悚然的方面，

but on pains any one of us could suffer today.

而是关注我们任何人在今天都有可能遭受的疼痛。

Join us on this excruciating tour of how much we can hurt.

和我们一起开启这场探寻人类痛苦极限的煎熬之旅吧。

In this episode of The Infographics Show,

在本期 The Infographics Show 中，

The Most Painful Things a Human Can Experience.

探讨《人类能体验到的最痛苦的事情》。

Don't forget to subscribe and click the bell button so that you can be part of our notification squad.

别忘了订阅并点击小铃铛按钮，这样你就能加入我们的通知小分队。

First of all, we should talk a little about pain itself.

首先，我们需要谈谈疼痛本身。

We all deal with it differently.

我们每个人应对疼痛的方式各不相同。

While some studies show men seem to tolerate it better.

虽然有些研究表明男性似乎更能忍受疼痛。

For a long time it was thought to be the opposite as women's bodies and minds are equipped to deal with childbirth. 講解

但长期以来，人们认为情况恰恰相反，因为女性的身心生来就能应对分娩的剧痛。

The outcome of the studies was also said to be the result of men tolerating more pain

也有人指出，研究结果中男性表现出更能忍受疼痛，

because of prescribed social notions of masculinity and not necessarily having a natural endowment to tolerate more pain. 用詞

是因为社会对男性气质的既定观念，而不一定是因为他们天生耐痛能力更强。

How do we even find subjects to test pain limits so we can quantify pain?

我们究竟如何找到测试对象来测试疼痛极限以便量化疼痛呢？

Subjects at Cornell University did just that in the 1940s

在 20 世纪 40 年代，康奈尔大学的受试者就是这么做的，

in what was called Studies On Pain,

这项研究被称为《疼痛研究》，

A New Method for Measuring Pain Threshold.

即《一种测量痛阈的新方法》。

Childbirth was measured against burning with a pregnant woman being burned as she was giving birth. 短語搭配

分娩疼痛被用来与烧伤疼痛作比较，当时甚至让一名孕妇在分娩时遭受烧伤。

Tech media Gizmodo writes,

科技媒体 Gizmodo 写道，

as the heat blistered her hand,

随着高温在她的手上烫出水泡，

the subject helped establish a value of pain intensity in childbirth.

这名受试者帮助确立了分娩疼痛强度的数值。

The problem was, in other studies on pain,

问题在于，在其他的疼痛研究中，

people just couldn't take the level of pain further and so it couldn't be measured.

人们根本无法忍受更高程度的疼痛，因此也就无法测量。

There have been various scales to measure pain,

如今已经有各种衡量疼痛的等级标准，

but none are conclusive.

但都没有定论。

For instance,

例如，

some people might pass out quicker than others due to excessive pain. 短語動詞

因为剧烈疼痛，有些人可能会比其他人更快晕厥。

This happens when the stress on the body affects the blood flow to the brain.

当身体承受的压力影响到大脑的血液流动时，就会发生这种情况。

You pass out and your body gives you a well deserved break.

你会晕倒，你的身体也会给你一个应得的休息。

While you were out,

在你昏迷期间，

your brain starts releasing serotonin and endorphins,

你的大脑开始释放血清素和内啡肽，

so you'll wake up in a better state.

这样你醒来时状态会更好。

Going into shock is quite common. 短語搭配

陷入休克是很常见的。

So if you've ever been unfortunate enough to see anyone lose a limb or limbs, 語法

因此，如果你曾不幸看到有人失去一条或多条肢体，

you might not see them screaming.

你可能不会看到他们尖叫。

The brain has its own painkiller system when you are in dire need of it. 短語搭配

在你迫切需要的时候，大脑有它自己的止痛系统。

While we cannot measure the most painful experience,

虽然我们无法准确测量出最痛苦的经历，

we do tend to agree on what are the worst kinds of pain. 語法

但在什么是最严重类型的疼痛上，我们的看法往往是一致的。

Perhaps being burned is one thing we all fear,

也许被烧伤是我们都害怕的一件事，

especially the specter of being engulfed in flames. 短語搭配

特别是被火焰吞噬的恐怖画面。

There are different types or grades of burns

烧伤有不同的类型或等级，

and perhaps some good news is that the worse the burn, 語法

也许一些好消息是，烧伤得越严重，

the lesser pain you might have due to damage to your nerve endings.

由于神经末梢受损，你感受到的疼痛可能会越少。

So fourth degree burns that have basically barbecued you and sent you into shock

因此，几乎把你烤熟并让你陷入休克的四度烧伤，

may not be as painful as third or even second degree burns. 語法

可能没有三度甚至二度烧伤那么痛。

Most pain victims will tell you the worst part is the treatment.

多数遭受疼痛折磨的人会告诉你，最糟糕的部分是治疗。

One of the worst realizations is that the pain only gets worse when the fire is out,

最令人绝望的认知之一是，火扑灭后，疼痛只会加剧，

said one man on a Reddit thread discussing burns.

一位在 Reddit 讨论烧伤的帖子里留言的男士说。

Another agreed, the really excruciating part is the treatment.

另一个人也同意，真正让人痛不欲生的是治疗过程。

Some insect stings,

某些昆虫的蜇伤，

in fact,

实际上，

are supposed to hurt as much as burns.

痛感不亚于烧伤。

Of all the stings out there,

在所有叮咬人的昆虫中，

the bullet ant delivers the worst of the worst. 習語

子弹蚁带来的痛感是最剧烈的。

Dr. Justin O. Schmidt,

贾斯汀·O·施密特博士，

who created the insect sting pain index,

创建了昆虫叮咬疼痛指数，

put the bullet ant at the top 短語搭配

他将子弹蚁排在首位，

stating that being stung feels like fire walking over flaming charcoal with a 3-inch rusty nail in your heel. 表達脈絡

并指出，被它蜇到的感觉就像光脚走在燃烧的木炭上，同时脚后跟扎着一根 3 英寸长的生锈钉子。

A Brazilian tribal initiation asks tribe members to put their hand into a bullet ant glove.

巴西的一个部落的成人仪式，要求部落成员把手伸进装满子弹蚁的手套里。

See for yourself online how one gutsy Westerner deals with it, 短語搭配

你可以在网上亲眼看看一位胆大的西方人是如何应对的，

which is not very well.

显然他应对得并不好。

What looks even worse is a cluster headache. 語法

看起来更糟糕的是丛集性头痛。

Women who have experienced childbirth have said they are the worst pain imaginable.

经历过分娩的女性说，这是可以想象到的最痛苦的事情。

They happen on one side of the head and can last up to 3 hours.

它们通常发生在头部的一侧，发作时间可长达 3 小时。

Many television shows have illustrated the absolute agony people can go through, 短語動詞

许多电视节目都展示了患者可能经历的绝对痛苦，

filming sufferers screaming and rolling around on the floor.

拍摄了患者在地上尖叫打滚的画面。

According to the Migraine Trust,

根据 Migraine Trust 的数据，

they only affect about one or two out of every 1,000 people, 語法

每 1,000 人中只有一两人患病，

but the bad news is that they are thought to be incurable.

但坏消息是，这种病被认为是无法治愈的。

Victims won't die or even suffer anything other than the pain itself.

患者不会因此死亡，除了疼痛本身外甚至也不会遭受其他折磨。

Writing on one treatment forum, 語法

在一个治疗论坛上，

a sufferer of these headaches said heroin, morphine,

一位这种头痛的患者写道，海洛因、吗啡

or Oxycontin didn't help him at all.

或是 Oxycontin 对他一点帮助都没有。

Some progress has been made using alternative and mostly illegal treatments

使用替代疗法（多为非法手段）取得了一些进展，

such as psilocybin mushrooms and LSD.

例如赛洛西宾蘑菇和 LSD。

According to the Daily Beast,

据 Daily Beast 报道，

LSD's discoverer Albert Hofmann was actually looking for a way to treat headaches and migraines.

LSD 的发现者阿尔伯特·霍夫曼当时实际上正在寻找一种治疗头痛和偏头痛的方法。

Britain's National Health Service has done us all a favor 短語搭配

英国国家医疗服务体系 (NHS) 帮了我们一个大忙，

and put together a list of what it says are the world's worst conditions in terms of pain. 講解

整理了一份它认为是世界上最痛疾病的清单。

You might be surprised to hear that above cluster headaches or cancer, 表達脈絡

你可能会惊讶地听到，排在丛集性头痛或癌症、

a heart attack,

心脏病发作、

gout,

痛风之上的，

the NHS puts shingles.

NHS 认为是带状疱疹。

Shingles occurs when the virus that caused the itchy nightmare of chickenpox reactivates,

带状疱疹发生在引起水痘这一发痒噩梦的病毒重新激活时，

like a Hollywood horror movie sequel.

就像好莱坞恐怖电影的续集。

When it comes back again,

当它再次卷土重来时，

it's worse than before.

情况会比以前更糟。

A more common painful condition is kidney stones.

一种更常见的疼痛疾病是肾结石。

A Reddit thread asked people to state what the most painful thing they had ever experienced was 語法

一个 Reddit 帖子问大家所经历过最痛苦的事情是什么，

and quite a few people said kidney stones.

有相当多的人说是肾结石。

The stones form when calcium and other substances in your urine build up. 短語動詞

肾结石是尿液中的钙及其他物质堆积形成的。

They can be as big as a ping pong ball

它们可以像乒乓球一样大，

and if they break up, 短語動詞

如果它们碎裂，

it can cause intense pain as you try to pass them through the urinary tract.

当你试图将它们排出尿道时，会引起剧烈的疼痛。

If it's too big,

如果结石太大，

it can be blasted into smaller pieces using shockwave therapy.

可以使用冲击波疗法将其击碎成较小的碎块。

It's probably better you don't get to that stage,

为了避免走到那一步，最好还是

so drink lots of water every day.

每天多喝水。

You might be too fit or young for kidney stones,

你可能很健康或者很年轻，不会得肾结石，

but that won't prevent bone breaks.

但这并不能防止骨折。

We've all seen sportsmen with flapping limbs looking more stunned than in pain. 語法

我们都见过肢体无力摇晃的运动员，他们看起来更多是震惊而非痛苦。

But what is the most painful bone to break?

但是折断哪块骨头最疼呢？

A broken fibula might only hurt for a few days,

腓骨骨折可能只会疼上几天，

but a broken rib could cause weeks of nagging pain and sleepless nights. 短語搭配

但肋骨骨折可能会导致数周的持续疼痛和彻夜难眠。

According to American football players and forums detailing the pain of broken bones,

根据美式橄榄球运动员以及详细描述骨折疼痛的论坛说法，

the second worst break you can have is a ruptured Achilles. 用詞

排名第二的严重骨折是跟腱断裂。

Former Oakland football star Ronald Curry described the pain as instantly excruciating

前奥克兰橄榄球明星罗纳德·库里将这种痛描述为瞬间痛彻心扉，

with the months to follow significantly worse.

而随后的几个月甚至更糟。

The winner on the worst break list, though,

然而，在最痛苦骨折榜单上夺冠的，

was the femur,

是股骨，

the biggest bone in the body.

人体中最大的骨头。

Stubbing your toe on a rusty nail could also be disastrous. 短語搭配

脚趾踢到生锈的钉子也可能是灾难性的。

There's a good reason we keep our tetanus vaccinations up to date. 短語搭配

我们不断更新破伤风疫苗接种是有充分理由的。

The CDC reports that hardly anyone dies of tetanus due to the shots we have, 語法

CDC 报告称，由于我们接种了疫苗，几乎没有人死于破伤风，

but sporadic cases do happen from time to time.

但偶尔还是会有散发病例。

It starts with lockjaw

它从牙关紧闭开始，

and then soon your whole body is suffering from spasms and locking up. 短語動詞

很快你的全身就会出现痉挛和僵硬。

According to the WHO,

根据 WHO 的数据，

hundreds of cases happen each year around the world.

全球每年发生数百起病例。

If not treated early, 語法

如果不尽早治疗，

tetanus will kill between 10 and 20% of its victims.

破伤风将导致 10% 到 20% 的患者死亡。

And what doesn't kill you might not necessarily make you stronger. 習語

那些没能杀死你的东西，也不一定能让你变得更强大。

Many people on pain forums state that tooth abscesses are the worst,

疼痛论坛上的许多人表示，牙脓肿是最糟糕的，

although one condition apparently tops it. 用詞

尽管显然还有一种病排在它之上。

This is called trigeminal neuralgia,

这就是三叉神经痛，

a disease that affects around one in every 15 to 20,000 people

一种发病率大约在 1.5 万至 2 万分之一的疾病，

and has been dubbed the suicide disease as that's what it will make you want to do. 用詞

它被称为“自杀病”，因为它会让你痛得产生自杀的念头。

People have said it's like lightning striking you in the face, 習語

人们说这种感觉就像闪电击中脸部，

describing the shock attacks when the skull's largest nerve is distressed.

他们这样描述这种当颅骨最大的神经受损时的电击样发作。

A 63-year-old woman from Wales said in an interview,

威尔士一位 63 岁的女士在接受采访时说，

it's the worst pain known to man, 用詞

这是人类已知的最严重的疼痛，

stating that neither treatment nor pain drugs have done anything to help her with this lifelong disease. 語法

并表示无论是治疗还是止痛药都无法帮助她缓解这种终身疾病。

My head goes back and I can hear screaming,

我的头向后仰，我能听到尖叫声，

she said,

她说，

adding it's only later that I realized that it was me that was screaming out in pain. 語法

并补充说直到后来我才意识到，那个因为疼痛而尖叫的人是我自己。

The Trigeminal Neuralgia Association in the UK called it the most painful condition in the world.

英国的三叉神经痛协会称其为世界上最痛的疾病。

In 2013,

2013 年，

the Daily Mail reported that 27% of sufferers kill themselves.

Daily Mail 报道称，27% 的患者会自杀。

While a few of the pains above are said to be worse than childbirth,

虽然据说上述有些疼痛比分娩更严重，

it comes very high on the pain scale. 短語搭配

但分娩在疼痛级别上依然名列前茅。

Thankfully, not as high as the suicide disease

谢天谢地，它没有自杀病那么高，

as a lot of children would be motherless.

否则很多孩子就会失去母亲。

In one interview,

在一次采访中，

a 49-year-old woman said the final push is not the worst part. 用詞

一位 49 岁的女性表示，最后的用力并不是最糟糕的部分。

The labor bit,

分娩阵痛那阵子，

she said,

她说，

is like something squeezing the crap out of your guts on a timer for what seems like eternity 講解

就像有什么东西按时挤压着你的肠子，像要把排泄物挤出来一样，仿佛永无止境，

until you're delirious with exhaustion. 短語搭配

直到你累得神志不清。

Others have described it as similar to pooping a watermelon or bowling ball.

其他人则形容这就像拉出一个西瓜或保龄球。

The worst thing is,

最糟糕的是，

it's probably the most common and natural of intense pains.

它可能是最常见、最自然的剧痛。

So, what's the worst pain you've ever experienced?

那么，你经历过的最痛的疼痛是什么？

Let us know in the comments.

请在评论区告诉我们。

Also, be sure to check out our other video called Surprisingly High Paying Jobs.

另外，一定要看看我们的另一段视频《出人意料的高薪工作》。

Thanks for watching and as always, don't forget to like, share, and subscribe.

感谢您的观看，一如既往，别忘了点赞、分享和订阅。

See you next time.

我们下次再见。