人死後會發生什麼事？：英語精讀講義

What happens when you finally kick the bucket, so to speak? 講解

打個比方，當你最終「翹辮子」時會發生什麼事？

Despite our mostly science-grounded views on death these days, 文法

儘管如今我們對死亡的看法大多基於科學，

it seems many of us believe in life after it.

似乎我們許多人仍然相信死後有來生。

In 2014, UK citizens were polled by The Telegraph

2014年，《每日電訊報》對英國公民進行了民意調查，

and just under 60% of respondents said they believed some part of us lives on. 講解

近60%的受訪者表示，他們相信我們的某部分靈魂會繼續存活。

In the US, still a very Christian nation,

在美國這個仍然極具基督教色彩的國家，

Pew Research in 2015 asked people what happened after you die.

皮尤研究中心在2015年詢問人們死後會發生什麼。

The survey found that 72% of Americans believed you go to heaven,

調查發現，72%的美國人相信你會上天堂，

which was described as a place where people who have led good lives are eternally rewarded. 片語搭配

那裡被描述為讓行善一生的人獲得永恆獎賞的地方。

54% of US adults replied that they believed in hell,

54%的美國成年人回答他們相信地獄的存在，

which was described as a place where people who have led bad lives

那裡被描述為作惡多端

and die without being sorry are eternally punished. 文法

且死不知悔改的人受到永恆懲罰的地方。

With that in mind, welcome to this episode of The Infographics Show, 表達脈絡

帶著這些疑問，歡迎收看本期《資訊圖表秀》，

What Happens When You Die.

當你死後會發生什麼事。

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

別忘了訂閱並點擊小鈴鐺按鈕，加入我們的通知小分隊。

It seems a lot of people do believe that after death

似乎確實有很多人相信，死後

we might be ensconced in some cloud-strewn paradise or conversely, 講解

我們可能會置身於雲霧繚繞的天堂中，或者相反，

if we haven't adhered to the ethics prescribed to us by our chosen religion 片語搭配

如果我們沒有遵守我們所信仰的宗教

or denomination of that religion,

或該宗教的教派為我們規定的道德規範，

we might be faced with eternal hellfire 片語搭配

我們可能會面臨永恆的地獄之火，

and the prospect of groveling to a bearded red man who hardly ever puts down his pitchfork.

以及對一個拿著乾草叉不放的紅臉大鬍子男人搖尾乞憐的境地。

But let's start with some empirical realism 表達脈絡

但讓我們從一些經驗現實主義開始，

and what actually happens to the body when we die.

看看我們死後身體到底會發生什麼。

Physicians know you're dead because the heart stops beating

醫師判斷你死了，是因為心臟停止了跳動，

and there is no longer any electrical activity in your brain.

並且你的大腦不再有任何電活動。

Brain death equals dead,

腦死就等於死亡，

although machines can keep you going a little bit longer. 片語搭配

儘管機器可以讓你維持稍長一點的時間。

You can also have what's called a cardiac death, 片語搭配

你可能會經歷所謂的「心臟性死亡」，

which means the heart stops beating

這意味著心臟停止跳動，

and blood no longer flows through your body.

血液不再流經你的身體。

The strange, even wonderful thing is

奇怪甚至奇妙的是，

people that have suffered cardiac death

有些經歷了心臟性死亡

but have been brought back to life 片語搭配

但又被救活的人

have said they were aware of what was going on around them. 片語動詞

曾說他們知道周圍發生的事情。

Others have talked about walking towards a light in such a near-death experience. 用詞

還有人談到在這樣的瀕死經驗中走向一道光。

You can be brought back from what we call clinical death, 用詞

你可以從我們所說的臨床死亡中被救回，

but you only have a grace period of about 4 to 6 minutes. 用詞

但你只有大約4到6分鐘的寬限期。

But let's say you get to the light and pass through. 語氣意圖

但假設你走向了那道光並穿過了它。

This is what we call biological death. 用詞

這就是我們所說的生物學死亡。

Game over, 慣用語

遊戲結束，

the final whistle, dead as a dodo. 慣用語

終場哨響，死透了。

This is where it gets kind of undignified,

接下來就會變得有些不體面了，

but what do you care?

但你還在乎什麼呢？

You're dead.

你已經死了。

Once you're definitely no longer with us, 慣用語

一旦你確定已經離開人世，

your muscles relax

你的肌肉會放鬆，

and this means your sphincter will too,

這意味著你的括約肌也會放鬆，

meaning that triple Whopper and large fries you had for lunch will spill out of you.

也就是說，你午餐吃的三層華堡和大份薯條都會排泄出來。

The gas you have in you may also leak out and cause a stink.

你體內的氣體也可能會洩漏出來，引起惡臭。

The same goes for the pee you've got in your bladder. 片語搭配

膀胱裡的尿液也是如此。

So dying, not surprisingly, is a bit of a messy affair.

所以不出所料，死亡是一件有點髒亂的事情。

And men, you might even ejaculate.

至於男性，你甚至可能會射精。

As for women, 表達脈絡

至於女性，

you may give birth after you have died if you were pregnant,

如果你懷孕了，你可能會在死後分娩，

which is something called coffin birth. 用詞

這被稱為「棺材產子」。

It doesn't happen often, though.

不過，這種情況並不常發生。

Instead of pushing, 文法

這不是靠肌肉推擠，

it's the gases in the abdomen that squeeze the newborn into the world.

而是腹部產生的氣體將新生兒擠出體外。

As the body gets rid of what is trapped inside, 片語動詞

當屍體排出被困在裡面的東西時，

noises may be emitted from your mouth as air escapes.

隨著空氣的逸出，你的嘴裡可能會發出聲音。

Nurses and people working close to dead bodies

護理師和靠近屍體工作的人員

have regularly reported hearing very alive-sounding moans and groans coming from dead bodies.

經常報告聽到屍體發出非常像活人的呻吟聲。

You may twitch,

你可能會抽搐，

but this doesn't mean there is life in you.

但這並不意味著你還活著。

These are just muscle contractions.

這些只是肌肉收縮。

You could also soon get an erection if you died lying on your stomach and the blood flowed down there.

如果你是趴著死的並且血液流向了下半身，你也可能很快會勃起。

All your blood will pool to a certain area of your body.

你全身的血液都會匯聚到身體的某個區域。

This is called livor mortis 用詞

這叫屍斑，

and it's the reason parts of you will have that dark purple color you have seen on TV.

這就是為什麼你身體的某些部位會呈現出你在電視上看到的那種深紫色。

These are the lovely things that can happen quite shortly after you go.

這些都是你死後不久可能發生的「美好」事情。

With no blood flowing through your body,

因為沒有血液流經你的身體，

it will begin to cool down, known as algor mortis or simply death chill. 用詞

它會開始降溫，這被稱為屍冷或死亡寒冷。

It will keep cooling until it is the same temperature as your surroundings.

它會不斷冷卻，直到與周圍環境的溫度相同。

You will become stiff within about 2 to 6 hours

大約2到6小時內你會變得僵硬，

and this we call rigor mortis. 用詞

我們稱之為屍僵。

This is because calcium is getting into your muscle cells.

這是因為鈣正在進入你的肌肉細胞。

Cells break down without blood flow

沒有血流，細胞就會分解，

and this leads to bacteria growth and that's why you start to decompose. 片語搭配

這會導致細菌孳生，這就是你開始腐爛的原因。

You may look like your hair or your nails have grown,

你看起來可能像是頭髮或指甲長長了，

but that isn't the case. 片語搭配

但實際情況並非如此。

What is happening is that your skin is receding,

發生的是你的皮膚正在萎縮退化，

giving the impression of growth. 片語搭配

給人一種生長的錯覺。

The skin will loosen too

皮膚也會變得鬆弛，

and blisters will appear on the body.

身體上會出現水泡。

The next stage is putrefaction, 用詞

下一個階段是腐敗，

when bacteria and microorganisms start feasting on you.

此時細菌和微生物開始享用你。

You'll soon start to stink as bad as anything you could have imagined while you were alive. 文法

你很快就會發出惡臭，臭味絕對超出你活著時能想像的任何味道。

One person described the smell as rotten eggs, feces,

有人形容那種氣味就像臭雞蛋、糞便

and a used toilet left out for a month times 1,000.

和一個放了一個月的用過馬桶混合起來再放大1000倍。

It is unholy.

簡直是邪門了。

Soon everything that is soft becomes liquefied

很快所有柔軟的東西都會變成液體，

with things like bones, cartilage, and hair remaining strong.

像骨頭、軟骨和頭髮等東西依然保留著。

You're already well on your way to decomposing by the time you are being put in the ground, 講解

當你被埋進土裡時，你已經處於深度腐爛的狀態，

but if embalmed and buried, decomposition could be a slow process. 文法

但如果進行了防腐處理並埋葬，腐爛可能是一個緩慢的過程。

Left above ground,

如果留在地面上，

you'll be a liquefied mess within about a month,

大約一個月內你就會變成一灘液體，

feasted on by insects, maggots, plants, and animals.

成為昆蟲、蛆蟲、植物和動物的美餐。

Underground,

如果在地下，

some experts say it might take 8 to 12 years

一些專家說可能需要8到12年

before you are reduced to nothing but a skeleton. 片語搭配

你才會變成一具白骨。

After around 50 years,

大約50年後，

even your bones will become part of the Earth.

甚至你的骨頭也會化為塵土。

We should add the rate of decomposition depends on all manner of factors, 片語搭配

我們應該補充一點，腐爛的速度取決於各種因素，

too many to list here,

多到在這裡無法一一列舉，

but we think you get the picture. 慣用語

但我們想你已經明白是怎麼回事了。

While some people report that their near-death experience was a scene to behold, 慣用語

雖然有些人報告說他們的瀕死經驗是一場令人驚嘆的景象，

that's not always the case.

但情況並非總是如此。

One person writing on Reddit said his experience was as follows: 片語搭配

一個人在Reddit上寫道他的經歷是這樣的：

"It was just black emptiness,

「那只是一片黑色的空虛，

no thoughts,

沒有思想，

no consciousness, nothing."

沒有意識，什麼都沒有。」

Is there really something else?

真的還有其他東西嗎？

French philosopher René Descartes believed the soul was separate from the body,

法國哲學家勒內·笛卡兒認為靈魂與身體是分離的，

as many religions will tell you,

正如許多宗教會告訴你的那樣，

and perhaps when we die,

也許我們死後，

something lingers on. 片語動詞

還有什麼東西存留。

Friedrich Nietzsche talked about the concept of eternal recurrence or eternal return, 文化背景

弗里德里希·尼采談到了永恆輪迴或永恆回歸的概念，

meaning all existence or energy in the universe has forever

意思是在宇宙中所有的存在或能量已經永遠存在，

and will forever keep repeating itself ad infinitum. 用詞

並且將無限期地永遠重複自身。

You live the same life again and again forever.

你一遍又一遍地過著同樣的生活，永遠如此。

Now, doesn't that make you want to live well? 語氣意圖

現在，這難道不讓你想要好好生活嗎？

Here we can make similarities to the Buddhist belief of the wheel of samsara, 講解

在這裡我們可以將其與佛教中關於輪迴的信仰進行類比，

where in all souls or lives will begin a cycle again after death,

在佛教中，所有的靈魂或生命在死後都會重新開始循環，

except not the same exact life,

只不過不是完全相同的生活，

something we call reincarnation,

這就是我們所說的轉世，

which some people say is connected to what we sometimes call déjà vu.

有人說這與我們有時所說的「既視感」有關。

Buddhists believe we can end this vicious cycle 慣用語

佛教徒相信我們可以結束這種惡性循環，

if we can become truly enlightened,

如果我們能夠真正開悟，

therefore achieving nirvana.

從而達到涅槃。

Or do we make our way to heaven after our body stop working, 片語搭配

又或者在我們的身體停止運作後，我們會前往天堂，

tipping our cap to Saint Peter at the pearly gates, 講解

在珍珠門向聖彼得脫帽致敬，

hoping he won't deny us entrance for stealing that candy bar when we went on a school trip to Niagara Falls?

希望他不會因為我們在去尼加拉大瀑布的學校旅行時偷了一塊糖果而拒絕我們入內？

Will we be taken into paradise,

我們會被帶入天堂嗎，

a place replete with excellent foods 用詞

一個充滿了絕頂美食

and gorgeous maidens that make your dead knees go weak? 慣用語

和美貌少女讓你死去的膝蓋發軟的地方？

Or will we simply seed the Earth?

還是我們只是化為泥土播種地球？

Are souls nothing more than a worldly fancy that took our minds off our cosmic insignificance 講解

靈魂難道只是一種世俗的幻想，好讓我們的心思從自身在宇宙的微不足道中抽離，

and the feeling of futility that we sometimes experience here on terra firma? 用詞

並藉此擺脫我們在這片堅實大地上偶爾會感受到的無意義感嗎？

Well, this video was pretty grim. 用詞

好吧，這個影片內容相當沉重。

Let's for a second step away and think about your life now 片語動詞

讓我們暫時抽離一下，想想你現在的生活，

and how you can make it better.

以及你怎樣才能讓它變得更好。

If you are one of the many living people who are running a business or thinking of starting one, 片語搭配

如果你是眾多正在經營企業或打算創業的人之一，

you probably need a website.

你可能需要一個網站。

But since we all have limited time on Earth,

但既然我們在地球上的時間都有限，

you don't want to spend too much time figuring out 片語動詞

你肯定不想花太多時間去琢磨

how to set everything up 片語動詞

如何把一切設定好，

and then keep on worrying about maintenance. 文法

然後還要不斷擔心維護的問題。

We share that mentality and that's why we love using Squarespace.

我們有同樣的感受，這就是為什麼我們喜歡使用Squarespace。

Squarespace has a huge library of beautiful designer templates

Squarespace擁有一個巨大的美麗設計師模板庫，

so that you can be up and running within minutes. 慣用語

讓你可以幾分鐘內建立並執行網站。

You will never again have to install, patch, or upgrade

你再也不需要在你的網站上

any components on your website ever again.

安裝、修補或升級任何組件了。

If you already have your domain and are hesitating about switching to Squarespace because of that, 文法

如果你已經有了自己的網域，正因此猶豫是否要切換到Squarespace，

there's nothing to worry about. 片語搭配

那就完全不用擔心。

You can now transfer your third-party domains to Squarespace.

你現在可以將第三方網域轉移到Squarespace了。

Instead of working with multiple vendors to maintain your online presence,

你無需與多家供應商打交道來維持你的線上業務，

you are able to manage all of your domain

你可以在Squarespace上管理所有的網域

and billing settings with Squarespace

和計費設定，

and take advantage of their easy-to-use DNS interface. 片語搭配

並利用他們易於使用的DNS介面。

Do you hear that?

聽到了嗎？

That's destiny calling 慣用語

那是命運的召喚，

and it says you need a new website.

它說你需要一個新網站。

So make it with Squarespace.

所以用Squarespace來做吧。

Check out squarespace.com for a free trial 片語動詞

造訪squarespace.com免費試用，

and when you're ready to launch,

當你準備好發布時，

go to squarespace.com/infographics

前往squarespace.com/infographics，

to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

首次購買網站或網域即可享有九折優惠。