【52】水葬

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Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English

大家好，欢迎收听六分钟英语。

– the show that brings you an interesting topic, authentic listening practice and six new items of vocabulary. I’m Dan…

该节目会奉上有趣的话题，纯正的听力练习以及六个新单词。我是丹。

And I’m Neil. In this episode we’ll be discussing water burial.

我是尼尔。今天这集节目中，我们要谈论水葬。

Yes. It’s a bit of a bleak subject, I’m afraid.

是的。恐怕这是个有点阴郁的话题。

Something which is bleak is unpleasant or without hope.

阴郁的是指不愉快的，没有希望的。

And, do you know what’s really bleak?

你知道什么才是真的阴郁吗？

It’s this week’s question.

是今天的问题。

On average, how many people die each hour?

平均每小时有多少人死亡呢？

a) six thousand b) sixty thousand c) six hundred thousand

a) 六千 b) 六万 c) 六十万

I am going to guess b) sixty thousand.

我猜是六万。

And we’ll find out if you’re right or not at the end of this show.

节目的最后我们再来看你回答得是否正确。

So, the actual figure is 55m people each year.

真实的数字是每年有5500万人死亡。

Now, religious or not, there is a practical issue to be dealt with, which is, Neil?

无论有无宗教信仰，有一个必须要面对的实际问题，那就是，尼尔你说呢？

What to do with the body?

我们如何处理尸体？

Exactly! So what are the options for the average person?

没错！一般人有什么选择呢？

Well, there’s burial, or there’s cremation.

土葬或火化。

Burial is when a body is put into the earth and cremation is when a body is burnt.

土葬是指将尸体埋进土里，火化是指将尸体烧掉。

But there are big problems with both.

但这两个选择都有大问题。

For example, what two things do most people need in order to be buried?

例如，大多人要想土葬需要哪两样东西呢？

Well, a coffin – or a box to put the body in and a grave.

一副棺材，也就是放置尸体的盒子，还有一座墓。

That’s the place the coffin and body go into.

也就是放入棺材和尸体的地方。

Exactly, but coffins are most often made of wood.

是的。但棺材大多由木头制成。

In the US they use four million acres of forest every year just to make coffins.

在美国，每年有四百万英亩的森林被用来做棺材。

And as for graves, cemeteries are beginning to get overcrowded – there’s no space left!

至于坟墓，墓地已经开始过于拥挤了，没剩下的地方了。

After all, dying is not exactly a new thing!

毕竟，死亡不是一件新鲜事。

It’s been happening for years.

年年都有死亡发生。

Aha, but with cremation, there’s no space needed.

但如果火化的话，就不需要地方了。

And they burn gas to dispose of the body. That’s got to be better.

火化通过燃烧气体处理尸体。这会好一些。

You’d think so, but no. I’ll let Sahar Zand, reporter for the BBC, explain why.

你也许是这么想。但其实不是的。我让BBC记者萨哈·赞德解释为什么。

During the process, a number of toxins can be emitted into our environment, including mercury from dental fillings.

在这个过程中，很多毒素被释放在环境中，包括从牙齿中而来的水银。

Cremation also has a carbon cost.

而且火化有碳成本。

With the energy used to process one body, you could actually heat a home for the best part of a week in winter

处理尸体所需的能量，足够给一个屋子供暖一周。

So cremation can release toxins, or poisons, into the environment

所以火化会向环境中释放有毒物质，

and it comes with a very high energy cost – enough to heat a home for almost a week!

而且能量消耗的代价高，足够给一个屋子供暖一周。

OK. I can see a smug look in your eye, Dan.

没错。我看到你眼中洋洋得意的神情。

What do you have up your sleeve?

你还有什么备用的方法？

It’s the latest thing. Water burial.

最后一个方法。水葬。

Water burial?

水葬？

This is where the body is put into an alkali solution and heated to 150 degrees centigrade.

是指将尸体放入碱性溶液，加热至150摄氏度。

This breaks down the tissue and leaves only the skeleton.

这会使人体组织分解，只剩下骨头。

Interesting.

有意思。

Yes! It has huge advantages over cremation.

是的。相比火化有很大的优势。

Such as?

例如？

Well for one thing, it takes only 4 hours to finish.

有一点，只需花四个小时就可以完成。

It follows the same process as when a body decomposes, but quicker.

和人体腐烂分解的过程一样，但速度更快。

When something decomposes it breaks down and decays. Ok, anything else?

某物decompose是指该物分解腐朽。还有其他的吗？

It uses much less energy.

水葬消耗的能量少。

Each body is weighed and then the computer calculates exactly how much of everything is needed.

每一个尸体会被称重，然后计算机会计算出需要多少能量。

Ok, it’s more efficient too. Why are you smiling?

这也更有效率。你笑什么？

This is the best part! Listen to Sahar again.

还有最好的部分。我们再听听萨哈怎么说。

All that’s left at this point is a brittle skeleton and any artificial implants that they may have had in their body

剩下的就是一副易碎的骨架，以及人们生前放入身体的人造移植物。

– and they come out almost as good as new.

移植物还会很完好。

There’s even talk of sending the implants to the developing world,

还可以将这些移植物寄给发展中国家，

where they can benefit populations that don’t have access to them, because they’re very expensive.

造福接触不到这些东西的人口，因为移植物都很贵。

So after the process you have a brittle, or easy to break, skeleton and any implants that they had inside them.

所以在那过程之后，还剩一副易碎的估价，以及任何人们生前放入身体的移植物。

Implants are artificial additions to the body, such as plastic hips or an artificial heart.

移植物是指身体内的人造替代品，例如假肢和人造心脏。

And they’re clean!

它们还很干净。

They can be recycled and given to someone who needs them! Isn’t that cool?

可以再循环使用，给那些需要的人。这不是很酷吗？

So, what happens to the skeleton?

那骨架怎么办？

It gets ground up into dust and put in a jar to give to the family – exactly the same as a traditional cremation.

骨架会化为尘土，放进罐子里交给家人，就和传统的火化一样。

I love it! Sign me up!

我喜欢这个！帮我申请！

Would you like to give it a shot?

你想试试看？

Well, I can’t answer that question.

我不能回答这个问题。

But can I have the answer to our quiz question?

但是能告诉我今天问题的答案吗？

Of course. I asked: On average, how many people die each hour?

当然。我问你，平均每小时有多少人死亡？

a) six thousand b) sixty thousand c) six hundred thousand

a) 六千 b) 六万 c) 六十万

I said b) sixty thousand.

我说的是六万。

And you, my friend, are dead in the water.

我的朋友，你没什么指望了。

Unfortunately, it’s a) six thousand

很不幸，答案是六千。

Ok. Well that’s probably better, isn’t it?

这也许更好，不是吗？

Yes.

是的。

Shall we have a look at the vocabulary then?

我们接下来看看单词吧？

Certainly. Our first word was bleak meaning something unhappy, unpleasant or without hope.

当然。第一个单词是阴郁的，指不开心，不愉快，没有希望。

What types of things do we typically describe as bleak, Neil?

我们通常会将什么描述为阴郁的？

Oh, the weather in the UK can be bleak.

英国的天气是阴郁的。

It’s very, very dark in the winter.

冬天非常非常暗。

Next we had grave. A grave is a hole in the earth where a body is placed.

之后我们谈到坟墓。坟墓是指将尸体放入土中的那个洞。

However, there is another use.

然而，还有其他的用法。

Yes. We can talk about a situation being grave.

没错。我们可以说气氛严肃。

The outbreak of war is a very grave situation for many people.

对很多人来说，战争的爆发是一个很严肃的氛围。

Then we had toxin. A toxin is a substance which is poisonous.

然后我们谈到毒物。它是指有毒的物质。

Have you ever been poisoned by a toxin, Neil?

你曾经因为毒物中毒过吗？

Well, I suppose so, yes. I’ve had food poisoning and that’s caused by toxins.

我想是有过的。我曾经食品中毒，因有毒物质所致。

After that was decompose. When something decomposes, it breaks down and decays.

那之后我们还提到分解。某物分解是指某物腐朽。

Much like when fruit goes bad and turns black and then becomes liquid.

就像水果变质、发黑，然后变为液体。

Then we had brittle. Something which is brittle is easily broken.

我们之后提到易碎的。是指很容易破碎的。

For example, Neil?

举个例子，尼尔？

Glass, crockery, tiles and some plastic. Crisps!

玻璃、陶器、瓷砖、某些塑料。还有薯片！

And finally we had implant.

最后我们讲到移植物。

An implant is something artificial which has been put into the body – such as an artificial heart or a replacement hip.

移植物是指放入身体的人造替代品，例如人造心脏或假肢。

Would you like to have any implants, Dan?

你想有移植物吗？

I’d quite like robotic legs.

我想按个机器人腿。

Then I could run faster than anyone!

这样我就比任何人都跑得快。

Well, we’ve run out of time, so that’s the end of today’s 6 Minute English.

我们的时间到了，今天的六分钟英语到这里就结束了。

Please join us again soon!

我们下次再会！

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