Mushrooms: Medicine or myth?

六分钟英语。

Six Minute English.

来自BBC学习英语网站。

From bbclearningenglish.com.

你好。

Hello.

这里是BBC学习英语的六分钟英语节目。

This is Six Minute English from BBC Learning English.

我是尼尔。

I'm Neil.

我是贝丝。

And I'm Beth.

狮子鬃毛或者火鸡尾这些名字，尼尔，你有听说过吗？

Do the names lion's mane or turkey tail mean anything to you, Neil?

狮子鬃毛和火鸡尾听起来像是动物园里能见到的东西。

Lion's mane and turkey tail sounds like things you might find in the zoo.

猜得不错。

Good guess.

但其实它们是两种蘑菇的名字。

But they are actually the names of mushrooms.

狮子鬃毛菇是一种白色的、毛茸茸的蘑菇，在亚洲各地都能找到。

Lion's mane is a white hairy mushroom found across Asia.

而火鸡尾菇是一种棕色的、扇形的真菌，样子有点像火鸡的尾巴。

And turkey tail is a brown fan shaped fungus which looks a bit like, well, a turkey's tail.

但如果你以前没听过这些名字，很快就会听到，因为这些蘑菇正越来越受欢迎，被用作药物。

But if you haven't already heard these names, you probably will soon because these mushrooms are becoming popular as medicine.

历史上，我们的祖先不仅把蘑菇当食物，还用它们来治疗身体疾病和抑郁症等心理问题。

Throughout history, our ancestors used mushrooms as food but also as medicine for physical problems and mental illnesses like depression.

在二十一世纪，这种疗法正在被重新发现并推向市场。

In the twenty first century, this medicine is being rediscovered and marketed.

如今，蘑菇已经成了一门大生意。

Today, mushrooms are big business.

2021年，全球药用蘑菇市场的价值已达260亿美元，并且还在持续增长。

In 2021, the global medicinal mushroom market was valued at $26,000,000,000 and growing.

但蘑菇宣称的那些健康益处到底有多真实呢？

But how real are the supposed health benefits of mushrooms?

在本期节目中，我们会一起来揭开真相，同时学习一些有用的新词汇。

In this programme, we'll be finding out along with some useful new vocabulary.

不过首先，我有个问题想问你，贝丝。

But first, I have a question for you, Beth.

蘑菇既不是植物也不是动物，它们是神秘又奇妙的存在。

Neither plant nor animal mushrooms are mysterious and amazing things.

那么，下面关于蘑菇的陈述，哪一个是正确的呢？

But which of the following statements about mushrooms is actually true?

A）大多数蘑菇有毒；B）有些蘑菇会飞；或者C）有些蘑菇会在黑暗中发光。

A) Most mushrooms are poisonous b) Some mushrooms can fly or c) Some mushrooms glow in the dark.

我觉得有些蘑菇会在黑暗中发光。

I think some mushrooms glow in the dark.

好的，贝丝。

Okay, Beth.

我们会在节目结束时揭晓这个说法是否正确。

We'll find out if that's true at the end of the programme.

科学研究者艾米莉·利明博士一直在伦敦国王学院研究蘑菇的药用特性。

Scientific researcher Doctor Emily Leeming has been studying the medicinal properties of mushrooms for King's College London.

她向BBC广播四台《食物链》节目的主持人希拉·迪伦分享了她的发现。

She shared her discoveries with Sheila Dillon, presenter of the BBC Radio four programme, The Food Chain.

我觉得现在蘑菇正处在风口上。

So I think these mushrooms are very much having a moment right now.

它们被称作超级健脑物质。

They're kind of labelled as super brain drugs.

比如可能有助于缓解焦虑、改善抑郁症状的东西。

So things that are gonna potentially help with lessening anxiety, improving potentially depression.

我们关注的主要是这些对大脑的好处。

It's very much about these mind benefits that we're seeing.

这些说法的标签现在被到处贴出来了。

The labels on the claims are getting put out there.

你对这些说法怎么看？

What do you think of those claims?

我觉得目前这些说法有点夸大其词了。

I think that at the moment, they seem to be overblown.

关于人类的证据还非常少。

We don't have as much evidence on humans at all.

限制太多了。

It's very limited.

利明博士说，现在药用蘑菇正火着呢。

Doctor Leeming says that right now medicinal mushrooms are having a moment.

如果某样东西正火着，那就是在某个时期特别流行或时髦。

If something is having a moment, it's very popular or fashionable at a particular time.

蘑菇之所以受欢迎，是因为人们声称它能带来各种好处，比如缓解抑郁。

Mushrooms are popular due to the claims about what they can do for example, reduce depression.

所谓主张，就是一种声称某事为真，但缺乏确凿证据，别人也可能不信。

A claim is a statement that something is true although it cannot be proved and others might not believe it.

利明医生认为，关于蘑菇的一些说法被夸大了，故意显得比实际情况重要得多。

Doctor Leeming thinks some of the claims made about mushrooms are overblown, exaggerated to seem more significant than they really are.

问题是，要想把一样东西当作药品销售，就必须有科学证据证明它的功效。

The problem is that to sell something as medicine, you need scientific proof of its benefits.

你喝洋甘菊茶后可能觉得没那么紧张了，但这并不意味着你可以合法地把洋甘菊称为药品，尽管它几百年来一直被用来帮助人们放松。

You might feel less stressed after drinking chamomile tea, but that doesn't mean you can legally call chamomile a medicine even though it's been used for centuries to help people relax.

然而，这并没有阻止很多人去尝试，尤其是年轻人。

However, that hasn't discouraged many from experimenting, especially young people.

艾玛·克利福德在食品研究机构英敏特工作。

Emma Clifford works for food research organisation Mintel.

她在这段BBC广播四台《食物链》节目里，谈到了年轻人对蘑菇的态度。

Here she discusses young people's attitude towards mushrooms for BBC Radio four programme, The Food Chain.

很多人非常希望食品和饮料上的健康宣称能有科学依据，因为大家对这些功能性的说法依然存在不少怀疑、不信任和困惑。

Lots of people absolutely want there to be scientific proof for health claims on food and drink because there still is a fair amount of scepticism, distrust and general confusion around functionality.

不过我觉得，对很多消费者来说，某些源自自然与传统整体智慧的成分所宣称的药用效果，可能和现代科学与临床试验的证据一样有说服力，甚至更有吸引力。

However, I also think that for many consumers, the medicinal properties of certain ingredients based on natural and holistic ancient wisdom may be just as compelling, if not more so, than knowledge based on modern science and clinical trials.

而且我觉得，尤其是年轻人，他们真的很想试试这些成分。

And I think many people, young people in particular, they're just really intrigued to give these ingredients a go.

人们希望有科学证据证明他们所服用的东西确实有益健康。

People want scientific evidence that what they are taking is good for them.

但很多人也信服传统智慧——也就是基督教传入欧洲之前就已存在的知识、哲学和信仰。

But many are also convinced by ancient wisdom, a phrase referring to knowledge, philosophy and beliefs that existed before the arrival of Christianity in Europe.

关于药用植物的传统知识一直被保留下来，有些人更信任这些经验，而不是现代医学。

Ancient knowledge about medicinal plants has been kept alive and some trust this wisdom more than modern medicine.

年轻人尤其愿意尝试蘑菇。

Young people are especially prepared to give mushrooms a go.

如果你‘试试’某样东西，就是去体验一下，看看自己喜不喜欢。

If you give something a go, you try doing something to see if you like it.

他们对蘑菇感到很好奇。

They are intrigued about mushrooms.

他们觉得这些真有意思，想多了解一些。

They find them interesting and want to know more.

这也不奇怪，毕竟蘑菇能做的事太神奇了。

Which is not surprising given some of the amazing things mushrooms can do.

我觉得是时候告诉你答案了，尼尔。

I think it's time to reveal the answer to your question, Neil.

我猜蘑菇其中一个神奇的能力是能在黑暗中发光。

I guessed one of the amazing things some mushrooms can do is glow in the dark.

没错，贝丝，你答对了。

That was, Beth, the correct answer.

大约有80种真菌具有生物发光特性，确实能在黑暗中发光。

About 80 species of fungi are bioluminescent meaning they really do glow in the dark.

明白了。

Okay.

我们来回顾一下本期节目学过的词汇，首先是‘having a moment’，意思是某个时候特别流行或时髦。

Let's recap the vocabulary we've learned in this programme starting with having a moment a phrase meaning to be popular or fashionable at a particular time.

主张就是一种说法，声称某事是真的或是个事实，但无法被证实，别人也可能不信。

A claim is a statement that something is true or a fact although it cannot be proved and others might not believe it.

形容词‘overblown’的意思是被夸大了，显得比实际情况更大或更重要。

The adjective 'overblown' means exaggerated to seem bigger or more important than it really is.

在英国，‘古代智慧’这个说法指的是基督教传入之前存在的异教知识、哲学和信仰。

In Britain, the phrase ancient wisdom describes pagan knowledge, philosophy and beliefs that existed before Christianity.

如果你‘give something a go’，就是试着做某事，看看喜不喜欢。

If you give something a go, you try doing something to see if you like it.

最后，当一个人对某件奇怪或神秘的事感到好奇时，说明他非常感兴趣，想了解更多。

And finally, when someone is intrigued by something strange or mysterious, they're very interested and want to know more.

下次节目，我们继续为你带来更多实用的新词汇，欢迎收听《六分钟英语》。

Join us next time for more new useful vocabulary here at six Minute English.

暂时告别了。

Goodbye for now.

再见。

Bye.

六分钟英语

Six Minute English.

来自BBC学习英语网。

From bbclearningenglish.com.