閱讀暖身

美國越來越多中年男子跑去施打睪固酮,盼能重振往日雄風,好從「大叔」一角逆轉 回「輕熟男」的身心狀態。因為他們發現自己體力大不如前,而且「男子氣概」煙消 雲散。然而青春之泉果真被發現了嗎?進入本文前,請先想想如何表達以下單字:

a) 失眠

b) 現象

c) 贅肉

If you are a man in your 50s and suddenly find yourself aging with such symptoms as a) insomnia, depression, mood swings, lack of sex drive, etc., you might be suffering from a condition called “male menopause.” According to health experts, at this moment what you should do first is consider these questions carefully: Do you eat a balanced, nutritious diet? Do you exercise regularly? Do you sleep well?

如果您老兄已年過半百,而且突然發現自己已加入老化行列,出現失眠、抑鬱、喜怒 無常、性慾低落等症狀,那麼您可能步入了「男性更年期」。根據衛生專家的說法, 此時您應該先仔細考慮這些問題:飲食均衡且營養嗎?經常運動嗎?睡眠品質好嗎?

However, many men have come to rely on testosterone (T), a sex hormone, to rid themselves of aging symptoms. The logic behind the b) phenomenon is this: T levels drop gradually as men get older, so it is obvious that more T would mean less aging. 1) No wonder T therapy has become red-hot in the U.S., with low-T clinics sprouting up across the country. A growing number of aging men try to recover their manliness by getting a shot of testosterone.

但是許多男人卻仰賴睪固酮(一種性荷爾蒙)來對付老化症狀。該現象背後的邏輯是: 男人老化時,體內睪固酮會逐漸減少,因此更多的睪固酮顯然意味更少的老化。難怪 睪固酮療法已經在美國盛行,低睪診所如雨後春筍般冒出。越來越多大叔試圖藉由注 射睪固酮來找回男子氣概。

2) Apart from injection, testosterone can also be given through topical gels, skin patches or nasal sprays, promising to “elevate mood, melt away c) flab and heat things up in the bedroom.” Time magazine reports that U.S. testosterone sales hit $2.4 billion in 2013, and the market is expected to swell to $3.8 billion by 2018. In addition, the number of T prescriptions written in the U.S. grew nearly tenfold within a decade.

除了注射方式,睪固酮藥品還包括凝膠、貼片與鼻噴劑,聲稱能夠「提振心情,消除 贅肉,增加閨房之樂」。《時代》雜誌報導,美國睪固酮銷售額於 2013 年達到 24 億 美元,預計於 2018 年增至 38 億美元。此外,由美國醫生開出的睪固酮處方藥數量, 10 年間成長了近 10 倍。

Nonetheless, both U.S. and Canadian authorities have recently issued a warning against the use of testosterone as a wonder drug, because of risks of possible heart and blood vessel problems. Moreover, the changes that aging men experience are not simply due to the shortage of sex hormones, as genes, psychology and environment play an important role as well. Therefore, even if testosterone may seem like a “fountain of youth” for some, more research is still needed to back up its alleged effects.

然而美國與加拿大當局最近皆發出警告,反對人們將睪固酮視為仙丹妙藥,因為該藥 可能引發心、血管問題。此外,老化所帶來的身心變化,不單是性荷爾蒙缺乏所引起, 基因、心理與環璄也扮演了重要角色。因此之故,即使睪固酮對一些人而言彷彿是 「青春之泉」,目前需要更多研究來證實其所宣稱的療效。

口語詞彙:

1. (it’s) no wonder 難怪,不足為奇
   No wonder Tom couldn’t find the letter—it had been put away by Mary. 難怪湯姆找 不到那封信,它被瑪麗收走了。
   It’s no wonder you can’t sleep when you drink so much coffee. 你喝這麼多咖啡,難 怪會睡不著。

2. apart from 除...外
   Apart from being used as a stadium, this building is used for concerts. 除了用作體育 館,這棟建築物還被用來舉辦音樂會。

   The elderly man lives entirely alone, apart from a dog. 這位長者自己一個人住,只 有一隻狗陪伴他。