双语趣闻：神秘印度衣服也能治病(图)

　　Try wearing a T-shirt to help against dry skin. Or use special bed sheets to help you sleep better. Such ideas might sound strange to westerners, but in India, these products are a new development in a very old tradition.

　　试试能防止皮肤干燥的T恤，或者用用改善睡眠的特殊床单吧！这些想法在西方人听来可能有些怪异，不过在印度，这些产品只是一种把古老传统加以创新发展的结果。

　　Ayurveda is a system of health care that has existed on the Indian subcontinent for hundreds of years. The plants used in Ayurvedic medicine to treat illnesses are now being added to cloth during the dyeing process before it is made into clothes and sheets. The products are being created as part of a special project in Kerala, a state in south-western India. "For skin problems, we select a plant like indigo, and mix turmeric with the plant," dyeing technician Rajan Kay told the BBC.

　　阿育吠陀是一门在印度次大陆上流传了数百年的医疗保健体系。在传统的阿育吠陀医药中治病用的那些植物现在通过染色工艺被加到了布料中，然后这些布料再被加工成服装和床上用品。这种产品将成为印度西南部喀拉拉邦一个特殊项目的一部分。染色工艺师瑞占•凯对英国广播公司的记者说：“针对皮肤问题，我们选择了槐蓝属之类的植物，并将姜黄根粉与之混合。”

　　Companies making the cloth are quick to point out that wearing herb-infused clothing will not actually cure an illness, but can simply help as part of an overall approach. What happens to the herbs when the clothes are washed, however, is a question that's still unanswered.

　　生产这种布料的多家公司很快便指出：穿戴浸过药草的衣物实际上并不能治愈疾病，它仅仅可以作为一套整体的医疗方案的一部分。至于衣服经水洗后药草会发生什么变化仍是一个待解决的课题。

　　注释：

　　1 Ayurveda 〈梵〉阿育吠陀，也译作“生命吠陀医学”，是印度一门集治病和保健于一体的古老学问。Ayus指的是“生命”，Veda指的则是“知识或者智慧”，两者结合在一起，意思是指“生命的科学”，或指“生命或长寿的知识”。阿育吠陀医学不单是一门治病的知识，同时还是一种教导人们如何生活、如何保持健康的学问。印度政府对于阿育吠陀医学相当重视，因此阿育吠陀医学在印度的卫生保健事业上一直发挥着重要作用。

　　2 indigo 槐蓝属植物，木蓝属植物，这种植物能产生靛蓝类染料。

　　3 turmeric 姜黄根粉，尤用于制作咖喱等佐料或黄色染料。

　　4 herb-infused 浸入药草的，herb指“叶或茎可用于调味或制药的香草、药草”，infuse有“浸渍、泡制(草药)”之意。

本文选自《北外网院》的博客，点击查看博客原文