时差N小时 被烧伤的假象

You're on the deck catching¹ rays, and even though you know you aren't supposed to tan without sunblock, you figure you'll be able to tell if you start to get really burned. Sure enough, after a little while you can see a redness coloring your skin, but it doesn't look too bad. Five or six hours later, the real burn begins appearing, and it's too late now to stop it.

你在甲板上沐浴阳光，即使你能看到，不涂防晒霜时你没被晒黑，但你不会觉察到皮肤从何时起被晒伤。果然，过一会你的皮肤开始变红，但是看起来红得并不厉害。五六个小时候，你感到皮肤在灼烧，但为时已晚。

What just happened is a kind of pump-fake from the system that runs temperature-balance in your body. People often assume it's possible to watch sunburn mounting on your skin, but this is a serious mistake. The red coloration that comes after an hour or so is not the first signs of tanning at all; that redness is caused by an increased flow of blood toward the skin due to excess body heat.

刚发生的现象是一种假象，与你身体内维持体温恒定的系统有关。通常人们误以为皮肤烧伤时会有看得见的痕迹。但这种想法大错特错。一小时左右后皮肤泛红，这根本不是皮肤被晒黑的第一个迹象：皮肤呈现红色是因为身体过热致使流向皮肤的血液增多。

It's the same effect that gives people a ruddy glow after exercise: the over-heated body attempts to read just its temperature by directing more blood toward its surfaces, which has the effect of radiating away heat. This "flush" will disappear as soon as you cool down. Therefore, it's no indication as to whether the skin itself is becoming burned.

这跟运动之后人们满面红光是同一个道理：身体过热，血液流向表面的皮肤以保证体温恒定，同时放出热量。在身体凉快之后脸上的红光立刻褪去。因此，没有迹象表明皮肤自身是否在灼烧。

The redness of a burn looks the same because it's also caused in part by increased blood flow——but with an actual burn, the blood is being shunted outward much more rapidly in an effort to repair already damaged cells. By the time the blood starts being sent to the aid of your traumatized skin, several hours have elapsed since that deceptive² "first blush" has faded. It's only then that you can start to feel how much or how little burn you actually received.

晒伤的红色跟这看起来很像，因为晒伤后皮肤呈现红色部分是因为血流量增多，但真正烧伤时，会有更多的血液快速分流到体表，以修复已经损伤的细胞。然而，“第一次泛红”的假象消失了好几个小时之后，血液才开始修复损伤的皮肤。直到这时你才能感觉到皮肤烧伤的程度。

1 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

2 deceptive   

adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• His appearance was deceptive.他的外表带有欺骗性。
• The storyline is deceptively simple.故事情节看似简单，其实不然。