时差N小时 兴奋剂的是是非非

From federal investigations¹ into Major League Baseball to allegations ofsubstance abuse in track and field, performance enhancing drugs have been in the news a lot.

从对美国职业棒球大联盟药物滥用指控的联邦调查来看，服用兴奋剂已经成为一个热门话题。

The most well-known performance enhancers are steroids, drugs that can make athletesbigger and stronger.

其中最著名的兴奋剂是类固醇，它可以让运动员更大更强。

But they can also cause serious medical problems.

但是它们也会导致严重的医学问题。

So how do steroids work, and what makes them so dangerous?

那么类固醇是怎样发挥作用的呢？是什么使它们如此危险？

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First, it’s important to understand that the body naturally produces steroids.

首先，知道身体能够自然产生类固醇是很重要的。

For men, the best known is testosterone.

对于男性来说，最广为大家所知的就是睾丸激素。

Testosterone is an anabolic steroid,meaning that itencourages new muscle growth.

睾丸激素是一种合成代谢类固醇，它能够促进新的肌肉的生长。

So the more testosterone you have in you, the greater potential youhave to be bigger and stronger.

因此如果你的睾丸激素越多，你的潜力就越大越强。这样一来，人造合成类固醇

It makes sense, then, that artificial anabolic steroids mimic² testosteroneproduced in the body.

模仿人体内分泌的睾丸激素应运而生了。

Here’s how they work.

它们是这样工作的。

Anabolic steroids attach to cells and encourage them to produce more protein,which muscles need to grow and become stronger.

合成类固醇依附于细胞上，促使它们产生更多肌肉生长和壮大所需要的蛋白质。

So steroids basically speed up and enhance theprocess of muscle growth that you can accomplish by lifting weights and other kinds of exercise.

因此类固醇主要是加快和加强肌肉生长，而这样的效果你可以通过举重和其它的运动练习达到。

Aweightlifter on steroids will develop larger muscles and do so faster than a “clean” weightlifter.

一个服用类固醇举重运动员的肌肉会比一个“干净”的运动员生长得更大更快。

Millions of people take performance enhancing drugs such as caffeine and vitamins every day.

成千上万的人们每天都在服用咖啡因，维他命之类的兴奋剂。

But unlikethese drugs, steroids can cause serious, long lasting³ problems.

但是与其它药物不同的是类固醇会导致严重，持久的问题。

For example, steroid use puts extrapressure on the liver to cleanse⁴ the bloodstream of the many toxins⁵ in steroids.

例如，使用胆固醇会对肝脏净化血液带来压力，因为胆固醇里有很多毒素。

Prolonged steroid use can result in liver damage.

长期使用类固醇可导致肝损害。

They also affect brain chemistry,and cancause depression and severe mood swings known as roid rage.

它们同样会影响脑化学，并会导致抑郁症和被称为“类固醇癫狂”的严重情绪波动。

There’s certainly nothingwrong with building your body, but using steroids to do so will ultimately break you down.

强身健体当然没有错误，但是如果你使用类固醇来完成，那么最终你会垮掉。

1 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

2 mimic   

v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人

参考例句：

• A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
• He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

3 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

4 cleanse   

vt.使清洁，使纯洁，清洗

参考例句：

• Health experts are trying to cleanse the air in cities. 卫生专家们正设法净化城市里的空气。
• Fresh fruit juices can also cleanse your body and reduce dark circles.新鲜果汁同样可以清洁你的身体,并对黑眼圈同样有抑制作用。

5 toxins   

n.毒素( toxin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The seas have been used as a receptacle for a range of industrial toxins. 海洋成了各种有毒工业废料的大容器。
• Most toxins are naturally excreted from the body. 大部分毒素被自然排出体外。 来自《简明英汉词典》