纪录片《美丽中国》 第35期 神奇高原（7）（在线收听）

Yartsa gunbu has been used as a traditional remedy for thousands of years,

冬虫夏草被用作传统药物已经上千年

though only by the very wealthy.

但仅限于非常富有的人群

It has been bartered for tea and silk,

它被用来交换茶叶和丝绸

and is worth more than four times its weight in silver.

可以换回超过本身四倍重量的银子

So lucrative is this trade,that sites and information are jealously guarded.

这项贸易是如此的暴利使得它的交易地点和信息都被谨慎地保护起来

At the nearby market,the yartsa gunbu are cleaned,

在附近的集市上冬虫夏草被清理干净

and their true nature becomes clear.

这使得它的本来面目显露了出来

The yartsa gunbu translates as "summer grass,winter worm".

冬虫夏草被翻译为“冬天的虫子夏天的草”

The winter worm is a caterpillar.

冬虫是一种毛虫

It eats roots of grasses

它以草根为食

in preparation for its transformation into a moth.

为自己变身成蛾做准备。

But some winter worms never make it as moths.

但有些冬虫却从没有机会变成蛾

Instead,a strange growth erupts from their body,

而在夏季一个奇怪的植物

appearing above ground in summer.

在冬虫的体内生长发育直至破土而出

This is the "summer grass",

这就是“夏草”

a fungus called Cordyceps,whose spores have infected the caterpillar,

一种被称为虫草的真菌是它的孢子侵入了毛虫体内

using its body as their host.

并将毛虫的身体作为它们的宿主

Modern scientific tests have shown that substances contained

现代科学实验证明含有冬虫夏草的物质可以

in Cordyceps lower blood pressure and make it easier to breathe.

降低血压并能使呼吸更顺畅

So in recent years,harvesting this natural treasure

所以近些年来收获这种自然资源

has grown into a huge and profitable business.

已经成为有巨大利益的生意