Gargi Pant　梁小明

Youve been playing in the pool for almost an hour now， practicing your bestunderwater skills. Now its time to get out， and as you look at your hands， its... its...its the attack of the wrinkly fingered monster！

你已經(jīng)在游泳池里玩了將近一個小時，練習(xí)了你最棒的水下技巧?，F(xiàn)在是離開的時候了，而當(dāng)你看著自己的手時，這是……這是……這是皺紋手指怪物的攻擊！

Dont get frightened or run for cover under your towel yet. After spending lotsof time in the water， its totally normal for fingers （and sometimes toes） to wrinkle2.

不要害怕，也不要躲在毛巾下面。在水中待了很長時間后，手指（有時是腳趾）起皺是完全正常的。

Even though you cant see it， your skin is covered with its own special oil calledsebum3. Sebum is found on the outermost layer of skin. Sebum lubricates4 andprotects your skin. It also makes your skin a bit waterproof5. Thats why gettingcaught in the rain， hopping in the shower after a game， or washing your hands beforedinner wont leave your skin soggy6. Sebum is there to keep the water out.

即使你看不見，你的皮膚上覆蓋著一種叫做皮脂的特殊油脂。皮脂分布于皮膚的最外層，能潤滑和保護皮膚。它也讓你的皮膚有點防水。這就是為什么淋雨、比賽后淋浴或晚飯前洗手不會讓皮膚濕透的原因。皮脂把水擋在了外面。

But what happens when you spend a long time in the water？ Well， theres onlya particular amount of sebum on your skin at a time. Once the sebum is washedaway， the water can make its way into the outer layer of skin. The water does this byosmosis7. This is when water actually moves from one thing into another， from aplace where there is more water to a place where there is less water. There is morewater in the pool than there is in your body， so it naturally moves to the place wherethere is less water—you！

但如果你在水中待了很長時間，那會發(fā)生什么呢？嗯，每次你的皮膚上只有一定量的皮脂。一旦皮脂被洗掉，水就會進入皮膚外層。水通過滲透作用實現(xiàn)這一點。這是指水實際上從一個地方流到另一個地方，從水多的地方流到水少的地方。游泳池里的水比你身體里的水多，所以它自然會流到水少的地方——你！

Although your fingers may look shriveled8 like raisins9， they arent reallyshriveled—theyre actually waterlogged10！ The extra water in your fingers causes theskin to swell11 in some places but not others， and thats what causes the wrinkles.

雖然你的手指看起來像葡萄干一樣皺巴巴，但它們并不是真的皺縮了——它們實際上是積水了！手指中的多余水分會導(dǎo)致某些地方的皮膚腫脹，而其他地方則不會，這就是導(dǎo)致褶皺的原因。

It isnt just pool water that washes away the sebum. Sitting in the bathtub12 fora long soak13 can also wash away the sebum and leave a kid with soggy skin.Washing dishes for a long time， scrubbing14 and rinsing15 your puppy—anything thatkeeps your hands in water long enough will give you wrinkly fingers.

沖走皮脂的不僅僅是游泳池的水，坐在浴缸里泡很長時間也可以洗掉皮脂，讓孩子皮膚濕透。長時間洗碗，擦洗和沖洗你的小狗——任何讓你的手在水中停留足夠長時間的事情都會讓手指起皺。

What should you do if you come out of the pool looking like a raisin？ Not athing！ Having wrinkly skin after a swim or bath doesnt mean there is anythingwrong， and it goes away by itself quickly. Youll have more sebum on your skin inno time. If you really cant stand the raisin look and will be doing something aroundthe house that keeps your hands in water， you can wear rubber gloves to keep thesebum from being washed away.

如果你從游泳池里出來像葡萄干一樣，你該怎么辦？這根本不算什么事兒！游泳或洗澡后皮膚起皺并不意味著有什么問題，而且它很快就會自行消失。你的皮膚上很快就會有更多的皮脂。如果你真的受不了葡萄干的樣子，并且在家里要做一些讓手浸在水中的事情，你可以戴上橡膠手套，防止皮脂被沖走。

淵英語原文選自（pitara.com）