全國空間探測技術首席科學傳播專家龐之浩接受中新社“中國焦點面對面”專訪時介紹稱，天舟三號為女航天員送去了衛生用品、少量無毒化妝品；飛船座椅和艙內航天服是根據女航天員的身材特製的；女航天員大小便收集系統的高度距離也進行了調整；另外還給她配置了巧克力、甜點和補血用品。
實踐表明，女航天員在太空月經基本正常，但是月經期間進行太空行走，容易得減壓病，所以在月經期間，一般不進行太空行走。（中國新聞社）
無註釋原文：
How Do Women Deal With Having a Period… in Space?
National Geographic
8 November 2017
Sally Ride’s tampons might be the most-discussed tampons in the world。 Before Ride became the first American woman in space， scientists pondered her tampons， weighed them， and NASA’s professional sniffer smelled them—better to take deodorized or non-deodorized？—to make sure they wouldn’t smell too strongly in a confined space capsule。 Engineers considered exactly how many she might need for a week in space。 （Is 100 the right number？， they famously asked her。 No， Ride said。 That is not the right number。）
The engineers were trying to be thoughtful， though； reportedly they packed the tampons with their strings connected so that they wouldn’t float away。 I imagine Sally Ride’s tampons hovering like sausage links in the space shuttle， and wonder if the male astronauts ever came across them and， embarrassed， tried to float quickly away。
All this is to say that menstruation clearly made NASA squirm。 Before women went into space， there were not only the sadly typical concerns that women would become weepy or unable to function during their periods， but also that the menstrual cycle might somehow break in space。 Would the blood come out without gravity to pull it from the womb？ Maybe it would all pool up in there， or even flow backward through the fallopian tubes into the abdomen—a frightening condition called retrograde menstruation。
In the end， someone just had to try it and see what happened。 And what happened was … nothing much。 The uterus is pretty good at expelling its lining sans gravity， it turns out （after all， lying down doesn’t seem to matter much）。 Dealing with space tampons is something of a nuisance， though， and space cramps aren’t probably any nicer than Earth cramps。 So now scientists have raised a possibility for female astronauts that has only begun to occur to most women—maybe we don’t need to have periods at all。
We have the technology。 A combined oral contraceptive， or the pill， used continuously （without taking a week off to induce menstrual flow） is currently the best and safest choice for astronauts who prefer not to menstruate during missions， says Varsha Jain， a gynecologist and visiting professor at King’s College London。 She and her colleague Virginia Wotring， who as NASA’s chief pharmacologist was asked to suggest the best contraceptive， published a study of space menses Tuesday in the journal Microgravity。 Contraceptive implants and IUDs are options， too， but the pill already has a good track record in space。
In fact， not only have female astronauts already tried out the continuous-pill method （to much less fanfare than Sally Ride’s space tampons）， but more women on Earth are opting out of periods too。 Polls suggest that about a third of women feel they need to have a monthly period because it seems “natural” and reassures them they’re not pregnant。
“It’s completely safe to suppress the menstrual cycle，” Jain says。 Of course， the pill does come with some risks—blood clots in the legs and lungs are a main concern。 But Jain says that studies have found no difference in health risks for taking the pill continuously compared with taking it for three weeks at a time。
For long-term space travel， there are added benefits of skipping the flow。 “The waste disposal systems onboard the U。S。 side of the International Space Station that reclaim water from urine were not designed to handle menstrual blood，” Jain and Wotring write。 A woman spending three years in space， say to go to Mars and back， would need about 1，100 pills， which adds some weight to a mission， but is less unwieldy than all those tampons。
As with many aspects of female physiology， there’s still much we don’t know。 Could an IUD be shifted by the high Gs astronauts experience during launch？ Would an implant under the skin catch on a spacesuit？ There’s no reason to think so， but no one has tried it。
Maybe if we weren’t so squeamish about discussing the menstrual cycle， we’d learn more。
- ◆ -
注：中文文字為機器翻譯僅供參考，並非一一對應
含註釋全文：
How Do Women Deal With Having a Period… in Space?
National Geographic
8 November 2017
Sally Ride
‘stamponsmight be the most-discussed tampons in the world。 Before
Ride
became the first American woman in space， scientistsponderedher tampons， weighed them， and NASA’s professional sniffer smelled them—better to takedeodorizedor non-deodorized？—to make sure they wouldn‘t smell too stronglyin a confined space capsule。 Engineers considered exactly how many she might need for a week in space。 （Is 100 the right number？， they famously asked her。 No，
Ride
said。 That is not the right number。）
薩莉·萊德（Sally Ride）的衛生棉條可能是世界上被討論最多的衛生棉條。在萊德成為第一位進入太空的美國女性之前，科學家們對她的衛生棉條進行了研究，對其進行了稱重，美國宇航局的專業嗅探器對其進行了嗅探——最好採取除臭還是不除臭的方式——以確保它們在密閉的太空艙內不會有太強烈的氣味。工程師們考慮了她在太空中一個星期可能需要的確切數量。（他們問她，100，對嗎？不，不對，萊德說。）
注：薩莉·克里斯滕·萊德博士（Dr Sally Kristen Ride，1951年5月26日－2012年7月23日），她在1978年加入美國國家航空航天局（NASA），並於1983年32歲時成為第一個進入太空的美國女性，也是人類史上第三位女性宇航員。
tampon
tampon /ˈtæmpɒn/ 表示“月經棉塞，衛生棉栓”，英文解釋為“a small cylinder of cotton or other material that a woman puts in her vagina to absorb blood during her period”
ponder
表示“沉思；考慮；琢磨”，英文解釋為“to think about sth carefully for a period of time”舉個：
Sheponderedover his words。
她反覆琢磨他的話。
deodorize
deodorize /diːˈəʊdəˌraɪz/ 表示“除臭”，英文解釋為“If you deodorize something， you remove unpleasant smells from it。”
The engineers were trying to be thoughtful， though； reportedly they packed the tamponswith their strings connectedso that they wouldn’t float away。 I imagine
Sally Ride
‘s tamponshoveringlike sausage links inthe space shuttle， and wonder if the male astronauts ever came across them and， embarrassed， tried to float quickly away。
不過，工程師們還是想得很周到；據說他們把衛生棉條的線連在一起打包，這樣它們就不會漂走。我想象薩莉·萊德的衛生棉條像連在一起的香腸一樣在太空梭上漂浮，不知道男性宇航員是否曾經遇到過它們，並感到尷尬，試圖迅速漂走。
hover
表示“盤旋，翱翔；徘徊，守候”，英文解釋為“to stay in one place in the air， usually by moving the wings quickly”舉個：
A hawkhoveredin the sky， waiting to swoop down on its prey。
一隻老鷹在天空中盤旋，要伺機俯衝捕捉獵物。
All this is to say thatmenstruationclearly made NASAsquirm。 Before women went into space， there were not only the sadly typical concerns that women would becomeweepyor unable to function during theirperiods， but also thatthemenstrual cyclemight somehow break in space。 Would the blood come out withoutgravityto pull it from thewomb？ Maybe it would all pool up in there， or even flow backward through thefallopian tubesinto theabdomen—a frightening condition calledretrogrademenstruation。
所有這些都是為了說明，例假顯然使美國宇航局感到不安。在女性進入太空之前，人們不僅擔心女性在例假期間會變得悲傷欲哭或無法工作，而且還擔心月經週期在太空中會以某種方式中斷。如果沒有重力的作用，血會不會從子宮裡流出來嗎？也許血會全部積聚在那裡，甚至透過輸卵管（fallopian tubes）迴流到腹部——這種可怕的情況稱為經血倒流（retrograde menstruation）。
menstruation
menstruation/ˌmenstruˈeɪʃn/ 表示“行經，月經來潮”，英文解釋為“an occasion when a woman menstruates”；
動詞 menstruate /ˈmɛnstrʊˌeɪt/ 表示“行經；來月經”，英文解釋為“When a woman menstruates， a flow of blood comes from her uterus。 Women menstruate once a month unless they are pregnant or have reached menopause。”
形容詞 menstrual，下文出現 the menstrual cycle 月經週期。
這幾個詞都是本文高頻出現的。
squirm
squirm /skwɜːm/ 1）表示“（因緊張、不舒服等）動來動去，來回扭動，坐臥不寧”，英文解釋為“to move around a lot making small twisting movements， because you are nervous， uncomfortable， etc。”舉個：
The children weresquirmingrestlessly in their seats。
孩子們在位子上心神不定地動來動去。
2）表示“十分尷尬；羞愧難當；無地自容”，英文解釋為“to feel great embarrassment or shame”舉個：
It made himsquirmto think how badly he’d messed up the interview。
一想到他把面試搞得有多糟，他就覺得無地自容。
weepy
表示“悲傷欲哭的”，英文解釋為“feeling likely to cry”舉個：
I felt tired andweepy。
我覺得很累，想大哭一場。
period
熟詞僻義，也是可以表示“月經，經期”，英文解釋為“the bleeding from a woman‘s womb that happens once a month when she is not pregnant”。
gravity
1）常見含義表示“重力；地球引力”，英文解釋為“the force that attracts objects in space towards each other， and that on the earth pulls them towards the centre of the planet， so that things fall to the ground when they are dropped”如：the laws of gravity 萬有引力定律，物理課上學的g=9。8還是g=10你還記得嗎？
電影《星際迷航》（Star Trek）中的臺詞提到：Captain， we’re caught inthe gravity well。 It‘s got us。艦長 我們被引力井吸住了，它吸住我們了。
2）表示“嚴重性”，英文解釋為“extreme importance and a cause for worry”，可以替換seriousness，舉個：
Punishment varies according tothe gravityof the offence。
處罰根據罪行的嚴重程度而有所不同。
3）表示“嚴肅；莊嚴”，英文解釋為“serious behaviour， speech or appearance”舉個：
They were asked to behave withthe gravitythat was appropriate in a court of law。
他們被要求在法庭上表現出應有的嚴肅態度。
womb
womb /wuːm/ 表示“子宮”，英文解釋為“the organ in the body of a woman or other female mammal in which a baby develops before birth”。
uterus /ˈjuːtərəs/ 同樣表示“子宮”，英文解釋為“the organ in the body of a woman or other female mammal in which a baby develops before birth”。
abdomen
abdomen /ˈæbdəmən/表示“（人或動物的）腹（部）；（昆蟲的）腹部”，英文解釋為“the lower part of a person’s or animal‘s body， containing the stomach， bowels， and other organs， or the end of an insect’s body”。
retrograde
retrograde /ˈretrəɡreɪd/ 表示“倒退的；退步的；惡化的”，英文解釋為“returning to older and worse conditions， methods， ideas， etc。”舉個：
The closure of the factory is aretrogradestep。
工廠的關閉是一大退步。
In the end， someone just had to try it and see what happened。 And what happened was … nothing much。 Theuterusis pretty good atexpellingitslining sansgravity， it turns out （after all， lying down doesn‘t seem to matter much）。 Dealing with space tamponsis something of a nuisance， though， and spacecrampsaren’t probably any nicer than Earth cramps。 So now scientists have raised a possibility for female astronauts that has only begun to occur to most women—maybe we don‘t need to have periods at all。
最後，有人不得不去嘗試，看看會發生什麼。結果是……沒啥事。事實證明，子宮很擅長在沒有重力的情況下排出其內膜（畢竟，躺下似乎也沒有什麼關係）。不過，處理太空衛生棉條是一件麻煩事，而且在太空腹絞痛可能並不比在地球腹絞痛好。因此，現在科學家們為女性宇航員提出了一種可能性，這種可能性對大多數女性來說才開始出現——也許我們根本就不需要有月經。
expel
1）表示“排出；噴出”，英文解釋為“to force air or liquid out of something”舉個：
She took a deep breath， thenexpelled the airin short blasts。
她深吸一口氣，然後一下子把空氣撥出來。
2）表示“驅逐；除名；開除”，英文解釋為“to force someone to leave a school， organization， or country”舉個：
He wasexpelledfrom school for bad behaviour。
他因為行為不端被學校開除了。
lining
lining /ˈlaɪnɪŋ/ 1）表示“襯層；內襯；襯裡”，英文解釋為“a layer of material used to cover the inside surface of sth”如：a pair of leather gloves with fur linings 一雙毛皮襯裡的皮手套。
2）表示“（胃等器官內部的）保護層”，英文解釋為“The lining of your stomach or other organ is a layer of tissue on the inside of it。”如：a bacterium that attacks the lining of the stomach 一種侵襲胃粘膜的細菌。
sans
sans /sænz/ 表示“無，沒有（一般為幽默用法）”，英文解釋為“without – usually used humorously”舉個：
He came to the doorsansshirt。
他走到門口，襯衣都沒穿。
nuisance
nuisance /ˈnjuːsəns/ 表示“令人討厭的人或事物；麻煩的人或事情”，英文解釋為“If you say that someone or something is a nuisance， you mean that they annoy you or cause you a lot of problems。”舉個：
He could be a bit of anuisancewhen he was drunk。
他喝醉時會是一個有點令人討厭的人。
be something of a sth
表示“有些像，在某種程度上是”，英文解釋為“used to describe a person or thing in a way that is partly true but not completely or exactly”舉個：
It came assomething of a surprise。
這件事多少有些讓人感到意外。
cramps
表示“（女性經期的）腹絞痛”，英文解釋為“pains in the lower stomach caused by a woman’s period”
We have the technology。 A combinedoralcontraceptive， or the pill， used continuously （without taking a week off to inducemenstrual flow） is currently the best and safest choice for astronauts who prefer not to menstruate during missions， says
Varsha Jain
， agynecologistandvisiting professoratKing‘s College London。 She and her colleague
Virginia Wotring
， who as NASA’s chiefpharmacologistwas asked to suggest the best contraceptive， published a study ofspacemensesTuesday in the journalMicrogravity。 ContraceptiveimplantsandIUDsare options， too， but the pill alreadyhas a goodtrack recordin space。
我們有這樣的技術。倫敦國王學院（King‘s College London）的婦科醫生和客座教授瓦莎·詹恩（Varsha Jain）說，對於那些希望在任務期間不來月經的宇航員來說，連續使用聯合口服避孕藥（不需要休息一週來產生月經）是目前最好和最安全的選擇。她和她的同事弗吉尼亞·沃特林（Virginia Wotring）週二在《微重力》（Microgravity）期刊上發表了一項關於太空月經的研究，沃特林作為美國宇航局的首席藥物學家被要求提出最佳避孕方法。植入式避孕藥和宮內節育器（IIUD）也是一種選擇，但是避孕藥在太空中已經有了良好的效果。
contraceptive
contraceptive /ˌkɑːntrəˈseptɪv/ 表示“避孕用具；避孕藥”，英文解釋為“any of various devices or drugs intended to prevent pregnancy”如：oral contraceptive 口服避孕藥。
gynecologist
美式 gynecologist /ˌɡaɪnəˈkɑːlədʒɪst/
英式 gynaecologist /ˌɡaɪnəˈkɑːlədʒɪst/
表示“婦科學家，婦科醫生”，英文解釋為“a doctor skilled in the treatment of women’s diseases， especially those of the reproductive organs”。
pharmacologist
pharmacologist /ˌfɑːməˈkɒlədʒɪst/ 表示“藥理學家，藥物學家”，英文解釋為“a person who has studied pharmacology”。
區分：
pharmacist /ˈfɑːməsɪst/ 表示“藥劑師”，英文解釋為“a person whose job is to prepare medicines and sell or”。
menses
menses /ˈmensiːz/ 表示“月經；行經”，英文解釋為“the flow of blood each month from a woman‘s body”。
implant
表示“（手術中）植入，移植；（植入人體中的）移植物，植入物”，英文解釋為“an organ， group of cells， or device that has been put into the body in a medical operation”。
IUD
intra-uterine device 縮寫，表示“宮內避孕器”，英文解釋為“a small object put by a doctor into the womb of a woman who wants to avoid becoming pregnant”。
track record
表示“業績記錄；成績記錄；過去的成績或成就”，英文解釋為“all the past achievements， successes or failures of a person or an organization”舉個：
He has a proventrack recordin marketing。
他有可靠的銷售業績記錄。
In fact， not only have female astronauts already tried out the continuous-pill method （to much less fanfare than
Sally Ride
’s space tampons）， but more women on Earth are opting out of periods too。 Polls suggest that about a third of women feel they need to have a monthly period because it seems “natural” andreassuresthem they‘re not pregnant。
事實上，不僅女宇航員已經嘗試過連續服用避孕藥的方法（比薩莉·萊德的太空棉條要少得多），而且地球上更多的女性也希望不來例假。民意調查顯示，大約三分之一的女性認為她們需要每月來一次月經，因為這看起來很“自然”，並讓她們確信自己沒有懷孕。
reassure
表示“使…安心；打消…的疑慮”，英文解釋為“to say or do sth that makes sb less frightened or worried”舉個：
They tried toreassure her， but she still felt anxious。
他們設法讓她放心，可她還是焦慮不安。
“It’s completely safe tosuppressthe menstrual cycle，”
Jain
says。 Of course， the pill does come with some risks—bloodclotsin the legs and lungs are a main concern。 But
Jain
says that studies have found no difference in health risks for taking the pill continuously compared with taking it for three weeks at a time。
“抑制月經週期是完全安全的，”詹恩說。當然，避孕藥確實有一些風險——主要擔心腿部和肺部的血凝塊（blood clots）。但詹恩說，研究發現連續服用避孕藥與一次服用三週的健康風險沒有區別。
suppress
表示“壓制；阻止；抑制”，英文解釋為“to prevent sth from growing， developing or continuing”舉個：
The virussuppressesthe body‘s immune system。
這種病毒會抑制人體的免疫系統。
clot
表示“凝塊”，英文解釋為“an almost solid piece of something”。
For long-term space travel， there are added benefits ofskipping the flow。 “The waste disposal systems onboard the U。S。 side of the International Space Station that reclaim water from urine were not designed to handlemenstrual blood，”
Jain
and
Wotring
write。 A woman spending three years in space， say to go to Mars and back， would need about 1，100 pills， which adds some weight to a mission， but is lessunwieldythan all those tampons。
對於長期的太空旅行，抑制經期還有額外的好處。詹恩和沃特林寫道：“國際空間站（International Space Station）美國一側的廢物處理系統從尿液中回收水，並不是為了處理經血而設計的。”一個在太空中度過三年的女性，比如說去火星再回來，將需要大約1100顆藥物，這給任務增加了一些重量，但比所有衛生棉條要輕得多。
unwieldy
unwieldy /ʌnˈwiːldɪ/ 表示“（物體因沉重、龐大或形狀奇特而）不靈便的，笨重的；難移動的”，英文解釋為“An unwieldy object is difficult to move or handle because it is heavy， large， or a strange shape。”
As with many aspects of femalephysiology， there’s still much we don‘t know。 Could an IUD be shifted by the high Gs astronauts experience during launch？ Would an implant under the skin catch on a spacesuit？ There’s no reason to think so， but no one has tried it。
與女性生理學的許多方面一樣，我們仍有許多未知的地方。在發射過程中，宇航員所承受的高倍重力值會不會使宮內節育器移位？皮下的植入物會不會卡在宇航服上？沒有理由這麼認為，但沒有人嘗試過。
physiology
physiology /ˌfɪzɪˈɒlədʒɪ/ 表示“生理學”，英文解釋為“（the scientific study of） the way in which the bodies of living things work”。
Maybe if we weren‘t sosqueamishabout discussing the menstrual cycle， we’d learn more。
也許如果我們對討論例假不那麼膽怯，我們會學到更多。
squeamish
squeamish /ˈskwiːmɪʃ/ 表示“易心煩意亂的；易受驚的；神經脆弱的”，英文解釋為“easily upset or shocked by things that you find unpleasant or that you do not approve of”舉個：
She‘s reallysqueamishand can’t stand the sight of blood。
她神經很脆弱，見不得血。
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LearnAndRecord
2015年2月8日
2021年10月16日
第2443天
每天持續行動學外語