<p class="ql-block"><b style="font-size:20px;"><u> 湖南街頭，隨處可見檳榔小攤。玻璃盒子里紅紅綠綠，像過年掛的糖果。行人掏出幾塊錢，便能得到一顆“精神”。嚼上去，滿嘴生津，臉頰鼓起，好似猴子銜果。再過一會兒，嘴角流出紅汁，噴灑在地，殷紅如血，路人瞧見，還以為哪位豪杰剛吐過心頭熱血。</u></b></p><p class="ql-block"><br></p><p class="ql-block"><b style="font-size:20px;"> Betel nut stalls are ubiquitous on the streets of Hunan. Glass boxes filled with vibrant red and green resemble candy hanging during the Lunar New Year. Passersby pay a few yuan and receive a "spirit." Chewing on it fills the mouth with saliva, puffing up the cheeks like a monkey chewing a fruit. After a while, red juice oozes from the corners of the mouth, spraying onto the ground, a crimson red like blood. Passersby, seeing this, might mistake it for a heroic hero who has just shed his heart's blood.</b></p> <p class="ql-block"><b style="font-size:20px;"><u> 人們說，嚼檳榔可以“提神”。然而真正提起的，多是牙齦腫脹，舌苔泛白。再嚼些年，牙齒搖晃，口腔生瘡，終究要請大夫來替他“拔根”。于是滿口瘡痍，換來一時痛快。</u></b></p><p class="ql-block"><br></p><p class="ql-block"><b style="font-size:20px;"> People say chewing betel nut can "refresh you." However, the real problem is often swollen gums and a white coating on the tongue. After years of chewing, teeth become loose and mouth sores develop, eventually requiring a doctor to remove the ulcers. Thus, a mouth full of sores is exchanged for a moment of relief.</b></p> <p class="ql-block"><b style="font-size:20px;"><u> 有人勸戒，說檳榔傷身。嗜檳者便笑：“人生本苦，少不得一口檳榔?！贝嗽挼瓜袷侵晾?。只是人生既苦，何不讓它少苦一點(diǎn)？偏要往嘴里添一刀子，再宣稱這才叫生活。</u></b></p><p class="ql-block"><br></p><p class="ql-block"><b style="font-size:20px;"> Some people warn against betel nut, saying it's harmful to the body. Betel nut addicts laugh, saying, "Life is bitter, and a betel nut is inevitable." This seems like a true statement. But if life is bitter, why not make it less bitter? Why do you insist on stabbing yourself in the mouth and claiming that this is what life is all about?</b></p> <p class="ql-block"><b style="font-size:20px;"><u> 奇怪的是，街巷之中，連少年也嚼。才十七八歲，已學(xué)會一邊嚼檳榔一邊吐血水，仿佛這便是男子的模樣。至于姑娘們，也被商家誘哄，說嚼檳榔能瘦臉，結(jié)果臉沒瘦，牙卻先掉了。</u></b></p><p class="ql-block"><br></p><p class="ql-block"><b style="font-size:20px;"> Strangely, even teenagers chew betel nut in the streets. Seventeen or eighteen, they've already learned to spit out blood while chewing, as if that's what being a man looks like. Girls, too, are lured by vendors, who claim chewing betel nut can slim their faces, but instead of slimming their faces, their teeth fall out first.</b></p> <p class="ql-block"><b style="font-size:20px;"><u> 我曾在湘江邊看見一個老人，滿口檳榔牙，黑漆漆如枯木。有人問他可知傷害，他搖頭：“嚼了一輩子，也就這樣?！庇谑谴蠹叶及残牧耍杭热挥腥私赖嚼希蓝鵁o憾，那便繼續(xù)嚼。好像死亡并不可怕，可怕的是沒有嚼過檳榔。</u></b></p><p class="ql-block"><br></p><p class="ql-block"><b style="font-size:20px;"> I once saw an old man by the Xiang River, his teeth full of betel nut, as black as dead wood. Someone asked him if he knew the damage it did, and he shook his head, "I've been chewing betel nut my whole life, and that's it." Everyone was reassured: if someone chews betel nut until old age and dies without regrets, then they should continue chewing. It seemed as if death wasn't the scariest thing; what was scarier was not having chewed betel nut.</b></p> <p class="ql-block"><b style="font-size:20px;"><u> 世人常愛自欺。檳榔是小小果實(shí)，嚼之不過一時興奮；但若把一時興奮當(dāng)作一生的倚靠，那便成了奴隸。奴隸還自夸說：瞧，我的嘴里有火紅的血色，多么熱烈，多么健康！其實(shí)那不是熱血，而是腐爛的先聲。</u></b></p><p class="ql-block"><br></p><p class="ql-block"><b style="font-size:20px;"> People often deceive themselves. Betel nut is a small fruit, chewing it only brings a momentary excitement; but if one relies on this momentary excitement for a lifetime, then one becomes a slave. Slaves boast, "Look, there's fiery red blood in my mouth! How warm and healthy!" In reality, that's not passion, but the harbinger of decay.</b></p> <p class="ql-block"><b style="font-size:20px;"><u> 檳榔嚼到盡頭，剩下的只有牙齦的空洞和醫(yī)院的病床。只是那紅色的汁水，早已滲進(jìn)街頭巷尾，化為一片艷麗的風(fēng)景?？瓷先ハ矐c，卻掩不住它的腥氣。</u></b></p><p class="ql-block"><br></p><p class="ql-block"><b style="font-size:20px;"> When betel nut is chewed to its limit, all that's left are hollow gums and a hospital bed. But the red juice has long since seeped into the streets and alleys, transforming into a vibrant landscape. It looks festive, but its fishy odor can't be masked.</b></p>