Salt

[00:00.20]In fact, without this simple,everyday material, all humans would die.#
事实上，没有这种简单的日常用品，人类将会死亡。#

[00:07.04]Scientists know it as sodium chloride.#
科学家称之为氯化钠#

[00:14.25]We know it as salt.#
我们称之为盐#

[00:16.55]You may think,#
你可能会认为#

[00:18.24]salt is just a simple cooking element#
盐不过是做饭的简单用品#

[00:21.41]we shake on our food for a little extra taste.#
我们用在食物上来增加风味的#

[00:25.10]But salt is much more than that.#
但盐的作用不仅于此。#

[00:28.18]Without salt our muscles would not move.#
没有盐我们的肌肉就不能动#

[00:32.58]Our nervous systems would not operate.#
我们的神经系统就不能运作，#

[00:36.16]Our hearts would not beat. Salt means life.#
我们的心脏就不能跳动，盐意味着生命。#

[00:41.65]But do not think rubbing salt in a wound will help.#
但不要认为在伤口上撒盐能起到作用，#

[00:46.64]Doing that would be painful and not heal the wound.#
这样将会很痛苦，而且不能愈合伤口。#

[00:51.31]To rub salt in a wound is an idiom#
在伤口上撒盐是个习惯用语，#

[00:55.30]that means to purposefully make a bad situation worse.#
意思是故意让情况更糟糕。#

[01:00.54]Early humans got the salt they needed to stay alive from the animals they killed.#
早期人类从他们杀死的动物身上获得生存所需的盐分，#

[01:07.87]But advances in agriculture led to a diet low in salt.#
但农业的发展促成了低盐饮食，#

[01:14.31]So, humans needed to find others sources.#
所以人类需要寻找其他的盐分来源。#

[01:19.07]Those who lived near the ocean or other natural sources for salt were lucky.#
居住在海边或其他天然盐资源附近的人很幸运，#

[01:26.20]Those who did not had to trade for salt.#
他们无需买盐，#

[01:30.74]In fact,#
事实上，#

[01:32.10]people used salt as a method of payment in many parts of the ancient world.#
在古代世界的很多地方，人们使用盐来作为支付手段，#

[01:37.99]The word “salary” comes from the word “salt.”#
salary(工资)这个词就来自salt(盐)。#

[01:42.70]Salt also played an important part in population movement and world exploration.#
盐在人口流动和世界探险中也起到重要作用，#

[01:50.16]Explorers understood that if they could keep food fresh,#
探险者们知道如果能保持食物新鲜，#

[01:55.07]they could travel longer distances.#
他们就能走更远的距离，#

[01:58.08]So they used salt to preserve food and explored the world.#
所以他们用盐来保存食物并探险世界。#

[02:04.10]Salt meant movement.#
盐意味着流动。#

[02:06.99]Salt also changed the way nations fought. With preserved food on ships,#
盐也改变了国家作战的方式。船只上有了保藏的食物，#

[02:14.77]nations could sail to distant lands and then attack them.#
各国就能乘船去远方的土地，然后袭击他们。#

[02:20.03]Salt meant power.#
盐意味着权力。