Young Egyptian finds fortune in
scorpions
年輕埃及人在蠍子裡發現財富
【摘要2020.12.12.自由】◎周虹汶
Several years ago, a young Egyptian man
abandoned his degree in archaeology to hunt scorpions in the country’s deserts
and shores, extracting their venom for medicinal use.
多年前，有個年輕的埃及男子放棄了他的考古學位，在該國沙漠和海岸獵捕蠍子，並提煉牠們的毒液做醫藥用途。
At just 25 years old, Mohamed Hamdy Boshta
is now the owner of the Cairo Venom Company - a project housing 80,000
scorpions in various farms across Egypt as well as a range of snakes, also kept
for their venom.
年僅25歲的穆罕默德．哈姆迪．比什塔現在是「開羅毒液公司」的老闆—此一計畫是在埃及各地農場飼養8萬隻蠍子和各種蛇，並保存牠們的毒液。
Caught using a coloured UV light, the
scorpions are exposed to a tiny electric current to stimulate the release of
the venom, one gram of which can produce between 20,000 and 50,000 doses of
antivenom.
用紫外線燈捕抓，這些蠍子被暴露在微弱電流下，來刺激毒液釋放，1公克可以製造2萬至5萬劑的抗蛇毒血清。
A gram of scorpion venom can fetch $10,000
and Boshta exports it to Europe and the U.S. where it is used to make antivenom
and a range of other medicines, including for conditions such as hypertension. （Reuters）
1公克蠍毒可賣1萬美元，比什塔出口到歐洲和美國，用來製造抗蛇毒血清及各種其他藥物，包括用於高血壓等疾病。（路透）
新聞辭典
fortune：名詞，指大筆錢財、影響人生的際遇。例句：We
had the fortune to train with some of the world’s top athletes.（我們有幸與一些世界頂級運動員一同訓練。）
extract：動詞，指用力取出、提煉、設法取得情報等、摘錄；名詞，指提取物、汁、精、摘錄。例句：The
police extracted some information from the suspect.（警察從嫌犯口中問出一些資訊。）
condition：名詞，指情況、健康狀態、環境、疾病；動詞，指決定、使適應、使處於良好狀態。例句：Exercise
conditions our muscles.（運動可讓我們的肌肉變得結實。）
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