Mad honey is a particular type of honey produced by bees that gather nectar from a flowering plant called the rhododendron. What makes the rhododendron different from most flowers is that its nectar and pollen contain grayanotoxins. These are types of neurotoxins that can cause nerve damage or even be fatal when consumed in large quantities. In the right doses, however, mad honey has been used for hundreds of years in countries such as Turkey and Nepal in traditional medicine.
瘋狂蜂蜜是一種特殊的蜂蜜，由從一種叫做杜鵑花屬的開花植物採集花蜜的蜜蜂所製成。杜鵑花屬與大多數花種的不同之處在於，其花蜜和花粉含有梫木毒素。這是一種神經毒素，大量食用會造成神經損傷，甚至可能致命。然而，在適當的用量下，瘋狂蜂蜜數百年來已在土耳其和尼泊爾等國家被用於傳統醫學中。
生活必備字詞：
fatal a. 致命的
consume vt. 攝取（食物）
dose n.（藥的）劑量，用量
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本文節錄自《常春藤生活英語》雜誌，完整內容請見五月號。