2013-07-04
Source: http://news.hkheadline.com/dailynews/headline_news_detail_columnist.asp?id=244486§ion_name=wtt&kw=126
A reader e-mailed me to say the B.O. from people in over-crowded MTR trains is so obnoxious that she has to wear a face mask. She puts nice-smelling cream on the inside of the face mask to avoid smelling the B.O. whenever she rides the MTR. I smell B.O. too when I ride the MTR, but mostly in the summer. The initials B.O. are for body odor （odour in British English）. The word odor means a strong smell. For example, garlic has a strong odor （smell）. Body odor （B.O.） means the stinky smell that comes from a person's body.
T
he word obnoxious means extremely unpleasant. If a public toilet smells very bad, you can say it smells obnoxious. If someone is always rude and unkind to others, you can say he is an obnoxious person. If a person's B.O. smells particularly bad, you can say his B.O. is obnoxious. Many people believe that sweat （perspiration, the fluid that comes out from your skin when you feel hot） causes B.O. but sweat （noun） is odorless （has no smell）. The B.O. is caused by bacteria breaking down the protein in the sweat.
There are two kinds of sweat. One kind comes out from the general part of your body. The other is found mostly in your armpits and groin （the inside of your upper thighs around your sex organ）. B.O. usually comes from the sweat from the armpits and groin. The B.O. you smell on the MTR is from a person's armpits since it is unlikely you can smell the B.O. from a person's groin unless that person is not wearing any clothes or you bend down to smell it. If you smell B.O. on an MTR train, don't bend down to smell a pretty girl's groin to see if it is coming from her. You will be arrested. Experts say stress can make people sweat （verb） more in the armpits and groin. This then causes B.O. But some specialists believe eating onions, garlic, red meat and spicy foods can also cause B.O. Luckily, I don't like eating any of these things. And I always shower twice a day.
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有一位讀者寫電郵給我，她說在港鐵的擠逼車廂裏，人們的體臭（B.O.）難聞（obnoxious）得令她不得不戴口罩。她在口罩裏面塗上芳香的乳膏，每逢她乘港鐵時，便能免卻嗅到那些體臭（B.O.）。我乘港鐵時也有嗅到別人的體臭（B.O.），通常是在夏季。B.O.是body odor（英式串法為odour）的簡稱，odor的意思就是強烈的氣味。例如，蒜頭有強烈的味道（odor）。Body odor （B.O.）就是體臭。
Obnoxious解作令人厭惡，若果公廁很臭，那你就可以說it smells obnoxious。若某人對其他人很粗魯或不友善，你可以說他是一個obnoxious的人。如果某人的體味（B.O.）很難聞，那你可以說his B.O. is obnoxious。許多人以為是汗水（sweat或perspiration）引發體臭（B.O.），可其實汗水（sweat，名詞）本身是無味（odorless）的。體臭（B.O.）實質是細菌將汗水（sweat）裏的蛋白質分解引致。
汗水（sweat）有兩種，一種出自你身體各部份，另一種主要來自你腋窩（armpits）及腹股溝（groin）。體臭通常來自腋窩和腹股溝。你在港鐵裏嗅到的體臭，應該來自那人的腋窩，因為你不大可能嗅到其腹股溝的體臭，除非那人沒有穿衣服，或者你彎身去嗅。要是你在港鐵嗅到一陣體臭，千萬不要彎身去嗅美女的腹股溝，去看看是否從她而來啊，這樣你會被捕。專家說，壓力可以令人的腋下和腹股溝流汗更多，這就會形成體臭。但有些專家則相信，吃洋葱、蒜頭、紅肉和辣味食物都會引致體臭。幸好，我從不喜歡吃這些東西，而且經常一天洗澡兩次。mickchug@gmail.com
中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧