在殘酷的大自然中生存下去不是件易事，如果有一天你不得不荒野求生，不要盲目相信所謂的“生存技能”，有一些甚至可能置你于死地。

Myth: You can suck the venom out of a snakebite.

千萬別信：被蛇咬之后，可以用嘴吸出毒汁。

Fact: If a bite delivers venom, it'll immediately enter the bloodstream. Putting your mouth on the bite will deliver extra bacteria to the wound and may simply get venom into your mouth and esophagus. If someone gets bitten, try to keep the person's heart rate low and hold the affected limb below heart level while getting to a hospital.

事實：如果被毒蛇咬了一口，毒汁就會立即滲入血液。用你的嘴去吸蛇咬處會讓傷口感染更多細菌，而且只會讓毒汁進入你的口腔和食道。如果有人被蛇咬了，在送醫(yī)的路上應盡力讓受傷者的心跳平靜下來，讓被咬的肢體低于心臟的位置。

Myth: Always play dead when you are attacked by a bear.

千萬別信：被熊攻擊就裝死。

Fact: If you are out in the woods and you see a bear, the general advice is to quietly back away. If it's in your yard or around your campsite, make yourself large and loud, which hopefully will scare it off.

事實：如果你在森林里看到一頭熊，一般建議安靜地向后撤退。如果熊在你家院子或露營地周邊，裝出強大的樣子大聲喊叫也許能把它嚇走。

But in the case of an actual attack, your reaction strategy should depend on the bear and on the type of attack. Never play dead if a black bear attacks — always fight back.

如果熊真的要攻擊你，你的應對策略取決于哪一種熊以及熊所采取的攻擊方式。如果一頭黑熊攻擊你，永遠不要裝死，一定要奮起反擊。

In most cases, a brown or grizzly bear attacks to defend itself or its cubs. At these times it will warn you off by making noise and pretending to charge. Back away from a defensive attack slowly. If the bear makes contact, play dead lying on your stomach with your hands over your neck. But in the rare case of a predatory attack, which comes with no warning (or if the bear seems to be stalking you), fight for your life.

大多數(shù)情況下，棕熊或灰熊攻擊人類是為了自衛(wèi)或保護它的幼崽。在這種時候，熊會通過發(fā)出聲音或假裝要進攻來把你嚇走。在自衛(wèi)性攻擊前要慢慢地后退。如果這只熊和你發(fā)生肢體接觸，你可以趴在地上裝死，把手放在脖子上。不過如果遇見了罕見的掠食性攻擊（這種攻擊是沒有警告的），或者當你發(fā)現(xiàn)熊在跟蹤你時，就要全力反擊。

Myth: You need to find a food supply immediately if you are lost in the wilderness.

千萬別信：如果你在荒野中迷失，你需要立即找到食物來源。

Fact: Not even close. You can survive up to six weeks without food. The exact amount of time might vary, depending on starting point and other health issues, but water and shelter from the elements are far more important.

事實：遠非如此。沒有食物你可以存活六周之久。存活的時間長短取決于你起初的身體狀況和其他健康因素，但水和遮風擋雨的住所比食物重要得多。

Myth: The fluid in a cactus can save you from dying of thirst.

千萬別信：仙人掌的汁液可以讓你免于渴死。

Fact: If you're experienced enough to pick out the one kind of barrel cactus that you can filter water from safely, this may work. But most of the time, cactus fluid will make you sick, causing you to vomit up precious liquid and leaving you more dehydrated.

事實：如果你很有經(jīng)驗，能夠挑出可安全過濾出水的桶形仙人掌，仙人掌的汁液也許有用。但大多數(shù)情況下，仙人掌的汁液會讓你惡心和嘔吐，導致你失去體內(nèi)寶貴的水分，從而讓你脫水更嚴重。

Myth: Moss grows on the north side of a tree.

千萬別信：苔蘚生長在樹的北面。

Fact: Moss can grow on all sides of a tree, depending on environmental conditions. Don't depend on this bit of folklore for navigation.

事實：苔蘚會在大樹的四面生長，取決于周圍的環(huán)境條件。不要靠這種謠傳來指導方向。

Myth: If an animal eats something, it’s safe for you to eat it.

千萬別信：動物能吃的東西，你也能吃。

Fact: Birds and squirrels can eat certain berries and mushrooms that would kill a person.

事實：鳥和松鼠能吃的一些漿果和蘑菇會讓人喪命。

Myth: Rub someone's skin or put them in a hot tub to warm them up if they're freezing.

千萬別信：如果被凍傷，摩擦皮膚或者在熱水中浸泡可以緩解。

Fact: Rubbing frostbitten skin can damage it even more, and hot water can be shocking or damaging for someone dealing with frostbite and hypothermia. You need to warm someone back up slowly, preferably with blankets and some warm water bottles under their armpits.

事實：摩擦生了凍瘡的皮膚反而會進一步損傷皮膚，凍傷或體溫過低的人接觸熱水會造成沖擊和傷害。這個時候要慢慢地幫助凍傷的人暖和過來，最好是蓋上毯子，把暖水袋放在腋窩之下。

Myth: If a shark attacks you, punch it in the nose.

千萬別信：如果鯊魚攻擊你，就重擊它的鼻子。

Fact: It's really hard to land a solid punch on the nose of a moving shark. In the rare cases in which a shark comes in for a bite, try to put a solid object between you and animal. If that fails, claw at its eyes and gills.

事實：想要打到移動中鯊魚的鼻子確實很難。萬一有鯊魚要咬你，設法在你和鯊魚之間放一塊固體，如果做不到，就抓鯊魚的眼睛和鰓。

Myth: Always swim parallel to shore if you are caught in a rip current.

千萬別信：如果你被卷入激流，記住要沿著和海岸平行的方向游動。

Fact: A rip current is scary, but swimming directly parallel to shore works best if the current goes directly out to sea. This isn't wrong, but it's good to know that many rip currents come in at an angle — your general idea should be to stay alongside the shore, but swim perpendicular to the current as much as you can "at an angle away from the current and towards the shore," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. It might be easier to swim one direction instead of the other. And don't tire yourself out too much; it shouldn't feel as if you are going upstream. If you can't swim out, tread water until you can.

事實：激流很可怕，但如果激流將你直直地卷入海洋，你最好是和海岸平行游動。這個做法沒有錯，但許多激流的方向都是和海岸成角度的，普遍想法是和海岸平行，但根據(jù)美國國家海洋和大氣管理局的建議，你應該盡力向和激流相垂直的方向游去，“在和激流成角度的情況下向海岸游去”?？赡艹环较蛴稳ケ认蛄硪粋€方向更容易。不過不要讓自己的身體太疲勞，你不應該有逆流而上的感覺。如果你游不出去，就一直踩水直到你能游出去。

Myth: A lean-to is a great shelter.

千萬別信：坡屋是絕佳的庇護所。

Fact: The right shelter depends on surrounding conditions. In high heat you need shade, but in cooler climates, staying warm is a priority. This means protecting yourself from wind, but it also means building up a layer to insulate you from the cool ground at night. A lean-to might help protect from wind and the elements, but may not be enough to provide warmth.

事實：找什么地方容身取決于周圍的環(huán)境。在高溫下你需要陰涼處，但在寒冷天氣里，保暖是要優(yōu)先考慮的。這意味著你要找一個防風的處所，也意味著你要多蓋一層來讓自己在夜里免受地表寒氣入侵。坡屋也許能防風和抵御惡劣天氣，但可能不足以保暖。

英文來源：商業(yè)內(nèi)幕網(wǎng)

翻譯&編輯：丹妮