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6、The Plague Wasn't A Guaranteed Killer
鼠疫并非箭无虚发的杀手
Many of us imagine that the plague was a certain death sentence. That belief comes from the massive, widespread devastation the plague caused rather than its effects on individual sufferers. Many stories actually tell of people simply immune to the plague, and others record those who contracted the disease but survived. Marshall Howe was one such individual.
我们很多人都以为鼠疫是一种必死的疾病。这种看法来自于鼠疫造成的大面积严重的破坏而非他对个人造成的伤害。很多故事记载了对鼠疫具有免疫体质的人群，另一些故事则记载了病愈的幸存者。Marshall Howe就是这样一个人。
Howe lived in the village of Eyam during its quarantine, and after recovering from the plague, he helped bury those who died from it. He was reportedly carrying one man to his grave when the corpse spoke and asked for something to eat. The supposed dead man eventually recovered. Another Eyam resident, Margaret Blackwell, recovered from the plague after being so overcome with thirst that she drank a pot of melted bacon fat.
Howe在Eyam村隔离时期正驻留于村中，在他患病并且病愈之后，他帮助掩埋了那些病亡的村民。据说一次在他将尸体往坟墓搬运时，“尸体”开口说话并要吃东西。这个本该死去的人最终病愈并活了下来。另一个Eyam的患病村民Margaret Blackwell，在极度干渴的情况下喝下一大罐融化的猪油，最后病愈了。
Studies of Black Death victims’ skeletal remains reveal a telling tale. Most already suffered from some other ailment, such as disease or malnutrition, before contracting the plague. The plague did kill previously healthy individuals, but it’s now thought that many who were healthy stood a chanceat survival.
对黑死病受害者骸骨的研究揭示了这样一个生动的事实。大部分受难者在感染瘟疫之前承受着其他的苦痛折磨，比如疾病和营养不良。当然，鼠疫确实曾杀死了很多原本完全健康的人，但现在的观点是，很多原本健康的病患并非必死无疑。
