Vocabulary
tampon: 衛生棉條
menstrual cycle: 月經週期Competing in the Olympics is stressful at the best of times - but imagine doing so while having your period. 參加奧運比賽，即使在最佳狀態下也會壓力山大——可若是處在生理期呢？ Fu Yuanhui, one of China's swimming stars, became an overnight social media sensation thanks to her frank post-race interviews and exaggerated expressions.中國游泳隊小將傅園慧因賽後採訪中的耿直言論和誇張表情迅速走紅社交媒體。
Now, she's become a talking point online again - for breaking a sporting taboo by talking about her period. 這次，她又打破體壇禁忌，談論自己的生理期，再次引爆網路話題。
China missed out on a medal in the women's 4x100m medley relay on Sunday, coming fourth. 周日的女子4x100米混合泳接力賽，中國隊獲得第四名，未能登上領獎臺。
After the match, team-mates Lu Ying, Shi Jinglin and Zhu Menghui were interviewed by a reporter - but Fu was initially nowhere to be found.賽後，隊員陸瀅、史婧琳和朱夢慧接受了採訪，而傅園慧則不見蹤影。 It turns out she was crouched behind a board, doubled over in pain.後來發現，她蹲在看板後痛苦地蜷縮著。
When the journalist asked her (in Chinese) if she was OK, Fu said: "I didn't swim well enough this time," and apologised to her team-mates. 記者問她還好嗎，傅園慧說：“這次沒有遊好。”還向隊友表示歉意。
"It's because my period came yesterday, so I felt particularly tired - but this isn't a reason, I still didn't swim well enough." “我昨天來例假了，所以感覺特別累。但這也不是理由，還是自己沒遊好。”
It was a poignant moment for many Chinese viewers, who took to social media to express their support for her. 許多中國網友深受觸動，紛紛在社交媒體上表達了對她的支持。
"I really admire Fu Yuanhui, for swimming while she was on her period - women can be affected during their periods, especially with period pain... she felt guilty for coming fourth, but Fu Yuanhui we're still very proud of you," user TAO wrote on Sina Weibo. 新浪微博用戶TAO表示：“我真的很敬佩傅園慧生理期還去比賽游泳。女性會受到生理期的影響，尤其是痛經的話……中國隊拿了第四，她很內疚。但是傅園慧，我們依然為你驕傲。”
Tampons are relatively unknown in China
在中國，衛生棉條少有人知
It's also sparked a discussion about tampons - which are not widely used in China. According to one industry survey, only 2% of women in China use tampons -compared to 42% of US women. 關於衛生棉條的討論也由此引爆。衛生棉條在中國並未得到廣泛使用。一項業內調查顯示，只有2%的中國女性使用衛生棉條，而美國女性的使用比例是42%。
Many women weren't familiar with how to use them, or had not heard of them before, the survey by Cotton Inc said. 美國棉花公司的調查稱，許多女性不熟悉衛生棉條的使用方法，甚至從未聽說過。
"Someone accused Fu of lying, asking how she could have gone in the water on her period," weibo user Dvingnew wrote. "Chinese people have prejudices about tampons - as a woman over 30, I'd been ignorant, and full of fear, about tampons until now too."
微博用戶Dvingnew說：“有人指責傅園慧撒謊，問她生理期怎麼下水。中國人對衛生棉條懷有偏見。我作為一個三十多歲的女性，直到現在也對它一無所知，心存畏懼。”
And there may also be cultural factors at play too - some Chinese women have been told to avoid using tampons because it could stop them from being virgins, despite health experts pointing out that the two things are unrelated. 這可能也有文化因素的作用——一些中國女性被告知不要使用衛生棉條，因為那會破壞處女膜。而健康專家指出，兩者並沒有什麼關係。
One poster defending tampons wrote: "Who told you virgins can't use tampons? Come on, it's the 21st Century." 支援使用棉條一方的帖子寫道：“誰跟你說處女不可以用棉條的？拜託，這都21世紀了。”
According to reports, China's first domestic tampon brand may be launched soon - which may encourage more women to swim while on their periods. 據報導，中國首家本土衛生棉條品牌很快就要成立，這或許能鼓勵更多女性在生理期游泳。 So can menstrual cycles affect sporting performance? 那麼，生理期會影響運動表現嗎？The subject of competing while menstruating is "definitely a taboo", Georgie Bruinvels, a sports scientist, tells the BBC. 運動學專家喬吉•布魯威爾斯告訴BBC，生理期參與比賽這個話題是“絕對的禁忌”。
"A lot of [elite] sport coaches are men, and that makes it harder for women, who don't want to say 'I'm on my menstrual cycle'. “許多（傑出的）體育教練都是男性。因此，對於不願說自己來例假的女性，其處境變得更為艱難。”
"We need incidents like this to raise the issue" and encourage more research, she says.
她表示，“我們需要類似的事件來引發這一話題”並且鼓勵更多的研究。
Ms Bruinvels surveyed over 1,800 sportswomen as part of her work as a researcher at the Female Athlete Health Group - a collaborative project between St Mary's University and University College London. 布魯威爾斯作為女性運動員健康研究組的成員，對1800名女運動員進行了調查。該研究組是聖瑪麗大學和倫敦大學學院的合作項目。
"More than half the sportswomen I surveyed said they felt their menstrual cycle affected their performance." “調查中，超過一半的女運動員認為生理期影響了她們的表現。”
While there is not enough research into the impact of periods on sport, Ms Bruinvels says, one potential factor she was researching was iron deficiency. 但布魯威爾斯稱，生理期對體育運動的影響尚未得到充分研究，她在探索的一個可能因素是鐵的缺乏。
"Menstruation is the leading cause of iron deficiency in the developed world, but many women are not aware they have it. “在發達國家，生理期是缺鐵的主要原因，但許多女性並不清楚這一點。”
"There could be an impact on the amount of time you can exercise, and the maximum amount of oxygen" an athlete can use, and she recommends that sportswomen who feel they've been affected get their iron levels tested. “運動時間長短，還有運動員可消耗的最大氧氣量都可能受到缺鐵的影響”。她建議認為自己受了影響的女運動員去檢查一下身體的鐵含量。
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