英语词汇siamese twins的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

Siamese twins. Chang and Eng Bunker were born in Bange- sau, Siam (now Thailand) on April 15, 1811, and were discov- ered at Mekong when they were 16. Their bodies were joined by a ligament between the xiphoid cartilages, a short tubular band uniting them at the chest through which their circulatory systems communicated. After P. T. Barnum brought the world- renowned “Chinese Double-Boys” to America, he had consid- erable trouble with them, claiming that they were the only show business people he couldn’t get along with. But then Chang and Eng hated everybody, even each other, Barnum said. At any rate, the two often quarreled with the impresario over his methods and only exhibited when they needed the money. In April 1864 they married two English sisters, Sarah and Adelaide Yates, fathering 22 children between them— Chang, 10, and Eng, 12—according to the records. They finally settled with their families on a farm in New Hampshire, where they died on January 17, 1874, within two or three hours of each other. But the surviving twin did not die of a broken heart, as the story goes; fatal illness in one Siamese twin dooms the other unless they can be separated, which was impossible in Chang and Eng’s case. The Siamese Twins, as they were billed, gave their name to all others so born after them and the term is also used to describe inseparable friends. Doubles of many kinds are called Siamese, such as the Siamese pipes with two openings almost at ground level outside some buildings, which fire engines use to pump water into a building for its standpipes and sprinkler system.

词汇	siamese twins
词源	Siamese twins. Chang and Eng Bunker were born in Bange- sau, Siam (now Thailand) on April 15, 1811, and were discov- ered at Mekong when they were 16. Their bodies were joined by a ligament between the xiphoid cartilages, a short tubular band uniting them at the chest through which their circulatory systems communicated. After P. T. Barnum brought the world- renowned “Chinese Double-Boys” to America, he had consid- erable trouble with them, claiming that they were the only show business people he couldn’t get along with. But then Chang and Eng hated everybody, even each other, Barnum said. At any rate, the two often quarreled with the impresario over his methods and only exhibited when they needed the money. In April 1864 they married two English sisters, Sarah and Adelaide Yates, fathering 22 children between them— Chang, 10, and Eng, 12—according to the records. They finally settled with their families on a farm in New Hampshire, where they died on January 17, 1874, within two or three hours of each other. But the surviving twin did not die of a broken heart, as the story goes; fatal illness in one Siamese twin dooms the other unless they can be separated, which was impossible in Chang and Eng’s case. The Siamese Twins, as they were billed, gave their name to all others so born after them and the term is also used to describe inseparable friends. Doubles of many kinds are called Siamese, such as the Siamese pipes with two openings almost at ground level outside some buildings, which fire engines use to pump water into a building for its standpipes and sprinkler system.
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