And by convention they are written as if the substance is being reduced, not oxidized.

按照惯例，它们被写成好像物质正在被还原， 而不是被氧化。

The answer is a neverending series of reactions that are dedicated to doing two vital, and totally contradictory, things: One set of chemical reactions destroys the reactants that you give them, reducing big, complex substances into molecular rubble.

答案是一系列无休止的反应，这些反应致力于做两件至关重要且完全矛盾的事情：一组化学反应会破坏你给它们的反应物，将大型复杂物质变成分子碎片。