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窗外鞭炮轰隆，财神同学真的听得见吗？
2.21.2007
VOASE0221_Health Report
21 February 2007| Test May Show Heart Patients' Risk | Napping to a Healthier Heart? | |
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DownloadThis is the VOA Special English Health Report.
Researchers say they have developed a simple test that can tell if a person with heart disease is likely to suffer a heart attack. The test measures levels of a protein in the blood. The researchers say people with high levels of this protein are at high risk of heart attack, heart failure or stroke.
有研究者声称他们开发了一种能简易测试心脏病患者是否容易急性发作的方法。这项技术检测的是病人血液中某种蛋白质的含量。他们说这项指标较高的心脏病人会更容易出现急性心脏病发作、心力衰竭或中风。
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这项研究是由旧金山加州大学Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo所领导的科研小组开展的。在四年的研究过程中，他们共分析了将近一千位心脏病患者。
The researchers tested the heart disease patients for a protein called NT-proBNP. Patients with the highest levels were nearly eight times more likely than those with the lowest levels to have a heart attack, heart failure or stroke.
他们检测了这些患者血液中一个叫做NT-proBNP蛋白的含量。他们发现含量最高的那些病人的发病率要比最低的患病者高出将近八倍。
The researchers say the presence of high levels of the protein in the blood shows that the heart muscle is under pressure in some way. The study involved mostly men, so the researchers could not say for sure that the results are also true for women.
研究者认为这种蛋白质在血液中的高含量出现意味着患者的心肌处于某种受迫状态。这项研究所选取的对象主要集中于男性患者，因此研究者目前还无法确定这种检测方法是否同样适用于女性患者。
They say the patients with the highest levels of NT-proBNP were older and had other problems like diabetes or high blood pressure.
研究者还指出NT-proBNP含量最高的那些患者年龄都偏大，而且他们的身体状况还会存在一些其他异常，例如患有糖尿病，或是高血压。
Other researchers say more studies are needed to confirm if knowing the protein levels of a heart patient should affect that person's treatment. They also would like to know if more aggressive treatment could reduce the patient's chance of a heart attack or stroke.
一些其他的研究者认为他们需要更多的研究来确定在对心脏病患者的治疗过程中是否有必要参考这项蛋白的指标。他们还想知道高强度的治疗方法是否有助于降低患者出现心脏病发作或中风的机会。
The study appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Could a little sleep during the middle of the day reduce the risk of a heart attack? An unrelated study earlier this month in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that the answer may be yes.
In countries like the United States, afternoon naps are mostly for children. But they are common for adults in Mediterranean countries. And these countries generally have lower rates of heart disease. So scientists in the United States and Greece wondered if naps could play a part.
Twenty-three thousand healthy adults took part in the study by Harvard University and the University of Athens. Those who took thirty-minute naps three times a week had a thirty-seven percent lower risk of death from heart problems than people who did not take naps.
The researchers say napping may improve heart health by reducing stress. They say the research suggests that naps are especially good for working men. But they say not enough female subjects died during the study to judge the benefits for women.
And that's the VOA Special English Health Report. I'm Steve Ember.
中文翻译由Carl提供 PoEnglish感谢致敬！
VOASE0220_Explorations
20 February 2007| Eye to Eye With an Elephant, and Watching for Hungry Crocs, on Safari in Africa | |
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DownloadVOICE ONE:
I’m Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
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| Safari explorers on the Chobe River |
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VOICE ONE:
Imagine climbing into an open sided four-wheel drive vehicle early in the morning.
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| Going on safari in a four-wheel drive vehicle |
Your expert guide drives you through the entrance to Chobe National Park in Botswana. All around, you can see the huge pink sky at sunrise. The trees and thick grass move slightly in the wind. Then, suddenly you hear the movement of leaves nearby. A few meters away a huge elephant walks out of the green bushes. He is so close you can see his white ivory tusks and the deep lines in his gray skin. He seems to look right at you, then moves on to continue his search for more food. Welcome to Africa and the excitement of safari.
VOICE TWO:
There are many national parks and game reserves in Africa where you can go on safari. For example, many tourists visit Kruger National Park in the northeastern area of South Africa. This park was established in nineteen twenty-six in an effort to protect the wildlife of South Africa. It has a surface area of almost twenty thousand square kilometers. Many kinds of plants and animals live in Kruger, including the famous “Big Five.” The Big Five are five large animals: the elephant, lion, leopard, rhinoceros and buffalo.
Big game hunters created the term Big Five. For hunters, these five animals were some of the most difficult and dangerous to catch. Many tourists think mainly about seeing the Big Five while on safari. But there are many other interesting, and much smaller, animals as well.
VOICE ONE:
Kruger National Park represents a good example of the many kinds of safaris that are available to visitors. For example, in parks including Kruger, you can rent a car and drive around some areas on your own. There are also wilderness trails for safaris where you walk on a path to see the animals. A guide or ranger comes with you to keep you safe and tell about the animals. There are also mobile safaris where you sleep in a tent. The campsite moves with you as you travel through the park.
Private hotel companies operate some areas of parks such as Kruger. These hotels can be very costly. But many people think it is worth the cost to enjoy fine food and service. After all, it is not every day you can look out of your bedroom window and see a monkey or elephant standing outside.
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VOICE TWO:
There are several general rules to follow when traveling on safari. For example, most people wear light-colored clothing such as light brown or tan. This is because lighter colors take in less of the strong heat of the sun than dark colors do. Darker color clothes are also more likely to attract mosquitoes. It is also important to wear a hat and sunscreen lotion to protect your skin from being burned by the very hot African sun. Binoculars are also very helpful for seeing animals that are far away.
VOICE ONE:
When you are out in nature it is important to speak softly so as not to frighten the animals away. Also, never try to feed or go near one of the animals. And, if you are in a boat, keep your arms and legs out of the water. You might want to touch the water to cool off. But you never know if a hungry crocodile or other creature is nearby. By following these guidelines you can enjoy a safari that is both safe and exciting.
VOICE TWO:
Tanzania is another country with many parks and game reserves. People who like chimpanzees can visit Gombe Stream National Park on the western border of the country. This is an area of thick forests, ancient trees, and beautiful lakes. Animal expert Jane Goodall made the chimpanzee populations in this area famous. She spent many years studying the behavior of these endangered animals.
A guide can take you deep into the forest. As you sit waiting, you might hear the screams and calls of the chimps coming closer. Chimpanzees share about ninety eight percent of their genes with humans. Their actions and noises can seem very human. Being able to watch these animals playing, eating and communicating with each other in the wild is a special experience to treasure.
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Chobe National Park in Botswana is another popular place for safari travel. This park is home to one of the largest elephant populations in the world. Mist Setaung is a professional safari guide who often takes visitors through Chobe. Listen as he tells about himself and how he got this exciting job.
MIST SETAUNG: “My name is Mist Setaung and I was born and raised in Botswana, a place called Maun which is a gateway to the Okavango delta. To become a guide you actually go through a course. There’s a six-month course of the Department of Wildlife, which is run by the government. Then, after this course you take an exam.
"My father offered me a job as a trainee guide and I went into the bush. Slowly and surely I started learning and eventually it got into my blood, and I just got devoted to it.”
VOICE TWO:
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| A hippopotamus eating lunch |
With a guide like Mist you are guaranteed to see new animals and learn a great deal. One excellent way to see the wildlife of Chobe is by boat. Mist can take you on a boat ride up and down the river so you can see the animals as they come to drink or play in the water. Hippopotamuses like to stand in the grass and eat most of the day. Or, they enter the water to stay cool. In fact, a hippo can stay under water for up to six minutes. They are very good at hiding in the water. If you look carefully, you can see their two eyes looking out of the water at you. You know they are near when you hear the strange deep noise they make with their nose.
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These animals look too big and fat to be dangerous. But they can be very aggressive and protective of their territory.
VOICE ONE:
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| A paradise whydah |
VOICE TWO:
There are also many smaller animals to watch for. Antelopes of all kinds live in the park. There are gnus or wildebeests with their flat wide faces. Fine-boned impalas walk around as gracefully as dancers. Solid warthogs explore the bush on their short little legs. These strange-looking wild pigs are dark with long yellow tusks coming out of their mouth. They are not very pretty animals. Mist says "they have a face only a mother could love."
Mist can also tell you about conservation efforts to protect wild animals. Some animals such as the black rhinoceros have almost been destroyed because poachers illegally hunt and kill them. Many parks across Africa have had trouble with poachers. In Chobe there is an army camp with workers who make sure that poachers stay away.
VOICE ONE:
It might surprise you that there are too many of some other animals. For example, in parts of Chobe the large elephant population has actually harmed the environment. When elephants eat huge quantities of leaves and grasses, other animals have trouble finding enough food to eat. And, elephants are not gentle eaters. They can tear out trees and bushes as they feed. In the dry season these dead plants can increase the danger of fires.
VOICE TWO:
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| Chobe elephants at sunset |
If you are lucky, you can enjoy sunset while floating down the Chobe River. Yellow and orange colors fill the sky at this hour and are reflected in the water. The sun slowly starts to slip behind the trees. But before it is dark, you see a large movement of gray bodies. Three families of elephants have come to the water's edge.
More than thirty elephants are quietly drinking and eating. There are huge old elephants with large tusks. There are the mothers who lead each family group. Then, there are the babies who play and run around the thick legs of the adult elephants. The elephants look up and watch as your boat turns away and you head back to camp at the end of another day on safari in Africa.
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VOICE ONE:
This program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I’m Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Barbara Klein. You can read and listen to this program on our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English.
VOASE0220_Science In the News
20 February 2007| Scientists Study Children Who Feel No Pain | |
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DownloadVOICE ONE:
This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Bob Doughty. Today we tell about some recent studies of pain, and new possibilities for controlling it.
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Last year, Nature magazine published a report about six children who have never suffered pain. C. Geoffrey Woods of the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research in England and his team wrote the report.
VOICE TWO:
The six children come from three families from northern Pakistan. The research team found the children after hearing about a boy who apparently felt no pain. The boy stood on burning coals and stabbed his arms with knives to earn money. He died in a fall before the researchers could meet him.
But the team was able to find members of the boy's extended family. They also seemed unable to feel pain.
These children were six to fourteen years of age. They sometimes burned themselves with hot liquids or steam. They sat on hot heating devices. They cut their lips with their teeth, but felt no pain. Two of the children bit off one-third of their tongue. Yet they could feel pressure and tell differences between hot and cold.
VOICE ONE:
Doctor Woods and his research team studied DNA -- deoxyribonucleic acid -- from the children. They also examined DNA from the children's parents. The team found that all had a gene with a mistake, or fault. Except for the genetic fault, the children had normal intelligence and health. The researchers found that each child received a faulty version of the gene from a parent.
The gene is called SCN9A. It gives orders to a protein that serves as a passageway for the chemical sodium. All nerve cells have such passages. This is how pain signals from a wound or injury are communicated to the spinal cord and brain.
VOICE TWO:
Two years ago, investigators at Yale University in the United States discovered something important about SCN9A. They linked it to a rare condition in which patients suffer painful burning in their feet or hands. The problems of these patients were nearly opposite to those of the children who felt no pain. In patients with the burning hands and feet, SCN9A was too active.
The findings of the British and American groups may mean better medical help for pain. Doctor Woods' team says this could happen if medicine can be developed to control the faulty gene. That would be welcome news to people whose pain resists current medicines.
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VOICE ONE:
Another report says many Americans believe they are suffering more pain now than in earlier years. The National Center for Health Statistics released the report last November. The center is an agency of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Twenty five percent of American adults said they had a full day of pain in the month before they were questioned. Ten percent were more deeply affected. Their pain continued for a year or more.
Amy Bernstein was lead research writer for the study. Miz Bernstein said pain is rarely considered as a separate condition. Yet she said costs linked to pain overload the health care system.
VOICE TWO:
The study found that lower back pain was a big problem. More than twenty five percent of adults who were asked said they had lower back pain in the past three months.
Painful knees caused the most trouble of the body's joints. But some victims of knee pain are doing something about it. They are having operations to replace the painful joint. Their replacement knees are man-made, or artificial.
Starting in nineteen ninety-two, rates of hospital stays for knee replacement rose almost ninety percent among older Americans. The patients were sixty-five years of age or older.
VOICE ONE:
Americans also reported head pain. Fifteen percent of adults said they suffered a migraine or other severe headache in the past three months. This pain affected young people three times as much as older adults.
Reports of severe joint pain increased with age. Women said they had painful joints more often than men.
The study showed that painful conditions caused increased use of narcotic drugs. Narcotics can be strong painkillers. The study compared two periods. One period lasted six years and ended in nineteen ninety-four. The other began in nineteen ninety-nine and ended four years ago. Between those periods, the percentage of adults who said they used a narcotic for pain in the past month rose from three to four percent.
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VOICE TWO:
Doctors usually order opiates for patients with severe pain. Opiates include morphine, codeine and methadone. Most of these drugs come from the poppy flower. Doctors have used one opiate, opium, to treat pain for more than two thousand years. A newer drug, oxycodone, is called an opioid. An opioid is similar to an opiate. Doctors use it to control moderate to severe pain over a long period.
For example, a woman from Rockville, Maryland, has a painful back. Her doctor says he cannot operate on it without putting her in danger of losing the use of her legs. The woman was in severe pain much of the time until the doctor ordered a form of oxycodone. She still has pain at some times of day. But she is able to work at home and take part in at least some of the activities she loves.
VOICE ONE:
Many doctors order, or prescribe, narcotic drugs for patients with continuing severe pain like that of the Maryland woman. Narcotic drugs may help to decrease pain, but can make many people sleepy. They also can be addictive. The user may need increasing amounts to get the same effect.
Some doctors have prescribed more narcotic drugs than are medically necessary. Doctors face possible arrest and jail sentences if they knowingly order narcotics for other than medical reasons.
VOICE TWO:
Non-medical use of oxycodone and similar drugs has killed many Americans. Some people break them up and mix them with other drugs.
Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported an increase in the number of accidental deaths from prescription drugs. C.D.C. officials say the number increased more than sixty percent between nineteen ninety-nine and two thousand four. That made accidental drug-poisoning the second largest cause of accidental death in the United States. Only traffic accidents rated higher.
VOICE ONE:
The C.D.C. got its information from official death reports. The reports do not always clearly state which drugs are involved. But researchers say they believe painkillers ordered by doctors caused the increase.
Clearly, strong painkillers can be dangerous, but many patients need them. To meet this need, some doctors and hospitals today provide special services for such patients. For example, doctors who teach at the University of Cincinnati School of Medicine in Ohio offer advice and treatment for several kinds of pain.
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VOICE TWO:
As you hear this program, research into pain continues around the world. Recently, an English study suggested that women feel pain more than men. Psychologist Ed Keogh says the study found that women also feel pain in more body areas than men. It also found that women suffer pain more often and for longer periods than men.
In the study, several people at the University of Bath held one arm in warm water. Then they put the arm in icy cold water. Both men and women were told to think about the physical nature of the pain. They were not to think about their emotional reactions to it. Using this psychological trick, men said they felt less pain than women.
VOICE ONE:
Mister Keogh says many explanations of these differences depend on genetic and hormonal influences. But he says psychological and social reasons also are important.
One medical worker who has cared for hundreds of people says it is never fair to say someone is making too much of their pain. She adds that no one can ever know what other people are feeling.
VOICE TWO:
SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Jerilyn Watson. Our producer was Brianna Blake. This is Bob Doughty.
VOICE ONE:
And this is Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.
VOASE0220_Agriculture Report
20 February 2007| Insect Threatens Ash Trees in US | |
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DownloadThis is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
A beetle invasion in the United States has killed at least twenty million ash trees. The invasion of the emerald ash borer was first discovered near Detroit, Michigan, in two thousand two. Experts believe the small green insects arrived in the nineteen nineties in shipments of goods from China.
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| An ash tree in Ohio with its bark cut away to look for signs of the emerald ash borer |
Ash trees are popular. They grow well in heavy clay soils, and they can survive ice storms well. They produce many leaves, so they provide shade protection from the sun. And in the fall the leaves turn a beautiful gold and purple.
Ash trees can resist many diseases. But they cannot resist the emerald ash borer. It lays eggs on the bark. Then the young larvae drill into and feed on the inner bark. This harms the ability of the tree to transport water and nutrients.
The insect is attacking tree farms and can also spread when logs and firewood are transported.
The United States Department of Agriculture is working to save the ash tree. So are agriculture departments and university extensions in a number of states.
In some places, farmers are using "detection trees." These have an area where bark has been cut away. The area circles the tree and is called a girdle. The girdling process weakens the trees. It makes them easier targets for borers, and shows if the insects are nearby.
Efforts to stop the spread of the emerald ash borer include cutting down affected trees. A tree farmer in Maryland, for example, recently faced the loss of hundreds of trees.
There are worries that the ash tree might disappear unless the invasion is controlled. To prepare for such a possibility, a government laboratory is collecting seeds from ash trees.
David Burgdorf works in East Lansing, Michigan, for the Natural Resources Conservation Service; the service is part of the United States Department of Agriculture. He is asking people to send in ash seeds. The laboratory examines and x-rays the seeds to make sure there are no living borer embryos.
The best seeds are then sent for storage in a seed bank in Fort Collins, Colorado. There, they are dried and frozen at the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation. Should the seeds ever be needed, the hope is that scientists might someday develop an ash tree that could resist the little green attackers.
And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. I'm Steve Ember.
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