新奇事件簿 智能手机使用改变人类头骨形状

Scientists say that smartphones are changing the shape of people's skulls². Some people are spending so long looking at smartphones that a small bony bump is appearing above their neck. Doctors say the bump is large enough to feel by pressing the bottom of the skull¹, just above the neck. Dr David Shahar, a health scientist at the University of The Sunshine Coast in Australia, spoke³ to the BBC about the discovery. He said: "I have been a clinician for 20 years, and only in the last decade, increasingly, I have been discovering that my patients have this growth on the skull." The bump is becoming more frequent among 18 to 30-year-olds who spend many hours a day hunched⁴ over their smartphone.

科学家称智能手机正在改变人类头骨的形状。有些人长时间盯着智能手机看，脖子上方就隆起了一块小骨头。医生们称这个隆起的骨头很大，通过按压头骨底部就能感觉到，就在脖子上方。澳大利亚阳光海岸大学的一名健康科学家大卫·沙哈尔博士向BBC讲述了这一发现。他表示：“我当了20年的临床医生，直到最近10年，我发现越来越多的病人的头骨上隆起一小块。”这种情况在18岁至30岁的人群中越来越常见，他们每天花很多时间低头看智能手机。

A study led by Dr Shahar looked at the smartphone use of 1,200 people aged⁵ 18 to 86. Shahar said 18 to 30-year-olds were more likely to have the skull bumps than older generations. He said the bumps will probably be more common as we spend longer bending our necks while looking at their phones. Doctors say the bump could come from constantly bending the neck at unnatural⁶ angles to look at digital devices. Our head weighs about 4.5 kilograms and bending our head at the same angle for a long time can strain the neck. Doctors are calling this strain "text neck". They say the skull bump rarely causes health issues. They advised people to change their posture⁷ if their neck becomes sore.

沙哈尔博士领导的一项研究对1200名18到86岁人群的智能手机使用情况进行调查。沙哈尔表示，相比老一代，18到30岁的人更有可能隆起骨块。他表示随着我们低头看手机的时间越来越长，这种情况可能会越来越常见。医生表示这一情况可能是由于在看数码设备时，颈部不断以不自然的角度弯曲造成的。我们的头部重约4.5公斤，长时间以同样的角度弯曲头部会使颈部紧张。医生们称这一现象为“短信颈”。他们称隆起的小骨头几乎不会引起什么健康问题。他们建议如果感到颈部酸痛，可以改变他们的姿势。

1 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

2 skulls   

颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜

参考例句：

• One of the women's skulls found exceeds in capacity that of the average man of today. 现已发现的女性颅骨中，其中有一个的脑容量超过了今天的普通男子。
• We could make a whole plain white with skulls in the moonlight! 我们便能令月光下的平原变白，遍布白色的骷髅！

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 hunched   

（常指因寒冷、生病或愁苦）耸肩弓身的，伏首前倾的

参考例句：

• He sat with his shoulders hunched up. 他耸起双肩坐着。
• Stephen hunched down to light a cigarette. 斯蒂芬弓着身子点燃一支烟。

5 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

6 unnatural   

adj.不自然的；反常的

参考例句：

• Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗？
• She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。

7 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。