英语听力精选进阶版 6229

Heatwave or Glorious Sunshine? 热浪还是灿烂阳光？

However, there is some bad news too. Health agencies confirmed there has been a significant rise in the number of fatalities¹ in the UK since the start of the latest hot spell two weeks ago.

A warning was issued by the Health Protection Agency ahead of the latest heatwave, alerting people to the potential health risks.

Clearly, the elderly, and people with certain medical conditions such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, are the most vulnerable.

Persistent² hot weather can also cause rashes, fluid retention³, dizziness and even fainting.

Heatstroke is the most dangerous condition, where the body can no longer control its temperature and people become confused, disorientated, have fits and fall unconscious.

So what can you do to limit the risks?

Top tips for keeping cool include wearing loose cotton clothes and spraying or splashing your face and the back of your neck with cold water several times a day.

Drink plenty of water so you don’t get dehydrated.

It's also a good idea to keep your windows shut if your room is cooler than it is outside.

According to a Department of Health report, climate change means that heatwaves are likely to become more frequent in England.

The worst British heatwave in recent years happened in August 2003 when record-breaking temperatures led to 2,000 excess deaths.

Glossary 词汇表

showed up 露面 

held up 脱不开身 

work commitments 工作承诺 

supporting cast 配角 

hotly-anticipated 急切等待的 

saga 系列故事、传奇 

vampire 吸血鬼 

instalment （系列中的）一辑 

love triangle 三角恋 

emerges 出现 

werewolf 狼人 

split us up 将我们分开

unfortunately 不幸地 

especially 特别是 

at the end of the day 说到底 

dedicated 专注的/忠实的 

nicknamed 绰号为 

pun 押韵 

diehards 顽固分子/铁杆支持者 

snub 怠慢

1 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

3 retention   

n.保留，保持，保持力，记忆力

参考例句：

• They advocate the retention of our nuclear power plants.他们主张保留我们的核电厂。
• His retention of energy at this hour is really surprising.人们惊叹他在这个时候还能保持如此旺盛的精力。