生在秋天的好处

　　People Born in Autumn Live Longer

　　People born in the autumn live longer than those born in the spring and are less likely to fall chronically¹ ill when they are older, according to an Austrian scientist. Using census² data for more than one million people in Austria, Denmark and Australia, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in the northern German town of Rostock found the month of birth was related to life expectancy³ over the age of 50. Seasonal⁴ differences in what mothers ate during pregnancy⁵, and infections occurring at different times of the year could both have an impact on the health of a new-born baby and could influence its life expectancy in older age. "A mother giving birth in spring spends the last phase of her pregnancy in winter, when she will eat less vitamins than in summer," said Gabriele Doblhammer, one of a team of scientists who carried out the research. "When she stops breast-feeding and starts giving her baby normal food, it's in the hot weeks of summer when babies are prone⁶ to infections of the digestive system." In Austria, adults born in autumn (October-December) lived about seven months longer than those born in spring (April-June), and in Denmark adults with birthdays in autumn outlived those born in spring by about four months. In the southern hemisphere, the picture was similar. Adults born in the Australian autumn - the European spring - lived about four months longer than those born in the Australian spring. The study focused on people born at the beginning of the 20th century, using death certificates and census data. Although nutrition at all times of the year has improved since then, the seasonal pattern persists, Doblhammer said.

　　一位奥地利科学家认为，秋天出生的人比生在春天的人活得长，在上了年纪的时候也更不容易得慢性病。马克斯-普朗克人口研究学院位于德国北部城市罗斯托克，该学院的科学家们通过分析奥地利、丹麦和澳大利亚3国超过100万的人口普查数据得出结论，人们50岁以后的平均寿命与出生月份之间存在关联。母亲在怀孕期间所吃的东西因季节而有不同，一年里不同时间流行的传染病也不一样，两者都会对新生儿的健康发生影响，并进而影响他们到老年时的平均寿命。进行此项研究的科学家小组成员加布里埃尔-多布哈默说：“春天分娩的母亲孕期的最后阶段适逢冬季，因此她摄入的维生素要比夏季时少。她停止哺乳开始让婴儿正常进食的时候又正好赶上夏天最热的那几个星期，这时候婴儿容易发生消化系统感染。“在奥地利，秋天(10至11月)出生的成人大约要比春天(4至6月)出生的多活7个月，而在丹麦这一差异大约是4个月。南半球的情况也差不多。生于澳洲秋天--欧洲的春天--的成人寿命比春天出生的长大约4个月。研究者们使用死亡证明和人口普查数据作为参考资料，主要对象是20世纪初出生的人。多布哈默说，尽管人们在一年中各个时期的营养状况与那时相比都已经有所改善，这样的季节性差异却依然存在。

　　Remarks：换一个说法，也就是天秤座和天蝎座的人通常比金牛座和双子座的人长寿，你相信吗？

1 chronically   

ad.长期地

参考例句：

• Similarly, any pigment nevus that is chronically irritated should be excised. 同样，凡是经常受慢性刺激的各种色素痣切勿予以切除。
• People chronically exposed to chlorine develop some degree of tolerance. 人长期接触氯气可以产生某种程度的耐受性。

2 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

3 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

4 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

5 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

6 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。