VOA慢速英语2012 Health Report - How to Stay Warm and Safe in Freezing Weather（在线收听）

Health Report - How to Stay Warm and Safe in Freezing Weather

健康报道 - 严寒天气如何保暖

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report in Special English.

这里是美国之音慢速英语健康报道。

Freezing weather can mean frostbite and hypothermia unless a person is prepared. Today we talk about how to stay warm, dry and safe.

严寒天气对一个没准备的人来说就意味着冻伤和体温过低。 今天我们将讨论如果保暖，保干和保安全。

Frostbite is damage that happens when skin is exposed to extreme cold for too long. It mainly happens on the hands, feet, nose and ears.

冻伤是一种皮肤在极寒环境中暴露时间过长而导致的损伤。主要发生在手、脚、鼻子和耳朵这些部位。

People with minor cases of frostbite that affect only the skin may not suffer any permanent damage. But if deeper tissue is affected, a person is likely to feel pain every time the area gets cold.

如果只是皮肤局部冻伤，可能不会对人造成任何永久性伤害。但是如果人体深层组织受到伤害，极有可能会导致该部位每年一遇冷就疼。

If blood vessels are damaged, people can suffer a gangrene infection. Sometimes the only way doctors can treat an injury like this is to remove frostbitten areas like fingers and toes.

如果人体血管受损，就可能会导致坏疽感染。医生有时处理这种伤害的唯一办法就是切除该冻伤部位，例如手或脚趾。

Hypothermia is a condition that develops when the body cannot produce as much heat as it releases. Signs of hypothermia include uncontrollable shaking, very slow breathing and difficulty thinking clearly. Hypothermia can lead to death if the person does not receive help.

体温过低是由于人体无法产生大于人体释放的热量。体温过低的症状包括不受控制的发抖，呼吸缓慢以及思维不清晰。体温过低不及时救治会导致死亡。

To avoid cold-related injuries, here is a simple way to remember four basic steps to staying warm. Think of COLD -- C.O.L.D.

为了避免寒冷相关的伤害，这里有一个记住保暖4个基本步骤的简单方法。想一下冷的英文是COLD，它由C、O、L、D四个字母组成。

The C stands for cover. Wear a hat and scarf to keep heat from escaping through the head, neck and ears. And wear mittens instead of gloves. In gloves, the fingers are separated, so the hands might not stay as warm as they would in mittens.

C代表覆盖。戴上帽子，围巾，以防止热量通过头、部和耳朵流失。戴上连指手套而不是分指手套。使用分指手套各个手指头分开着，手不像使用连指手套时那样暖和。

The O stands for overexertion. Avoid activities that will make you sweaty. Wet clothes and cold weather are a dangerous combination.

O代表用力过度。避免使你满身大汗的活动。潮湿的衣服和寒冷的天气是一对危险的组合。

L is for layers. Wearing loose, lightweight clothes, one layer on top of another, is better than wearing a single heavy layer of clothing. Make sure outerwear is made of material that is water-resistant and tightly knit.

L代表一层层。穿上层层宽松轻便的衣服比只穿一件厚重衣服更好。确保外套的材料防水和紧实。

D is for dry. In other words, stay as dry as possible. Pay attention to the places where snow can enter clothing. These include the tops of boots, the necks of coats and the wrist areas of mittens or gloves.

D代表干燥。换句话说，尽量保持干燥。特别注意雪花会钻进去的着装部位，包括长筒靴口，衣领和手套口。

And here are two other things to keep in mind -- one for children and the other for adults. Eating snow might be fun but it lowers the body’s temperature. And drinking alcohol might make a person feel warm. But what it really does is weaken the body’s ability to hold heat.

还有另外2点要记住，一点是给儿童，吃雪可能有趣但会降低体温；另一点给大人，饮酒可能使人感到温暖，但这样做实际会降低人体的保温能力。

Next week on the Health Report: advice from experts about what to do, and not to do, to help someone who is injured by cold weather.

下周，专家们会对那些在寒冷天气已受损伤的人们提出建议，告诉他们该怎么做，不该怎么做。