VOA慢速英语20061206a

HEALTH REPORT - Dealing¹ With Children's Bed-WettingBy Caty Weaver²

Broadcast: Wednesday, December 06, 2006

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.


Sleeping child

Many parents wish children were born with directions. Raising children is a complex job -- many would say the most complex there is.

So, from time to time, we are going to present information for parents. We will deal with subjects like diet and common childhood sickness. We will also talk about behavioral problems and other issues. And we will ask for questions to answer on the air.

Today we start with a common problem: bed-wetting. The American Academy³ of Pediatrics says about forty percent of preschool-age children urinate in their sleep.

In most cases, children outgrow⁴ it. The academy says twenty percent of five-year-olds and ten percent of six-year-olds wet their bed. By the age of twelve, that number drops to three percent.

The National Institutes of Health says experts are not sure what causes bed-wetting. The most likely causes, the experts say, include slower physical development and overproduction of urine at night.

Smaller bladders fill more quickly. And some bodies take longer to develop the warning system between the brain and the bladder. Some children may not receive the message to wake up when they need to urinate.

Urologic and kidney⁵ experts at the National Institutes of Health also say some children may not produce enough antidiuretic hormone⁶. The body usually produces more of this hormone at night so less urine is produced during sleep. The bladders of children who produce lesser⁷ amounts of antidiuretic hormone are more likely to fill up while they sleep.

Experts say feeling nervous and worried can sometimes lead children to wet the bed. Genetics may also play a part. Researchers say some family genes⁸ appear to be involved in bed-wetting.

Children sometimes think they are bad because they wet the bed. Parents may get angry. Or they may feel guilty, like they have done something wrong. Doctors say it is important to know that how a parent reacts could affect a child's self-image. We will talk more about the subject of bed-wetting next week. We will talk about different ways that doctors suggest to deal with it.

And that's the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver. You can download MP3 files and transcripts⁹ of our reports at www.unsv.com. And to send us questions, write to [email protected]. Please be sure to include your name and where you are writing from. I'm Mario Ritter.

1 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

2 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

3 academy   

n.(高等)专科院校；学术社团，协会，研究院

参考例句：

• This is an academy of music.这是一所音乐专科学院。
• I visited Chinese Academy of Sciences yesterday.我昨天去访问了中国科学院。

4 outgrow   

vt.长大得使…不再适用；成长得不再要

参考例句：

• The little girl will outgrow her fear of pet animals.小女孩慢慢长大后就不会在怕宠物了。
• Children who walk in their sleep usually outgrow the habit.梦游的孩子通常在长大后这个习惯自然消失。

5 kidney   

n.肾，腰子，类型

参考例句：

• Several of the patients had received kidney transplant.病人中有几位已接受了肾移植手术。
• The operation to transplant a kidney is now fairly routine.肾脏移植手术如今已相当常见。

6 hormone   

n.荷尔蒙，激素，内分泌

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。

7 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

8 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

9 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句