VOA慢速英语-Health Report - Brain Aneurysms: Rare but Usually De

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

We often hear the term brain aneurysm. Joe Biden had two of them twenty years ago. Doctors saved his life. Now the sixty-five year old senator from Delaware has just been named the vice¹ presidential choice of Democrat² Barack Obama.

Ohio's first black congresswoman, however, was not so lucky. Fifty-eight year old Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones died last week within hours after a brain aneurysm burst. Doctors said she may have had no warning, which would not be unusual.
　
A magnetic resonance³ image of a brain with a huge aneurysm, the black spot in the center

A brain aneurysm is a weak or thin area along an artery⁴ wall in the brain. It can become so thin that it ruptures⁶ and bleeds. The most common form looks like a small, round berry hanging from the artery.

The Mayo Clinic in Minnesota says as many as fifteen million people in the United States, or five percent, have a berry aneurysm. Fewer than thirty thousand will ever suffer a rupture⁵.

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders⁷ and Stroke estimates that forty percent of victims die within twenty-four hours. Another twenty-five percent die within six months.

People may live a long and healthy life and never know they have an aneurysm. But sometimes, if it gets big enough, it can cause pain or other problems that lead to its discovery.

In Joe Biden's case, his neck hurt for several weeks. Doctors thought he had a pinched nerve and a virus. But in February of nineteen eighty-eight, tests showed a leaking artery at the base of his brain. Doctors operated successfully, and again three months later for an aneurysm in another area.

Janet Sutherland is director of the Chicago chapter of the Brain Aneurysm Foundation, a support group. She describes what happened when she suffered a rupture in March of two thousand four.

It began with the worst headache ever. She called emergency services. Rescuers found her collapsed⁸ in her kitchen.

The operation was a success. But she was in a coma⁹ for three weeks. She woke up blind and unable to move. She had two surgeries to return her sight and another to correct a second aneurysm. She spent five months in the hospital and many months in physical therapy.

Today Janet Sutherland can walk again, and says she can see better than ever.

Experts say most brain aneurysms happen in people born with an abnormality in an artery wall. Other causes can include head injuries, high blood pressure, infections, tobacco use and use of stimulant¹⁰ drugs.

And that's the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver¹¹. I'm Steve Ember.

 

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

3 resonance   

n.洪亮；共鸣；共振

参考例句：

• Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments.一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。
• The areas under the two resonance envelopes are unequal.两个共振峰下面的面积是不相等的。

4 artery   

n.干线，要道；动脉

参考例句：

• We couldn't feel the changes in the blood pressure within the artery.我们无法感觉到动脉血管内血压的变化。
• The aorta is the largest artery in the body.主动脉是人体中的最大动脉。

5 rupture   

n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂

参考例句：

• I can rupture a rule for a friend.我可以为朋友破一次例。
• The rupture of a blood vessel usually cause the mark of a bruise.血管的突然破裂往往会造成外伤的痕迹。

6 ruptures   

n.（体内组织等的）断裂( rupture的名词复数 )；爆裂；疝气v.（使）破裂( rupture的第三人称单数 )；（使体内组织等）断裂；使（友好关系）破裂；使绝交

参考例句：

• Fault ruptures may consist of a single narrow main break. 断层破裂可能只包括单独一条狭窄的主裂隙。 来自辞典例句
• The dry seed ruptures and the green leaf uncurls. 干瘪的种子裂开了，卷曲的绿叶伸展了。 来自辞典例句

7 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

9 coma   

n.昏迷，昏迷状态

参考例句：

• The patient rallied from the coma.病人从昏迷中苏醒过来。
• She went into a coma after swallowing a whole bottle of sleeping pills.她吃了一整瓶安眠药后就昏迷过去了。

10 stimulant   

n.刺激物，兴奋剂

参考例句：

• It is used in medicine for its stimulant quality.由于它有兴奋剂的特性而被应用于医学。
• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。

11 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。