VOA慢速英语--Study: Serious Head Injuries Ignored in World Cup

 

Cristoph Kramer is a football player from Germany.

Just weeks after playing his first match for the national team, he was added to the list of players for international football’s 2014 World Cup. In the United States, the sport is called soccer.

Christoph Kramer left for Brazil, not expecting to play much in the World Cup. But when a German teammate was injured before the final against Argentina, Kramer found himself in the starting lineup. He was given a chance to compete in the championship match.

In the first half, Kramer was hit hard in the head by the shoulder of an Argentinean player while they both went for the ball.

Kramer fell to the ground, hard.

He was clearly injured. But he stayed in the game because he could still walk, and was not bleeding.

Finally, after playing 13 minutes without understanding what game this was or where he was playing, Kramer was replaced. He went to the sidelines while another German player took the field.

Germany went on to win the game and the World Cup title.

Later that year, in an appearance on a German television show, Kramer and his teammates joked about what happened.

But he had suffered a serious head injury. It was not a joke.

A new report accuses FIFA, football’s governing body, of not taking head injuries seriously. The article was published in The Journal¹ of the American Medical Association².

The article said 61 players had at least one head collision³ in the 64 matches of the 2014 World Cup. There were 81 total collisions⁴. Only 12 times did players who might have suffered a head injury get a proper examination⁵.

The head injury Kramer suffered is called a concussion⁶. It happens when the brain hits the skull⁷, the bone inside the head.

A concussion is hard for trained medical specialists to confirm. It is an internal⁸ injury and, most of the time, a football player can stay on his feet.

But the article argues that when a player looks like he may have suffered a concussion, doctors should take a close look at him right away, for at least seven minutes.

People who have concussions⁹ are slow to get up. They often do not know where they are, hold their head in their hands and have trouble keeping their balance.

Michael Cusimano works¹⁰ as a neurosurgeon at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada. Cusimano is an expert on the central nervous system, including the brain. He helped to prepare the journal article.

In the 2014 World Cup, Cusimano said, there were only two collisions where he could be “happy and confident” that the players were getting good care.

That finding¹¹ goes against the Consensus¹² Statement on Concussion in Sport, which FIFA signed. The statement says any player showing signs of a concussion should leave the game and be examined right away. That did not happen.

Cusimano wondered why team coaches and trainers will remove a player who hurts his knee but not his head.

FIFA officials did not speak with VOA about the report. But the organization noted¹³ a recent rule change that permits stoppage of play for up to three minutes so an injured player can be examined.

But Cusimano says three minutes is not enough. Sometimes it takes longer to be sure a player is in good health.

He also wants to be sure an independent doctor looks at the players. Team doctors can feel pressure to send an injured player back into the game.

Some people say football organizations must make another rule change: teams should be able to use a replacement¹⁴ player while doctors attend to the injured.

A FIFA spokesman¹⁵ said protecting the health of players “is a top priority¹⁶ in developing the game.”

Cusimano said he and the other researchers chose the World Cup for their study because so many people watch the games. They felt that if FIFA makes a change for football’s championship, other sports organizations will follow.

“The whole world is watching,” Cusimano said. “FIFA has all the ability to do this properly.”

I’m Dan Friedell.

Words in This Story

match – n. a contest between two or more players or teams

collision – n. a crash involving two or more things (or people)

internal – adj. existing or occurring within your body

confident – adj. certain that something will happen or that something is true

consensus – n. a general agreement about something : an idea or opinion that is shared by all the people in a group

priority – n. something that is more important than other things and that needs to be done or dealt with first

properly – adv. in a way that is acceptable or suitable

1 journal   

n.日志，日记；议事录；日记帐；杂志，定期刊物

参考例句：

• He kept a journal during his visit to Japan.他在访问日本期间坚持记日记。
• He got a job as editor of a trade journal.他找到了一份当商业杂志编辑的工作。

2 association   

n.联盟，协会，社团；交往，联合；联想

参考例句：

• Our long association with your company has brought great benefits.我方和贵公司的长期合作带来了巨大的利益。
• I broke away from the association ten years ago.我10年前就脱离了那个团体。

3 collision   

n.碰撞；(利益，意见等的)冲突，抵触

参考例句：

• The car was wrecked by its collision with a big lorry.这辆小轿车是由于和大卡车相撞而碰毁的。
• This collision had a very unusual cause.这次冲突有着非同寻常的原因。

4 collisions   

碰撞( collision的名词复数 )； 冲突； （两人之间或对立意见、看法等之间的）冲突； 抵触

参考例句：

• The consequent collisions with state power weakened its impetus. 结果产生和国家权力机构的矛盾使其影响有所消弱。
• Two-dimensional collisions, both elastic and inelastic, may be demonstrated on this table. 在这个桌上，可以演示二维的弹性和非弹性碰撞。

5 examination   

n.考试，考查，试题；检查，调查

参考例句：

• Teachers always judge their students on the final examination.老师常根据期末考试来评价他们的学生。
• He put up a good show in the final examination.他在期末考试中表现得不错。

6 concussion   

n.脑震荡；震动

参考例句：

• He was carried off the field with slight concussion.他因轻微脑震荡给抬离了现场。
• She suffers from brain concussion.她得了脑震荡。

7 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

8 internal   

adj.内的，内部的；国内的，内政的

参考例句：

• He is talking to Tom on the internal telephone.他正在内线电话上与汤姆交谈。
• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。

9 concussions   

n.震荡( concussion的名词复数 )；脑震荡；冲击；震动

参考例句：

• People who have concussions often trouble thinking or remembering. 患脑震荡的人通常存在思考和记忆障碍。 来自互联网
• Concussions also make a person feel very tired or angry. 脑震荡也会使人感觉疲倦或愤怒。 来自互联网

10 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

11 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

12 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

13 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

14 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

15 spokesman   

n.发言人，代言人

参考例句：

• The government spokesman gave a quick briefing to the reporters.政府发言人向记者们作了情况简介。
• They drew lots to decide who should be their spokesman.他们抽签决定谁是他们的发言人。

16 priority   

n.优先处理的事，居先，优先（权）

参考例句：

• The development of the national economy is a top priority.发展国民经济是应予以最优先考虑的事。
• Things should be taken up in order of priority.办事应有个先后次序。