2006年VOA标准英语-Advances in Artificial Limbs Help Returning Sol

By Melinda Smith
Washington, DC
01 November 2006
 
watch Walter Reed Amputees

A record number of U.S. soldiers injured in Iraq have lost arms and legs in explosions caused by remote-controlled bombs. The need for more comfortable, adaptable¹ artificial limbs has inspired new technology to help smooth their return to civilian² life.  VOA's Melinda Smith has a progress report from the military's premier³ hospital, in Washington, D.C., which cares for these amputees.

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Walter Reed amputee   
  
In the physical therapy room for amputees at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, young soldiers come for the assistance they'll need to help them make the transition to civilian lives. They already have two major advantages: they are young and in top physical condition says Daniel Carroll who works with the amputees. "At Walter Reed, they're fit with prostheses a lot sooner than the normal population.  And that's to prevent de-conditioning and just to keep them coordinated⁴ and have them back into action as soon as possible."

'Back into action' does not mean back on the front lines for a large majority of these soldiers.  It means learning to walk before learning to run.  

Kade Hinkhouse   
  
Lance Corporal Kade Hinkhouse has dreams of running again.  He is training with a 'mechanical' leg, rather than the customary "C" leg worn by most soldier amputees.  The "C" leg directs physical movement by means of a computer inside the knee unit. 

Hinkhouse likes the mechanical leg because it gives him more muscle control. "There's probably some more fine tuning⁵ I can do, to make sure I walk a little bit better, and not fall so much."

He was only 19 when an improvised⁶ bomb in the Iraqi town of Ramadi blew up next to the military vehicle in which he was riding.  He lost a leg, part of his skull⁷, and one of his buddies⁸. "My friend was sitting six inches next to me, off to my right, and he died."

Hinkhouse might also have died if it had not been for the medics who moved in behind the blast. Quick-response surgical⁹ teams can set up a hospital unit in one hour.

Travis Green   
  
They may also have saved the life of Marine¹⁰ Corporal Travis Greene.  At Walter Reed, he is learning to balance on his computer-directed limbs, with the help of a walker.  He describes how he lost both legs when a secondary explosion happened during the rescue of another soldier. "An IED [Improvised Explosive Device] blew up on the other side of the 'seven-ton' [large military vehicle] and all the shrapnel came from underneath¹¹ and took everybody's legs from there."

Bullet-proof vests worn by the U.S. military protect the largest part of the body. The head, arms and legs are more vulnerable.  The rate of head and neck injuries, as well as limb amputations, has been higher in Iraq compared to previous wars.

In the past, wartime has always been the source of innovation in the development of prosthetics.  The conflict in Iraq has prompted the use of lighter¹², more durable¹³ materials like graphite and titanium for the prostheses.  Daniel Carroll adds, "The biggest advent¹⁴ we saw was the addition of carbon fiber¹⁵, which is an energy storing material for things, to add strength to the socket¹⁶ and also flexibility¹⁷ and energy storage to the feet."

Returning soldiers like Kade Hinkhouse say they realize their physical abilities will never be as they were before going off to war. But they hope to have fewer limitations by learning to use these lighter, more flexible prostheses. "If I have kids, how am I going to chase after them in a wheelchair, if I don't have my leg on. There are a lot of obstacles that I'll have to overcome."

1 adaptable   

adj.能适应的，适应性强的，可改编的

参考例句：

• He is an adaptable man and will soon learn the new work.他是个适应性很强的人，很快就将学会这种工作。
• The soil is adaptable to the growth of peanuts.这土壤适宜于花生的生长。

2 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

3 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

4 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

5 tuning   

n.调谐，调整，调音v.调音( tune的现在分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• They are tuning up a plane on the flight line. 他们正在机场的飞机跑道上调试一架飞机。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The orchestra are tuning up. 管弦乐队在定弦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

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 buddies   

n.密友( buddy的名词复数 )；同伴；弟兄；（用于称呼男子，常带怒气）家伙v.（如密友、战友、伙伴、弟兄般）交往( buddy的第三人称单数 )；做朋友；亲近（…）；伴护艾滋病人

参考例句：

• We became great buddies. 我们成了非常好的朋友。 来自辞典例句
• The two of them have become great buddies. 他们俩成了要好的朋友。 来自辞典例句

9 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

10 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

11 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

12 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

13 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

14 advent   

n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临

参考例句：

• Swallows come by groups at the advent of spring. 春天来临时燕子成群飞来。
• The advent of the Euro will redefine Europe.欧元的出现将重新定义欧洲。

15 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

16 socket   

n.窝，穴，孔，插座，插口

参考例句：

• He put the electric plug into the socket.他把电插头插入插座。
• The battery charger plugs into any mains socket.这个电池充电器可以插入任何类型的电源插座。

17 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。