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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
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 | |
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2 civilian | |
adj.平民的,民用的,民众的 | |
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3 premier | |
adj.首要的;n.总理,首相 | |
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4 coordinated | |
adj.协调的 | |
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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 | |
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6 improvised | |
a.即席而作的,即兴的 | |
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7 skull | |
n.头骨;颅骨 | |
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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 | |
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9 surgical | |
adj.外科的,外科医生的,手术上的 | |
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10 marine | |
adj.海的;海生的;航海的;海事的;n.水兵 | |
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11 underneath | |
adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面 | |
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12 lighter | |
n.打火机,点火器;驳船;v.用驳船运送;light的比较级 | |
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13 durable | |
adj.持久的,耐久的 | |
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14 advent | |
n.(重要事件等的)到来,来临 | |
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15 fiber | |
n.纤维,纤维质 | |
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16 socket | |
n.窝,穴,孔,插座,插口 | |
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17 flexibility | |
n.柔韧性,弹性,(光的)折射性,灵活性 | |
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