2006年VOA标准英语-Heart Disease, Stroke Are World's Largest Kille

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
24 September 2006 
 

Spain's Queen Sofia (c) at the opening of World Congress of Cardiology, September 2, 2006

The World Health Organization reports more than 17 million people a year die from heart disease and stroke, making it the world's largest killer¹. To mark World Heart Day, health specialists are urging people to exercise, to eat healthy food, and to stop smoking to keep their hearts strong and stay alive. 

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Statistics show the number of people dying from heart disease and stroke is going up instead of going down. The head of the Geneva-based World Heart Federation², Janet Voute, says the situation is particularly bad in low and middle-income countries, where 80 percent of deaths from these diseases occur.

"The heart health of people in low and middle income countries is not being attended to," she said. "The reason for this is that cardiovascular disease and its risk factors, such as diabetes³, high blood pressure, cholesterol⁴, etc. are not at all considered part of the global health agenda."

The World Heart Federation says physical inactivity, an unhealthy diet and tobacco use are the main causes of cardiovascular disease. It says controlling these major risk factors could prevent 80 percent of heart disease and stroke and help keep the heart healthy.

Voute says myths persist that cardiovascular disease is a problem of rich countries and that people in poor countries are more at risk from infectious diseases. She says studies show overweight and obesity⁵ in the poorer countries is rising and this is having a negative impact on health.

"In India, where we all know that there is a malnourished population and children and families go hungry. There are also now 35 million diabetics and, they are, for the most part, this diabetes is the direct result of overweight," continued Voute. "The same thing is true in China where we know that one out of every five children in Beijing, for example, is today overweight or obese⁶. And even across the African continent, where the issue of obesity and overweight is particularly difficult to tackle, it is on the rise, particularly in urban women and their awareness⁷ needs to be increased."

Although most deaths from heart disease and stroke now occur in the poorer countries, the World Heart Federation says the problem remains⁸ acute in the developed world.

It says people in countries such as the United States are dying from cardiovascular disease later in life because of good patient care. But, it warns the rising rate of obesity in children is leading to early diabetes, and this will lead to early cardiovascular disease unless something is done to reverse this trend.

1 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

2 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

3 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

4 cholesterol   

n.（U）胆固醇

参考例句：

• There is cholesterol in the cell of body.人体细胞里有胆固醇。
• They are determining the serum-protein and cholesterol levels.他们正在测定血清蛋白和胆固醇的浓度。

5 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

6 obese   

adj.过度肥胖的，肥大的

参考例句：

• The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了，不能算是健康。
• Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。

7 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。