2007年VOA标准英语-Highway Air Pollution a Threat to Children's Lu

By Melinda Smith
Washington, DC
30 January 2007
 
watch Highway Pollution report

A study of 3600 children living near busy highways in southern California shows that auto¹ emissions² can stunt³ a child's lung development and increase the risk of early respiratory problems.  VOA's Melinda Smith has details about the research and what the findings hold for their future health.

 
Southern California has some of the worst traffic and air pollution in the United States.  That can be annoying for motorists stuck in their air-conditioned cars.  But Professor W. James Gauderman says it can be hazardous⁴ for children who live and play close to the highway.

"If you live both near a freeway and in an area of high air pollution, our results suggest that you're getting, in a sense, a doubling of the effect -- both the regional pollution levels that the children are breathing as well as the air that they are breathing, that is coming out of the tail pipe."

 
Professor W. James Gauderman
Professor Gauderman of the University of Southern California Medical School co-authored a study of children who live within 500 meters of a busy thoroughfare.  What he discovered was that lung capacity in these children was far weaker than in those kids who live at least 1500 meters away. That sets up a greater risk for childhood respiratory problems, like asthma⁵.

One mother of two children who already have asthma says she is concerned about the pollution.

"It just seems that more and more are getting asthma nowadays than they did when I was a kid.  Nobody hardly had asthma, so I do think this is a problem."

Because lung development stops when children stop growing, the researchers were also concerned about their health as adults.  Respiratory problems in adulthood⁶ can lead to other illnesses, such as heart disease and emphysema.  Professor Gauderman says health and planning experts should take measures now to solve this looming⁷ problem.

"I think everybody should be alarmed about this, and I think the real message is probably to those that are planning land use and schools, and housing developments -- anywhere a child may be spending a lot of time near a busy road.  We think that the health effects should be taken into account."

Researchers also believe that state and local air-quality regulations will have to be adjusted to take into consideration how traffic patterns affect pollution. 

The study was over a 13-year period and was limited to 3600 children aged⁸ 10 to 18.

1 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

2 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

3 stunt   

n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长

参考例句：

• Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
• Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。

4 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

5 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。

6 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。

7 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

8 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。