英语听力—环球英语 502 Watching a Heart Operation

　　Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight¹. I’m Joshua Leo.
Voice 2
And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
In a crowded theatre everyone was waiting for the show to begin.
Voice 2
But this was not a normal show. The people in the theatre were waiting to watch a live heart operation. That is, they were going to watch the operation as the doctor performed it.
Voice 1
Today’s Spotlight will explain how one doctor helped more people learn about the human heart. He did this by letting them watch him operate!
Voice 2
Dr. Francis Wells is a doctor in England. He performs heart operations. Operating on a human heart is a very difficult process. A doctor must have many skills. One wrong move could end a person’s life!
Voice 1
So, why did Dr. Wells decide to let over two hundred people watch him perform such a difficult operation? It is because he wants people to understand their bodies better. You see, Dr. Wells is not just a doctor. He is a teacher too. He believes that teaching people more about their own bodies could help people make healthy decisions.
Voice 3
“Everybody has their own body and they should know as much about it as they can or as they want to. I think that is a basic human right. And the more you know about your body, the beauty of it, the delicacy² of it and the wonder of the way it works, the more likely you are to take care of it.”
Voice 2
In order to perform a live heart operation, Dr. Wells needed a few things. First, and most important, he needed a willing patient! This patient had to be willing to let other people watch the doctor cut into his chest. He had to be willing to let other people watch, even if something went wrong during the operation.
Voice 1
Dr. Wells explains that he had no problem finding a willing patient.
Voice 3
“People are very kind, if they know why you want to do it. They trust you and they know you will look after them. And it is their right to say no right up to the moment that they go to sleep before the operation begins. And when you explain it like that, they are usually very happy to help.”
Voice 2
Next, Dr. Wells needed a camera and a satellite link. The camera would be in the room while Wells performed the operation. The satellite link would send the images to the theatre. That is how the people in the theatre would be able to watch Dr. Wells.
Voice 1
It was not hard for Dr. Wells to find a camera and set up the satellite link. Many hospitals use cameras during operations. Using cameras is a good way for medical students to learn how to perform operations themselves. Dr. Wells explains.
Voice 3
“I do a lot of teaching. But, in an operating room you cannot have twenty to thirty university students gathering³ around. So, I run camera-based courses. I commonly have the students in a theatre in another part of the hospital watching the operation.”
Voice 2
It is normal for students to learn through the use of cameras in an operating room. But having common citizens watch an operation is a new idea. Dr. Wells says it does not matter who is watching. What remains⁴ important is this:
Voice 3
“It is a matter of making sure in everybody’s minds that the most important person in the room is the patient. Nothing else matters.”
Voice 1
This operation was on a heart valve. The patient’s valve was not working correctly. You see, the heart has four chambers⁵, or empty spaces. These chambers fill with blood and then empty as the heart pumps. In between the chambers there are valves that open and close. The valves let blood in and out of the chambers. If the valves are not working, the heart is not able to pump blood to the body properly.
Voice 2
Here are some of Dr. Wells’ words during the operation. These words were taken from the BBC website. The website provided a short version of the operation. Many of the words Dr. Wells uses are medical words. Just remember that the words describe the area surrounding the heart.
Voice 3
“We have just started. What we have done is we have split the sternum. And we have placed the retracture, which is holding the breast bones back. This man, as you can see, has quite a bit of fat in his mediastinum. We have cleared most of that away. Now we are ready to stop the heart.”
Voice 1
The people watching were able to observe the whole operation. They saw the first incision⁶ - the first cut into the skin. They saw the doctor repair the valve. And they saw the wonderful end of the operation. Dr. Wells restarted the newly fixed⁷ heart. The operation was a success!
Voice 2
So, do you think that you would like to watch a heart operation as it was happening? Even if you do not, many people do. In fact, the seats for the heart operation event sold in less than twenty-four hours. Over two hundred people watched in wonder as the doctor performed the operation.
Voice 1
Here is what two people had to say after watching the operation.
Voice 4
“That was absolutely incredible! I have never seen anything like it in my life!”
Voice 5
“I am a bit speechless actually. It was amazing. It was really awe⁸ inspiring to be able to watch that.”
Voice 1
And here is what one woman had to say when asked if she would watch something like this again.
Voice 6
“Oh, I would put my name down now! If there are any more operations to watch I really want to be there. It was amazing.”
Voice 2
In the Bible there is a song praising God for creating us. The song says, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” One way to praise God for our wonderfully created bodies is to learn more about them.
Voice 1
Watching a heart operation is a wonderful way to learn a little more about this part of the body. But, there are other ways to learn about how our bodies work. There are books and Internet sites devoted⁹ to sharing information about the body. The goal is to learn more about how to keep our bodies healthy. That way we can avoid visiting the operating room ourselves!
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 delicacy   

n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴

参考例句：

• We admired the delicacy of the craftsmanship.我们佩服工艺师精巧的手艺。
• He sensed the delicacy of the situation.他感觉到了形势的微妙。

3 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

4 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。

5 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

6 incision   

n．切口，切开

参考例句：

• The surgeon made a small incision in the patient's cornea.外科医生在病人的眼角膜上切开一个小口。
• The technique involves making a tiny incision in the skin.这项技术需要在皮肤上切一个小口。

7 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

8 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

9 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。