英语听力—环球英语 709 Blue Zones

　　Voice 1
Hello and welcome to 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 3
‘It feels like jumping into heaven.’
Voice 1
This is how one old woman described her feelings. She was holding a young baby in her arms. The baby was her great great great granddaughter. The woman was 102 years old. This may seem like an extremely² old age. But she is one of many very old people in her community. This community is in Okinawa, Japan. In today’s programme we will look at this community and others like it. How do people live to such old ages? Is there anything we can learn from these groups?
Voice 2
Okinawa is a series³ of islands in southern Japan. On the north of its main island lives a very special community. This community contains some of the oldest people in the world. The average length of life here is one of the longest in the world.
Voice 1
Scientists have studied this community. They have studied how the people live. This includes the food they eat, their attitude to life, and how they keep fit. One group has named this community a ‘Blue Zone’. The Blue Zones project finds communities around the world where people live unusually long lives.
Voice 2
This community in Okinawa is not the first “Blue Zone”. In fact, the name “Blue Zone” was first used in Sardinia, Italy. A scientist drew a circle on a map, around a community who lived long lives. He made the circle blue. And so the area was called a Blue Zone. There are now five Blue Zones that scientists identify in the world. The others are in: the Nicoya Peninsula⁴ in Costa Rica; Loma Linda in California⁵, the United⁶ States; and Icaria in Greece.
Voice 1
Dan Buettner leads the Blue Zones project. He wrote about the Blue Zones project in the magazine, National Geographic⁷. He said,
Voice 4
‘Researchers found that the people in these areas live as much as ten years longer than most other people. There are many more 100 year olds. They suffer from fewer diseases⁸. They enjoy more good years of life than anyone else on the planet⁹. Basically¹⁰, they offer an example for the rest of us to copy.’
Voice 2
Dan Buettner and his team have studied these different Blue Zones. They wanted to understand why many of the people in these communities lived so long. They created a list of things that help people in Blue Zones to live so long. Dan Buettner believes that following the example of these Blue Zones can help anyone live longer and more healthy lives. You may think that people who live long just have good genes¹¹ from their parents. But scientists have found that genes only make a small influence on the length of someone’s life. It is more important HOW a person lives their life. Dan Buettner says,
Voice 4
‘You do have the power to add time to your life. Even more importantly, you have to power to add life to your time. You can do things to make your body last longer. You can slow the aging process.’
Voice 1
The experts from the Blue Zones project found four very important rules to help people live longer. They describe these as: move naturally, have the right outlook¹², eat wisely, and belong to the right tribe¹³.
Voice 2
The Blue Zones project describes moving naturally as living an active life. It does not mean making time for exercise. Instead it means¹⁴ moving around a lot in your normal activities. People who lived in these communities lived active lives, without making time for exercise.
Voice 1
Having the right outlook, or attitude, was also important. The community on the Japanese islands of Okinawa is a good example of this. Here they use the word “Ikigai”. This means a person’s reason for living. They think it is important that everyone has a reason to live. This gives them a positive attitude to life - a reason to live another day. This could be why many of the people living in this community are the oldest in the world. Many people in the different Blue Zones also follow a religion. Dan Buettner and others from the Blue Zones project believe this can also be important.
Voice 2
The Blue Zones study shows that eating wisely is also important in living a long life. This does not mean going on a diet to get thinner. Instead it means eating the right foods every day. Different Blue Zone communities eat different things. But they all have healthy diets. The Blue Zone community in Loma Linda, California eat almost no meat. They are Seventh Day Adventists, a Christian¹⁵ community who obey many of the laws from the Bible¹⁶ very closely¹⁷. For this reason they also rest one day a week. Each week they take a day to relax and enjoy time with friends and family. This adds to their health.
Voice 1
The community on the island of Sardinia also have an interesting diet. They drink a wine that is particularly healthy. The people of Okinawa show that it is not only WHAT YOU EAT that is important. HOW MUCH YOU EAT is also important. They follow the rule of “Hara hachi bi”. This is Japanese. It means they stop eating when they feel eighty percent full.
Voice 2
The study also found that the people around you can also help you to live longer. All the Blue Zones placed high importance on family and community. They found that having healthy friends helps people to live healthily themselves. People living in communities with close relationships also lived longer.
Voice 1
One woman who lives in a Blue Zone is Marge Jetton. She lives in Loma Linda, in California. When she was 101 years old she met Dan Buettner. He wanted to know why the people in that community lived so long. Marge had a simple answer:
Voice 3
‘I do not know why God made me live so long. But look what he did!’
Voice 2
It does seem amazing that some people can live to such old ages. But the Blue Zones project encourages us all to live healthier lives too. They have given us a guide that could help us live healthier and longer lives. But what do you think? What would you do to live a longer life? Would you want to live to 100 years? You can tell us what you think on our website. This is at http://www.radio.english.net. You can also leave a comment on our Facebook page.
Voice 1
The writer of this programme was Steve Myersco. The producer was Liz Waid. The voices you heard were from the United States. All quotes¹⁸ were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. This program was called “Blue Zones.” We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.

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 extremely   

adv.极其，非常，极度

参考例句：

• The film is extremely good,I just cannot miss it.这部电影太精彩了，我非看不可。
• The old man was extremely difficult to get along with.这个老人极难相与。

3 series   

n.连续；系列

参考例句：

• The students have put forward a series of questions.学生们提出了一系列问题。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

4 peninsula   

n.半岛

参考例句：

• Dalian is in the south of the Liaodong Peninsula.大连位于辽东半岛南部。
• Korean peninsula lies to the west of Japan.朝鲜半岛在日本以西。

5 California   

n.加利福尼亚(美国)

参考例句：

• He was elected governor of the state of California.他当选为加州州长。
• We were driving on a California freeway.我们正沿着加利福尼亚的一条快车道驾车行驶。

6 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

7 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

8 diseases   

n.疾病( disease的名词复数 )；弊端；恶疾；痼疾

参考例句：

• Smoking is a causative factor in several major diseases. 抽烟是引起几种严重疾病的病因。
• The illness frequently coexists with other chronic diseases. 这种病往往与其他慢性病同时存在。

9 planet   

n.行星

参考例句：

• Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun. 海王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Rubbish, however, is only part of the problem of polluting our planet. 然而, 垃圾只是我们这个星球的污染问题的一个方面。

10 basically   

adv.基本上，从根本上说

参考例句：

• His heart is basically sound.他的心脏基本上健康。
• Basically I agree with your plan.我基本上同意你的计划。

11 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

12 outlook   

n.观点，见解；展望，前景

参考例句：

• The outlook for the economy is bright.经济前景光明。
• Her outlook gradually widens.她的眼光渐渐开阔了。

13 tribe   

n.部落，种族，一伙人

参考例句：

• This is a subject tribe.这是个受他人统治的部落。
• Many of the tribe's customs and rituals are as old as the hills.这部落的许多风俗、仪式都极其古老。

14 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

15 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

16 bible   

n.《圣经》；得到权威支持的典籍

参考例句：

• According to the Bible we are all the seed of Adam.根据《圣经》所说的，我们都是亚当的后裔。
• This dictionary should be your Bible when studying English.学习英语时，这本字典应是你的主要参考书。

17 closely   

adv.紧密地；严密地，密切地

参考例句：

• We shall follow closely the development of the situation.我们将密切注意形势的发展。
• The two companies are closely tied up with each other.这两家公司之间有密切联系。

18 quotes   

v.引用，援引( quote的第三人称单数 )；报价；引述；为（股票、黄金或外汇）报价

参考例句：

• He quotes a few verses from Tennyson in his paper. 他在论文中引用了英国诗人丁尼生的几行诗句。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He quotes (from) the Bible to support his beliefs. 他引用圣经来支持自己的信念。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》