英语听力—环球英语 806 Doing Good is Good for You

　　Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Robin² Basselin.
Voice 2
And I’m Ryan Geertsma.  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
The lion roars  in pain. This wild animal has stepped on a small, sharp thorn³. He is hurt, but he cannot remove the thorn himself. He searches for someone to help. Finally, he sees a boy watching over sheep. The lion says to the shepherd⁴, “Do not be afraid. Please, help me.” The boy can see pain in the lion’s eyes. He pulls out the thorn.
Voice 2
Years later, a king arrests the shepherd for a crime⁵ he did not do. The king declares that the shepherd will be killed. The king releases⁶ a lion to kill the shepherd. But suddenly, the lion stops. He walks slowly towards the shepherd. The lion puts his foot gently on the shepherd. This is the same lion the boy helped years before. The king is amazed⁷ by their story. And he releases both the boy and the lion.
Voice 1
This ancient story was written by the Greek⁸ writer Aseop.  The story shows how the shepherd’s life was saved because of his past kindness.  Today’s Spotlight is on how modern science is supporting this old idea - that doing good is good for you.
Voice 2
People have long understood that kindness is good for the person receiving help.  For example, when a person gives food to a hungry person, the hungry person is blessed. His stomach is no longer empty and he has received a good gift. However, scientists have recently begun to study the effect acts of kindness have on the person doing them. What they have found is that doing good is, in fact, good for the doer.  Acts of kindness can improve health, help a person reach goals and even add years to a person’s life.
Voice 1
Many scientific studies have shown the connection between doing good and long life. The first study to show this connection was a study on aging. Beginning in 1956, scientists studied a group of married mothers for 30 years. They thought the women with the most children would die first. But what they found surprised them. The number of children a woman had did not matter. Wealth did not matter. Education did not matter. Class did not matter. What did matter was if they volunteered - if they gave their time to help other people. Women that volunteered had fewer major diseases¹⁰ during their life. This helped them live much longer than the women who did not volunteer.
Voice 2
Since that first study, many other studies have found the same positive effects. Helping¹¹ other people improves long-term¹² health. It works¹³ even better than exercising 4 times a week.
Voice 1
The gains are the same for men, women, old people and young. In fact, many different studies have been done with older adults over the age of 65. Each time, the study showed the same results. Those people who volunteered had fewer major sicknesses than those who did not volunteer. This included sicknesses like heart attack, cancer or stroke¹⁴. One study, done in 1995, had a surprising result. It found that volunteering often reduced an older adult’s chance of dying¹⁵ by 44%.
Voice 2
But why would this be? Scientist are researching many possible causes. They want to answer this question.
Voice 1
One possible cause is an increase in antibodies. Antibodies are made by the body to fight against disease⁹. One study showed a strong link between showing kindness to other people and an increase in antibodies. The body produces more antibodies after an act of kindness. This increase in antibodies can last nearly an hour after the act of kindness is finished. Scientists think these antibodies might have an effect on long term health.  However, antibodies are not the only possible cause.
Voice 2
Another possible cause is an increase in a chemical that fights the effects of stress or pressure from life.  Normally¹⁶, the body produces chemicals when stressed¹⁷. Over time, these stress chemicals can lead to many diseases, such as high blood pressure and heart disease. But scientists have found a link between being kind to people and an increase in the chemical oxytocin. Oxytocin is a chemical produced in the brain. It reduces many of the harmful chemicals the body produces under stress.
Voice 1
There is another positive change in the body that scientists have found in many studies.  Doing kind acts also releases endorphins in a person’s brain. Endorphins are the body’s natural drug. They reduce pain and produce pleasant emotions. Negative emotions can lead to poor health. When a person feels good more often, they are likely to have better health.
Voice 2
Health and long life are just two positive effects of doing good. Researchers believe that doing kind acts can also help people perform better in life.
Voice 1
In 2010, three studies were done by Harvard University scientist, Kurt Gray. The studies tested to see if kindness had any effect on physical strength. They found that it did. People were stronger while they helped other people. They worked harder, too. In a study report, Gray said,
Voice 3
“Doing good gives people the strength to act more effectively¹⁸ and better achieve their goals.”
Voice 2
Science is still discovering positive effects from acts of kindness. This idea is new to the world of science, but not to the world of faith. For thousands of years, religions have encouraged people to love and care for those around them.
Voice 1
In the Christian¹⁹ faith, God promises to bless the people who care for other people in need. Proverbs²⁰ is a list of wise sayings in the Christian Bible²¹. One of these sayings is, “The person who blesses other people is richly blessed; those people who help other people are helped themselves.”
Voice 2
For now, researchers are still working to understand the science of doing good. But there is one thing they do know from all of the evidence²². Doing good things for other people is good for you, too.
 

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 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

3 thorn   

n.刺，荆棘，带刺小灌木

参考例句：

• The little boy stepped on a sharp thorn.那小男孩踩着了一根尖刺。
• The dog had a thorn in its pad.这只狗的爪垫上扎了根刺。

4 shepherd   

n.牧羊者，牧师，指导者；v.看守，领导，指导

参考例句：

• The shepherd boy waited for his sheep to drink.牧童等羊喝水。
• The shepherd and his dog gathered in the sheep.牧羊人和牧羊狗把羊群赶到一块。

5 crime   

n.犯罪，罪行，罪恶

参考例句：

• You'll have to pay for your crime.你得为你的罪行付出代价。
• Crime in our big cities is on the increase.在我们大城市里犯罪率正在增长。

6 releases   

v.释放( release的第三人称单数 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• Nuclear fission releases tremendous amounts of energy. 核裂变释放出巨大的能量。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Zemel says that when calcium levels are low, the body releases a hormone that helps squeeze the most out of every available milligram of the mineral. 泽莫尔博士说，当人体中的钙含量偏低时，身体里就会产生一种荷尔蒙，它能帮助肌体最大限度地吸收所摄入的钙。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 amazed   

adj.吃惊的，惊奇的v.使大为吃惊，使惊奇( amaze的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Just the size of the place amazed her. 仅仅地方之大就使她十分惊奇。
• I was amazed at her knowledge of French literature. 她的法国文学知识之丰富使我大为惊奇。

8 Greek   

adj.希腊(人)的，希腊语的；n.希腊人；希腊语

参考例句：

• The Greek seaman went to the hospital five times.这位希腊海员到该医院去过五次。
• Delta is the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet.δ是希腊字母中的第四个字母。

9 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

10 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。

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

12 long-term   

adj.长远的，长期的

参考例句：

• It isn't a long-term policy.这不是长久之计。
• We must calculate on a long-term basis.我们要作长期打算。

13 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

14 stroke   

n.笔画，击打，连续的动作，中风，心跳；vt.奉承，轻抚； vi.击打，心跳...

参考例句：

• He drove in a nail with one stroke of the hammer.他一锤就把钉子敲进去了。
• He broke the lock with one stroke of the hammer.他一锤就把锁砸坏了。

15 dying   

adj.垂死的，临终的

参考例句：

• He was put in charge of the group by the dying leader.他被临终的领导人任命为集团负责人。
• She was shown into a small room,where there was a dying man.她被领进了一间小屋子，那里有一个垂死的人。

16 normally   

adv.正常地，通常地

参考例句：

• I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
• My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。

17 stressed   

adj.紧张的，有压力的

参考例句：

• Loud music makes me stressed out.大声的音乐让我很紧张。
• He stressed that we should always be honest.他强调我们应该永远诚实。

18 effectively   

adv.有效地，有力地，实际上

参考例句：

• This method worked effectively.这方法很见效。
• The public should be educated to use resources more effectively.应该教育大众更有效地使用资源。

19 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。

20 proverbs   

n.谚语，格言( proverb的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His conversation was larded with Russian proverbs. 他交谈时夹杂了很多俄国谚语。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We should not use proverbs and allusions indiscriminately. 不要滥用成语典故。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

21 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。

22 evidence   

n.明显，显著，明白，迹象，根据，[物]证据，证物

参考例句：

• The first signs of spring are in evidence.春天的最初迹象已显然可见。
• From the evidence I must conclude that you are wrong.从证据看，我敢断定你错了。