VOA慢速英语 2008 1022a

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Autumn and winter are cold and flu season -- when people are most likely to catch the viruses that cause influenza¹ and the common cold.

Is the old advice true that dressing² warmly will help prevent a cold? Or if you do get sick, should you follow the old saying, "Feed a cold and starve a fever"?

And what about that fever? Should you take medication to reduce your temperature, or is it better to let the body treat the infection itself?

Everyone seems to have an answer. But how much value is there in popular wisdom?

Doctor Alvin Nelson El Amin knows a lot about cold and flu season in California. He is medical director of the immunization program for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

Doctor Nelson El Amin says research may be just starting to provide evidence for long-held beliefs. For example, scientists for years dismissed the idea that getting cold and wet might cause colds or flu.

But recent studies have shown that cold temperatures cause stress on the body. That stress can create conditions more inviting³ to viruses. So maybe it does make sense to wrap up warmly before going outside.

And what about the advice to feed a cold and starve a fever? Doctor Nelson El Amin says if you have a cold and are hungry, you should eat. But a fever, especially a high one, suggests a more serious problem. He says people are usually not hungry anyway when they have a high fever. Eating might even cause a person to vomit⁴. But drinking plenty of liquids is important. A fever can easily dehydrate⁵ the body.

Finally, when should you treat a fever? Doctor Nelson El Amin says a fever should be treated if it stays at forty degrees centigrade or above for a day or more. A temperature that high can damage brain cells. The doctor also believes in treating a fever if it prevents a person from sleeping.

Aspirin⁶, acetaminophen and ibuprofen can all be used to reduce pain and fever. But aspirin should not be given to children because it can cause a rare condition.

One belief that Doctor Nelson El Amin wanted to make clear is wrong is that influenza vaccine⁷ can cause the flu. It cannot. Sometimes people get the flu from another person soon after they get vaccinated⁸, so they blame the vaccine, he says.

But, flu vaccines⁹ do not protect everyone who gets them. Still, even if a person does get sick, the vaccine can limit the effects of the virus.

And that's the VOA Special English Health report, written by Caty Weaver¹⁰. I'm Bob Doughty¹¹.

1 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

2 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

3 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

4 vomit   

v.呕吐，作呕；n.呕吐物，吐出物

参考例句：

• They gave her salty water to make her vomit.他们给她喝盐水好让她吐出来。
• She was stricken by pain and began to vomit.她感到一阵疼痛，开始呕吐起来。

5 dehydrate   

vt.使脱水

参考例句：

• People can very quickly dehydrate in the desert.人在沙漠里很快就会脱水。
• Without these structures, many warm-blooded animals would quickly dehydrate,especially in dry climates.没有这样的结构，许多温血动物将很快脱水，特别是在干燥的气候条件下。

6 aspirin   

n.阿司匹林

参考例句：

• The aspirin seems to quiet the headache.阿司匹林似乎使头痛减轻了。
• She went into a chemist's and bought some aspirin.她进了一家药店，买了些阿司匹林。

7 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

8 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

9 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

10 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

11 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。