VOA慢速英语2009年-SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - How You Look in Pict

VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Bob Doughty¹.

VOICE TWO:

And, I'm Barbara Klein. This week, we will tell about efforts against the H1N1 virus, often called swine flu. We will give a possible explanation for why some people may have an increased risk of developing diseases like diabetes² and asthma³. And we will tell about a study that confirms the importance of first impressions.

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VOICE ONE:

The H1N1 influenza⁴ virus continues to spread. Currently, the virus is most active in the northern half of the world. But experts say it has become the leading flu virus in all countries.

No one really knows how many people have gotten sick. H1N1 was first reported in Mexico in April. Countries are no longer required to test and report individual cases. But close to five hundred million confirmed cases were reported to the World Health Organization as of November first.

The W.H.O. offices for the Americas and the Western Pacific reported two out of three of those cases. The agency says more than six thousand people worldwide have died because of H-one N-one.

VOICE TWO:
　
The Saudi Arabian Health Minister gives his 8-year-old daughter the swine flu vaccine⁵ in Riyadh

W.H.O. special adviser⁶ Keiji Fukuda reported earlier this month that the virus has acted in some ways like seasonal⁷ flu. Most people recover without any need for interventions⁸ like antiviral drugs.

But in other ways, H1N1 is different. It remained at unusually high levels in several countries during their summer months. And, unlike seasonal flu, younger people have suffered many of the serious cases and deaths from the virus.

In the United States, cases of suspected influenza are at higher numbers than usual this early in the flu season. Experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say hospital treatment for likely H1N1 is most common among children up to four years old.

VOICE ONE:

Health officials around the world are concerned about vaccine production. Wealthy countries have promised to donate ten percent of their H1N1 vaccine to poor countries. But there is a worldwide shortage.

The traditional way to make flu vaccine is to grow the virus in chicken eggs. Anthony Fauci at the National Institutes of Health says the shortage is an issue of biology. He says the companies that make vaccines⁹ cannot really do much when they have a virus that does not grow well.

VOICE TWO:

Officials in Saudi Arabia are preparing for the Hajj, which starts this week. The event normally brings about three million Muslims from one hundred sixty countries to the city of Mecca.

Disease experts are concerned that H1N1 could spread easily among the Muslim pilgrims. Saudi officials have a campaign to give vaccines to health workers. They are also urging countries to vaccinate¹⁰ pilgrims making the trip. And they are advising against travel by children, pregnant women and other groups at highest risk.

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VOICE ONE:

Swedish researchers have found that babies born by Caesarean section experience changes to the genes¹¹ in their white blood cells. A published report says the genetic¹² changes could be linked to stress levels during this method of giving birth.

The report says the changes could explain why persons born by Caesarean section are more likely to get diseases like diabetes and asthma later in life. Those diseases affect the immune system – the body's natural resistance to disease.

VOICE TWO:

Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden tested blood from the umbilical cords of thirty-seven newborn babies. The researchers tested the blood again three to five days later. They examined DNA¹³-methylation in the white blood cells. DNA methylation shows chemical changes in a person's deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA.

The study found that sixteen babies born by C-section had higher DNA-methylation rates immediately after they were born than the other babies. Three to five days later, the rates were about the same. The reason for this is unclear.

VOICE ONE:

Earlier animal studies showed that emotional or mental tension around birth affects methylation of the genes. Experts say babies are unprepared for birth when a doctor performs a C-section. As a result, those babies can have higher stress levels than those born without the help of the operation.

In other births, emotional or mental tension increases slowly as the woman's labor¹⁴ progresses. This helps the baby to start breathing and get settled in the new environment outside the mother.

Professor Mikael Norman of the Karolinska Institute helped to write the report. He says C-section births have been linked to an increased risk of allergic¹⁵ reactions, diabetes and leukemia later in life. The study appeared earlier this year in the publication Acta Paediatrica.

VOICE TWO:

The researchers say the discovery could be important to a debate about Cesarean-section deliveries. Births by C-section are increasing worldwide. It is currently the most common surgical¹⁶ operation among women of reproductive age.

America's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says caesarean births rose to nearly thirty-two percent of all births in two thousand seven. This was the eleventh time in eleven years that rates have increased. But some experts believe that many of the C-sections are not medically necessary.

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VOICE ONE:

Many people have learned as children that first impressions are important. Parents and other adults often say that people judge you by the way you look.

Now, American and British researchers have confirmed that judgments¹⁷ based only on how someone looks are important. They found that appearance tells a lot about your personality -- the traits or qualities that make you the person that you are.

The researchers included Laura Naumann of Sonoma State University in California, and Simine Vazire of Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri. They were joined by Sam Gosling of the University of Texas at Austin and Peter J. Rentfrow of Britain's Cambridge University. The results of their study will be published next month in the Personality and Social Psychology¹⁸ Bulletin.

VOICE TWO:

We will call the subjects in the study, the judges. That is because they judged the personality of people they had never met. The judges examined pictures of one hundred twenty-three people. The people in the photographs had been told how to stand. They looked into the cameras with a neutral facial expression. The same people also were photographed the way they themselves wanted to stand. Those who wanted to smile could smile.

Then the judges attempted to decide what the people were like. The researchers compared the judges' opinions with the way the people who were photographed rated themselves. Three people who knew those in the photographs well also provided information about their personality and behavior.

VOICE ONE:

The judges looked for ten traits in the people in the pictures. The qualities included extroversion¹⁹, or interest in other people and one's environment. Another important trait was self-esteem: Does the person feel good about himself or herself?

The judges also looked for signs of likeability, openness and agreeability. Other traits considered in the study were loneliness, and religious and political beliefs. Other considerations were emotional control and conscientiousness²⁰ -- the quality of being guided by a sense of right and wrong.

VOICE TWO:

The researchers said the judges could identify some personality traits even when people were pictured in controlled positions. They could recognize traits like extroversion and self-esteem. But it was hard for the judges to decide about most other traits under the controlled conditions.

When the people smiled and stood looking natural and energetic, however, judging their personalities²¹ was easy. Then the judges' choices were correct for nine of the ten personality traits.

Researcher Laura Nauman noted²² that we live in a time of social media, and personal photographs are everywhere. She says it is important to understand how appearance communicates personality. If you want people to see you as warm and friendly, she says, just smile.

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VOICE ONE:

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by June Simms, Jerilyn Watson and Caty Weaver²³. Our producer was Brianna Blake. I'm Bob Doughty.

1 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。

2 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

7 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

8 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网

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 vaccinate   

vt.给…接种疫苗；种牛痘

参考例句：

• Local health officials then can plan the best times to vaccinate people.这样，当地的卫生官员就可以安排最佳时间给人们接种疫苗。
• Doctors vaccinate us so that we do not catch smallpox.医生给我们打预防针使我们不会得天花。

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 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

13 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

14 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

15 allergic   

adj.过敏的，变态的

参考例句：

• Alice is allergic to the fur of cats.艾丽斯对猫的皮毛过敏。
• Many people are allergic to airborne pollutants such as pollen.许多人对空气传播的污染物过敏，比如花粉。

16 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

17 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。

18 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

19 extroversion   

n. [心理]外向，[医]外翻 =extraversion

参考例句：

• The contrast between extroversion and introversion is entirely superficial. 在外向和内向之间所作的对比完全是表面的。
• The oft-drawn contrast extroversion and introversion is entirely superficial. 在外向和内向之间通常所作的对比完全是表面的。

20 conscientiousness   

责任心

参考例句：

• Conscientiousness is expected of a student. 学生要诚实。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Only has the conscientiousness, diligently works, can make a more splendid result! 只有脚踏实地，努力工作，才能做出更出色的成绩！ 来自互联网

21 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

22 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

23 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。