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SCIENCE IN THE NEWS

时间:2006-03-01 16:00来源:互联网 提供网友:SZPJX   字体: [ ]
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS
By

Broadcast: Tuesday, February 10, 2004

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

This is Science in the News, in VOA Special English. I'm Bob Doughty1.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Sarah Long. This week -- the World Health Organization has a plan to fight the increase in overweight people around the world.

VOICE ONE:

Alcohol-based hand cleaners make life easier for some people, but others worry about the fire risk.

VOICE TWO:

These stories, and more, coming up ...

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

 
Graphic2 Image
The World Health Organization is moving forward with a proposal to fight obesity3 around the world. All one-hundred-ninety-two countries in the World Health Assembly are expected to consider the plan in May.

The United States and other members of the W-H-O Executive Board voted last month to send the plan for final approval. However, the United States and some others also requested an extra month to comment on the plan.

Tommy Thompson, the secretary of health and human services, attended the meeting in Geneva. Mister Thompson said more time was needed to make sure the guidelines contained what he called "more scientifically based evidence." Comments will be accepted until the end of February.

The W-H-O calls the plan a "Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health." The proposal urges people to eat more fruits and vegetables and less fat, sugar and salt. The plan also suggests that governments restrict food advertising4, especially messages aimed at children. And it suggests that governments use tax policies and price supports to get people to eat healthier food.

VOICE TWO:

Last month a Bush administration official sent a letter to W-H-O Director-General Lee Jong-wook to call for changes in the plan. The administration says the report is not based on "the best science." Also, it says the plan does not talk enough about the responsibility of a person to exercise and eat right. The administration says its supports dietary advice that centers on the idea that all foods can be part of a healthy and balanced diet.

Non-government health groups argue that the ideas in the plan are based on common sense. They say the food and sugar industries are influencing the position of the administration. Administration officials deny that charge. They note several projects to fight obesity in the United States. They also note the personal campaign by Secretary Thompson to lose weight.

VOICE ONE:

A group called the International Obesity Task Force estimates that one-thousand-million people around the world weigh too much. This includes more than twenty-million children under age five. And it includes more than three-hundred-million people who are severely5 overweight. In the United States, about one-third of adults are considered obese6.

The problem of obesity has also spread to developing countries. Health officials say poor diet and lack of exercise are among the leading causes of heart disease, type two diabetes7 and some cancers. They estimate that these kinds of diseases are now responsible for almost sixty percent of deaths worldwide.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Health officials say one of the most important ways people can stop the spread of infection is to wash their hands well and often. Most people use soap and water. But others increasingly use products that let them clean their hands without water. Such cleansers are especially popular with medical workers. People in health care are supposed to wash their hands before and after each patient.

One kind of product is made with alcohol. Alcohol kills germs. And researchers say it does not add to the problem of drug-resistant bacteria. They say soaps that contain antibacterial compounds may.

Health officials say effective alcohol-based cleansers are at least sixty percent alcohol. That amount can go as high as ninety percent depending on the maker8.

VOICE ONE:

In the United States, officials at the Centers for Disease Control -- the C-D-C -- advise all health care centers to use alcohol-based products. They say studies show that these cleansers reduce the number of bacteria on hands better than soap and water.

VOICE ONE (CONT):The C-D-C says almost two-million patients in the United States each year are believed to get infections while in hospitals. It says ninety-thousand of them die as a result. The agency also notes the problem of infections in smaller health centers and long-term care places.

But no product is perfect. Alcohol burns easily. This can present a serious fire risk. It can also present a conflict for hospitals that want to have containers of hand cleanser in busy areas. Fire prevention experts say hospitals should not place alcohol-based products in hallways that lead outside the building. They say passages should be as free of flammable materials as possible, so people can get out safely.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

People living with AIDS and the virus that causes it can face rejection9 in their community and their jobs. Experts have created special programs to increase the acceptance of people with AIDS. One group, called the Change Project, has developed teaching information for people at the local level fighting the disease. It is called a "Toolkit for Action."

The toolkit includes fifty-seven teaching exercises that community groups and educators can use to help improve people's knowledge of the disease. The goal is to help people understand the stigma10, or bad thoughts about AIDS, and work toward ending it.

For example, many activities involve group discussions and the sharing of ideas, fears and personal experiences. Other activities require people to present information or act out stories in front of other people.

VOICE ONE:

There are activities that teach about caring for HIV-AIDS patients in the family. Other activities teach about stigma faced by children. There are also exercises to teach people about sex, morality and dishonor.

The Change Project created the toolkit with the help of the Academy for Educational Development and the United States Agency for International Development.

AIDS activists11 from more than fifty non-governmental organizations in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia helped write the exercises. You can get the toolkit from the Change Project Web site. That address is changeproject-dot-o-r-g.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

The Kodak company plans to stop selling traditional film cameras in the United States, Canada and western Europe by the end of this year. Sales of cameras for use only one time will continue. Kodak will also continue to sell its traditional thirty-five-millimeter film in those countries.

Kodak says it wants to increase its sales of reloadable film cameras in developing markets. These include China, India, eastern Europe and Latin America. A Kodak official said the company is expanding efforts to sell film and cameras in these markets because of increasing demand there.

Kodak also announced that it will no longer produce cameras for the Advanced Photo System. The company began to sell A-P-S cameras in nineteen-ninety-six. But these never became very popular. Kodak will continue to make A-P-S film.

The announcements are the result of an increase in demand for digital cameras. Last year, more than twelve-million digital cameras were sold in the United States. Digital cameras record images electronically, without film. Most people then print the images out on a computer, or send them to other people by e-mail. Traditional cameras depend on film and chemical processing.

VOICE ONE:

The decisions mark an important event in the history of Eastman Kodak Company. George Eastman started the company in Rochester, New York, in eighteen-eighty. Eastman invented a way to make it easier to take pictures. He called his camera "Kodak" because it sounded good to him. Eastman said he always liked the sound of the letter K. So he mixed it with other letters and made the word Kodak.

(THEME)

VOICE TWO:

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Jill Moss12, Caty Weaver13 and George Grow. Cynthia Kirk was our producer. This is Sarah Long.

VOICE ONE:

And this is Bob Doughty. Join us again next week for more news about science, in Special English, on the Voice of America.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 doughty Jk5zg     
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 graphic Aedz7     
adj.生动的,形象的,绘画的,文字的,图表的
参考例句:
  • The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
  • Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。
3 obesity Dv1ya     
n.肥胖,肥大
参考例句:
  • One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
  • Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。
4 advertising 1zjzi3     
n.广告业;广告活动 a.广告的;广告业务的
参考例句:
  • Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
  • The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。
5 severely SiCzmk     
adv.严格地;严厉地;非常恶劣地
参考例句:
  • He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
  • He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。
6 obese uvIya     
adj.过度肥胖的,肥大的
参考例句:
  • The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了,不能算是健康。
  • Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。
7 diabetes uPnzu     
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。
8 maker DALxN     
n.制造者,制造商
参考例句:
  • He is a trouble maker,You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼,你不要跟他在一起。
  • A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。
9 rejection FVpxp     
n.拒绝,被拒,抛弃,被弃
参考例句:
  • He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
  • The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。
10 stigma WG2z4     
n.耻辱,污名;(花的)柱头
参考例句:
  • Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
  • The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。
11 activists 90fd83cc3f53a40df93866d9c91bcca4     
n.(政治活动的)积极分子,活动家( activist的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
  • Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 moss X6QzA     
n.苔,藓,地衣
参考例句:
  • Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
  • He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。
13 weaver LgWwd     
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。
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