听美文故事记6级单词07-04

4. Why Hearty¹ Women Outlive Men?

The age-old riddle² of why many women live longer than men has been solved. It's their pumping power, British researchers have found.

On average, women live five years longer than men and women over the age of 60 are now the fastest-growing section of the British population.

The average male heart becomes weaker with age, and by the age of 70 its power to pump blood around the body could have decreased by up to a quarter of its youthful strength.

David Goldspink, Professor of Cell and Molecular³ Sports Science at Liverpool John Moores University, said yesterday that women's longevity⁴ is linked to the strength of their hearts. Unlike men, they pump just as strongly at 70 as they do at 20.

"We have found that the power of the male heart falls by 20-25 per cent between 18 and 70 years of age," Professor Goldspink said. "In stark⁵ contrast, over the same period there was no age-related decline in the power of the female heart, meaning that the heart of a healthy 70-year-old woman could perform almost as well as a 20-year-old's."

The dramatic difference between the sexes might explain why women live longer. The good news is that men of any age can improve the health of their heart simply by taking more regular exercise.

The results are based on the findings of a two-year study of a cross-section of the British population, which examined the effects of ageing on the cardiovascular system.

Professor Goldspink and a team of scientists at the university's Research Unit for Human Development and Ageing examined more than 250 men and women between 18 and 80.

None of the volunteers had a weekly exercise routine and all were considered to have low fitness levels, but were otherwise healthy. Each volunteer underwent five hours of tests to measure their blood pressure and the performance of their heart while at rest and while they exercised on a treadmill⁶.

The researchers found that the large arteries⁷ in the body became stiffer and less elastic⁸ with age, causing increased blood pressure. Blood flow to the muscles and skin of the limbs was also found progressively to decrease. These changes were found to occur earlier in men, but women caught up soon after the menopause.

1 hearty   

adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的

参考例句：

• After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
• We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。

2 riddle   

n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜

参考例句：

• The riddle couldn't be solved by the child.这个谜语孩子猜不出来。
• Her disappearance is a complete riddle.她的失踪完全是一个谜。

3 molecular   

adj.分子的；克分子的

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms.这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。
• For the pressure to become zero, molecular bombardment must cease.当压强趋近于零时，分子的碰撞就停止了。

4 longevity   

n.长命；长寿

参考例句：

• Good habits promote longevity.良好的习惯能增长寿命。
• Human longevity runs in families.人类的长寿具有家族遗传性。

5 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

6 treadmill   

n.踏车；单调的工作

参考例句：

• The treadmill has a heart rate monitor.跑步机上有个脉搏监视器。
• Drugs remove man from the treadmill of routine.药物可以使人摆脱日常单调的工作带来的疲劳。

7 arteries   

n.动脉( artery的名词复数 )；干线，要道

参考例句：

• Even grafting new blood vessels in place of the diseased coronary arteries has been tried. 甚至移植新血管代替不健康的冠状动脉的方法都已经试过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This is the place where the three main arteries of West London traffic met. 这就是伦敦西部三条主要交通干线的交汇处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 elastic   

n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的

参考例句：

• Rubber is an elastic material.橡胶是一种弹性材料。
• These regulations are elastic.这些规定是有弹性的。