VOA慢速英语2019 气候变化更易打喷嚏?（在线收听）

Is Climate Change Making You Sneeze More?

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

这里是VOA慢速英语健康生活报道。

Blooming flowers and new growth on trees make spring a beautiful time of the year. But for many people, all of this new growth only brings suffering in the form of allergies.

盛开的花朵和树木新长出的枝芽令春天成为一年中最美的时节。但对许多人来说，这些新生长的植物只会令他们因过敏而痛苦不已。

Some people claim that each year their allergies seem to get worse and worse.

一些人称，他们的过敏似乎一年比一年严重。

Well, they are likely right.

嗯，他们很可能是对的。

Environmental experts and public health researchers are all saying the same thing: Climate change can make allergies more severe and allergy seasons longer.

环境专家和公共卫生研究员也说了同样的话：气候变化会加重过敏，而且过敏季节越来越长。

A study published in the March 2019 journal Lancet Planetary Health found that pollen counts in the Earth’s northern hemisphere have been increasing -- along with a rise in temperatures.

《柳叶刀·星球健康》期刊2019年3月发表的一项研究发现，随着气温的上升，北半球的花粉量也在不断增加。

The lead writer of that study is Dr. Lewis Ziska, a scientist at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). For the past 20 years, he has been studying the effects of climate change on allergens.

这项研究的首席作者是美国农业部（简称USDA）的科学家路易斯·杰斯卡博士。过去20年来，他一直在研究气候变化对过敏原的影响。

He told VOA Learning English that his research takes scientific theory and helps people’s health.

他对美国之音慢速英语报道表示，他的研究考察科学理论，有助于人们的健康。

"So, it's been very interesting to be able to take this sort of theoretical observation and to link it into some real pragmatic responses that have a direct impact on people’s health. And one of the things that we’ve been trying to do is to make it more real: 'How does this affect me? What does it mean for my health? What does it mean for my life?'"

“能进行这种理论观察，并将其与直接影响人们健康的务实反应相联系，这真的非常有意思。我们一直在努力使其更加真实：‘这会对我产生何种影响？这对我的健康有何意义？对我的生活意味着什么？’”

Allergies impact millions of people around the world. Experts at the Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America say allergies are one of the most “common chronic diseases.” A chronic disease is one that causes problems often or long-term.

过敏影响着全球数百万人。美国哮喘与过敏基金会的专家表示，过敏是“最常见的慢性病”之一。慢性病指经常或长期引发问题的疾病。

On its website, the Academy claims that between 10 to 30 percent of the world’s population suffers from hay fever, a type of allergy. Many people experience allergic reactions to tree pollen, grass pollen, ragweed pollen and more.

该基金会的官网上显示，全球有10%至30%的人患有花粉症，花粉症是一种过敏。许多人会对树木花粉、菁草花粉、豚草花粉等产生过敏反应。

Findings from 2019 report

2019年研究报告的结果

But now, back to Ziska and his research. In this most recent study, he and his team studied 17 locations in North America and Europe as well as the following countries: Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and South Korea.

现在继续来看杰斯卡的研究。在他的最新研究中，他和团队调查了17个地方，包括北美、欧洲、澳大利亚、巴西、智利、中国、埃及、印度、伊朗、日本、墨西哥、沙特阿拉伯、南非和韩国。

Ziska only included places where scientists could provide at least 20 years of data.

杰斯卡的研究只涵盖了科学家可提供至少20年数据的地方。

The researchers found that 12 of those 17 places showed “significant increases” in pollen levels. And 11 of the 17 showed a “significant increase” in the length of allergy seasons.

研究人员发现，在这17个地方中，有12个地方的花粉水平“大幅增加”。有11个地方的花粉季节时长“显著增加”。

Back in 2000, Ziska wanted to examine more closely the link between climate change and allergens in the environment.

2000年时，杰斯卡想进一步研究气候变化和环境中过敏原之间的联系。

He and another USDA researcher, Frances Caulfield, looked at the effects that rising carbon dioxide levels were having on the production of ragweed pollen. Ragweed is a common allergen, especially during the fall.

他和美国农业部研究员弗朗西斯·考菲尔德研究了上升的二氧化碳水平对豚草花粉产量的影响。豚草是一种常见的过敏原，秋天时尤为常见。

Ziska said that ragweed is one of the plants that has the most effect on human health.

杰斯卡表示，豚草是对人类健康影响最大的植物之一。

“Remember, one of the memes that you’ll hear often is that CO2 is plant food. And one of the plants that has a[n] effect in terms of human health is ragweed. It's the most common allergen in the fall.”

“记住，你经常听到的一种说法是，二氧化碳是植物的肥料。而对人类健康有影响的其中一种植物就是豚草。豚草是秋天最为常见的过敏原。”

The researchers grew ragweed in a controlled environment and increased the carbon dioxide levels in the air. They found that ragweed plants produced much more pollen when carbon dioxide levels increased.

研究人员在受控环境中种植了豚草，同时增加了空气中的二氧化碳浓度。他们发现，二氧化碳浓度增加时，豚草产生了更多花粉。

But that is not all they found.

但这并不是他们的全部发现。

Increased carbon dioxide in the air may also lead to ragweed pollen that is stronger, or more allergenic.

空气中二氧化碳增多还可以使豚草花粉变得更强，或更具过敏性。

Carbon dioxide is one of the so-called “greenhouse gases.” These gases do not let heat escape from the planet; so, temperatures increase on Earth. This is part of what we call “climate change.”

二氧化碳是所谓的“温室气体”之一。这些温室气体使热量无法逃离地球，从而导致地球温度上升。这是“气候变化”的部分原因。

Ziska adds that CO2 does not know a so-called good plant from a bad one. And if you have allergies, ragweed is a bad plant.

杰斯卡还指出，二氧化碳无法辨别好植物和坏植物。如果你出现过敏，那豚草就是坏植物。

Longer growing seasons

生长季节变长

When other scientific writers report on the effects of climate change on allergens, they often use Ziska’s research.

其他科学作家在撰写有关气候变化对过敏影响的报告时，通常会引用杰斯卡的研究。

One such report was published in 2010 by the U.S. National Wildlife Federation and the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. In it, experts give a detailed explanation on how climate change is affecting allergen-producing plants.

美国国家野生动物联合会和美国哮喘与过敏基金会在2010年发表了一份相关报告。在该报告中，专家对气候变化如何影响产生过敏原的植物进行了详细解释。

For one thing, warmer temperatures are making the growing season for some allergen producers longer. And, the report says that some plant species may react better to increased levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) than others. For example, as the climate warms, the areas for major allergen-producing trees such as oak are getting larger.

其一，气候变暖使产生过敏原植物的生长季节变长。该报告指出，有些植物种类对二氧化碳浓度增加的反应可能好于其他植物。举例来说，气候变暖时，种植橡树等主要产生过敏原树木的地区在不断扩大。

So, does that mean increased CO2 could help “good” crops grow better? Again, here is Ziska.

这是否意味着二氧化碳浓度上升可能有肋于“好”作物生长得更好？我们要请杰斯卡来回答这个问题。

“One of the things that we’re also doing is looking at common crops -- such as wheat and rice and oat --and trying to find specific varieties of those crops that respond more to carbon dioxide.”

“我们也在研究小麦、水稻、燕麦等常见作物，以找出这些作物的哪些特定品种会对二氧化碳作出更多反应。”

Ziska warns that not all places are being affected by rising levels of CO2 in the same way.

杰斯卡警告称，每个地方受二氧化碳浓度上升的影响方式不尽相同。

“A city is different than the surrounding countryside. Cities are heat sinks. Trees, for example, in the spring...they tend to flower earlier in the cities because it’s warmer. Cities heat up faster.”

“城市与周边乡村受到的影响存在差异。城市吸热。举例来说，春天时，种植在城市的树木往往先开花，因为城市的温度更高。城市温度上升的速度也更快。”

Words in This Story

bloom – n. the flowering state

allergy – n. An allergy is a medical condition that causes someone to feel sick after eating, touching or breathing something that is harmless to most people. : allergen substances that cause allergic reactions

pollen – n. very fine, yellow dust that is produced by a plant and is carried to other plants by wind or by insects

pragmatic – adj. formal : dealing with the problems that exist in a specific situation in a reasonable and logical way instead of depending on ideas and theories

impact – n. a powerful or major influence or effect

hay fever – n. allergy usually caused by pollen

itch – v. to have or produce an unpleasant feeling on your skin or inside your mouth, nose, etc. that makes you want to scratch

significant – adj. large enough to be noticed

meme – n. an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture

heat sink – n. something that absorbs (or dissipates) especially unwanted heat