VOA慢速英语20060104a

HEALTH REPORT - Beethoven Died From Lead PoisoningBy Lawan Davis

Broadcast: Wednesday, January 04, 2006

I'm Faith Lapidus with the VOA Special English HEALTH REPORT.

Ludwig van Beethoven is remembered as one of the most famous composers in history. He wrote some of the world's greatest classical music. Beethoven lived only fifty-seven years. He died in eighteen twenty-seven.


Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Recently, tests confirmed that Beethoven died of severe lead poisoning. The United States Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory¹ supervised² the testing. Bill Walsh directed the Beethoven Research Project. He is the chief scientist at the Pfeiffer Treatment Center in Warrenville, Illinois.

Mister³ Walsh and his team examined pieces of bone belonging to Beethoven. They found a large amount of lead in the pieces, or bone fragments⁴. They said the lead levels were equal to those found in pieces of his hair in earlier studies.

Genetic⁵ tests confirmed the bone fragments and hair came from Beethoven. The researchers also examined bone fragments from someone else who lived during the same period. Both were from the top of the head, or skull⁶. The fragments from Beethoven had more lead than those from the other person.

The study found no measurable levels of cadmium or mercury⁷ in the fragments from Beethoven's skull. Both elements had been thought to be possible causes of his health problems.

Beethoven was sick for much of his life. He experienced⁸ stomach problems and a change of personality when he was around twenty years old. He also was easily angered, and suffered from depression and hearing loss. His health problems became worse as Beethoven grew older.

Mister Walsh says severe stomach pain is a sign of lead poisoning. He said the lead levels found in Beethoven's skull suggest the metal may have been present in his body for many years.

Mister Walsh said there is no strong evidence that lead poisoning was a cause of Beethoven's hearing loss, or deafness. He said there have been recognized cases of deafness caused by lead poisoning. But he said this is very rare.

Ludwig van Beethoven visited many doctors throughout his life to find a cure for his health problems. Beethoven wrote a letter to a friend before he died. He urged researchers to examine his body after he died so that other people would not have to suffer as he did.

This VOA Special English HEALTH REPORT was written by Lawan Davis. This is Faith Lapidus.

1 laboratory   

n.实验室，化验室

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a laboratory.她捐款成立了一个实验室。
• Our laboratory equipment isn't perfect,but we must make do.实验室设备是不够理想，但我们只好因陋就简。

2 supervised   

v.监督，管理( supervise的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The architect supervised the building of the house. 建筑工程师监督房子的施工。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He supervised and trained more than 400 volunteers. 他指导和培训了400多名志愿者。 来自辞典例句

3 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

4 fragments   

n.碎片( fragment的名词复数 )；片段；（将文件内容）分段；（文艺作品等）未完成的部分

参考例句：

• Police found fragments of glass near the scene. 警方在现场附近发现了玻璃碎片。
• They have found several fragments of a Roman vase in the area. 在这一地区他们发现了一只罗马瓷瓶的碎片。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

7 mercury   

n.汞，水银，水银柱

参考例句：

• The liquid we can see in thermometers is mercury.我们看到的温度计里的液体是水银。
• Mercury has a much greater density than water.水银的密度比水大得多。

8 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。