VOA慢速英语20060628a

HEALTH REPORT - Scientists Say Anger Disorder¹ 'Much More Common' Than BelievedBy Brianna Blake

Broadcast: Tue, 27 Jun 2006 16:00:00 UTC

I'm Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Health Report.


Road rage now has a medical name

Lots of people get angry in traffic. But some people get really angry. This hostility² can lead to aggressive actions or, in some cases, violence. Angry drivers have been known to pull out a gun or cause a crash. For years people have called it road rage. Now we are hearing a medical name.

Experts say that in some cases, these actions are linked to a deeper problem: intermittent³ explosive disorder, or I.E.D. It means that from time to time people explode in anger. They may attack others or damage property. Medical experts say this disorder is caused by an imbalance in brain chemicals.

The National Institute of Mental Health recently paid for a study of intermittent explosive disorder. Researchers at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and at the University of Chicago did the work.

The researchers used information from a study of more than nine thousand adults in the United States. They found that intermittent explosive disorder is much more common than has been recognized. They say it affects as many as seven percent of adults at some point in their lifetimes, depending on how widely it is defined⁴.

The study suggests that the condition affects up to sixteen million Americans. It generally appears around the age of fourteen, and is more common in men than in women.

Doctors say it usually begins with incidents of extreme anger directed at family members. They say the problem is made worse for some by stress from bad drivers, long travel times, crowded roads and busy lives. They say a small traffic problem can cause the person to become uncontrollably angry.

Mental health specialists say the study is important because not many people know about intermittent explosive disorder. They say the anger can be controlled with medication and therapy. The findings are published in the Archives of General Psychiatry⁵.

More than eighty percent of the people with the disorder also had depression, anxiety or problems with drugs or alcohol. But the researchers say less than thirty percent were ever treated for their anger. They suggest that early treatment of anger might prevent some of the other disorders⁶.

This VOA Special English Health Report was written by Brianna Blake. You can find this report online at www.unsv.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

2 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

3 intermittent   

adj.间歇的，断断续续的

参考例句：

• Did you hear the intermittent sound outside?你听见外面时断时续的声音了吗？
• In the daytime intermittent rains freshened all the earth.白天里，时断时续地下着雨，使整个大地都生气勃勃了。

4 defined   

adj 定义的; 清晰的

参考例句：

• These categories are not well defined. 这些类别划分得不太明确。
• The powers of a judge are defined by law. 法官的权限是由法律规定的。

5 psychiatry   

n.精神病学，精神病疗法

参考例句：

• The study appeared in the Amercian science Journal of Psychiatry.这个研究发表在美国精神病学的杂志上。
• A physician is someone who specializes in psychiatry.精神病专家是专门从事精神病治疗的人。

6 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》