2015年CRI 男性和女性对环境温度的感觉存在差异

 

It happens every summer: offices turn on the air-conditioning, and women freeze into popsicles.

But until now, there was no data to understand why women felt cold and were slipping on cardigans while men just rolled up their sleeves at the same temperature at the work place.

"I always feel cold and coming in (to work) you always find yourself wearing a jacket. Yet, at the same time, it seems that everyone else is finding the temperature quite pleasant."

Now a new study by two Dutch scientists - published last week in the prestigious¹ journal Nature Climate Change - has offered an answer to this longstanding question.

They say that most office buildings set temperatures based on a decades-old formula that is based on the metabolic² rates of men.

The formula developed in the 1960s is based on the average body temperature of a 40-year-old man weighing about 154 pounds.

It actually overestimates³ a woman's metabolic rate by about 35 percent.

No wonder women feel the chill at work, says another office worker.

"If I think about all my female friends, all the female colleagues in the office, everybody, it's definitely always the females who are complaining about being cold."

According to Prof Paul Thornalley, of Warwick Medical School, women usually have a slower metabolic rate than men, mainly because they are smaller and have more body fat. This means they produce less body heat and feel cold more easily.

Another issue is differences in office attire⁴. Many men still have to wear suits and ties in the melting summer heat but women can opt⁵ to wear skirts, sandals and other lighter⁶, more skin-baring clothes.

Here is a male worker summing up the dress-code dilemma⁷.

"I can't wear short-sleeved shirts to work and most days I come in with a tie. So it's easier for a woman to take the layers on and off. Whereas for a man, this is it. I've got to be stuck like this the whole day."

So what can be done about this? It could take years before the construction industry and air-condition manufacturers come up with a new standard.

Until then, Radhika Sanghani, a writer for Telegraph's Wonder Women in the UK says a bit of common sense and sensitivity at the work place could go a long way.

"We don't need any sort of crazy legislation or anything like that. It's just a case of common sense and if there are women complaining about the cold then maybe workplaces can think about lowering the AC (air-conditioning) or relaxing dress codes for men so they maybe don't have to wear a suit to work."

The study by the two Dutch scientists concludes that setting temperatures at slightly warmer levels can not only "reduce gender-discriminating bias⁸ in thermal⁹ comfort" but also help combat global warming.

The archaic¹⁰ formula that is still being used may have worked well in the male-dominated offices in the 60's.

But now, women form almost half of the work force. So it is time someone readjusted that thermostat¹¹.

For Cri I'm Poornima Weerasekara.

1 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

2 metabolic   

adj.新陈代谢的

参考例句：

• Impressive metabolic alternations have been undergone during embryogenesis.在胚胎发生期间经历了深刻的代谢变化。
• A number of intoxicants are associated with metabolic acidosis.许多毒性物质可引起代谢性酸中毒。

3 overestimates   

对（数量）估计过高，对…作过高的评价( overestimate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• These overestimates counterbalanced the uncertain risk of radiation releases after sealing. 这些过高估计抵消了在密封以后放射性物泄漏所产生的未知危害。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Never underestimate a man who overestimates himself. 切勿低估一个过高估计他自己的人。

4 attire   

v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装

参考例句：

• He had no intention of changing his mode of attire.他无意改变着装方式。
• Her attention was attracted by his peculiar attire.他那奇特的服装引起了她的注意。

5 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？

6 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

7 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

8 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

9 thermal   

adj.热的，由热造成的；保暖的

参考例句：

• They will build another thermal power station.他们要另外建一座热能发电站。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

10 archaic   

adj.(语言、词汇等)古代的，已不通用的

参考例句：

• The company does some things in archaic ways,such as not using computers for bookkeeping.这个公司有些做法陈旧，如记账不使用电脑。
• Shaanxi is one of the Chinese archaic civilized origins which has a long history.陕西省是中国古代文明发祥之一，有悠久的历史。

11 thermostat   

n.恒温器

参考例句：

• The thermostat is connected by a link to the carburetor.恒温控制器是由一根连杆与汽化器相连的。
• The temperature is controlled by electronic thermostat with high accuracy.电子恒温器，准确性高。