新奇事件簿 成绩不好？都是天气的错（在线收听）

Hotter weather leads to lower exam results, according to a new study from Harvard University, the University of California and Georgia State University. What's more, hot weather may reduce learning in both the short term and long term. Researchers reported that hot weather on test days and higher than average temperatures throughout the school year resulted in poorer grades. The study is the first major research into the effect of heat on students in the USA. Researchers analyzed how test scores from 10 million American students were impacted by the weather. Their findings showed that an average temperature increase of just 0.55oC over one year resulted in a one per cent decrease in learning.

哈佛大学、加利福尼亚大学以及佐治亚州立大学的一项新研究发现，炎热的天气会让考试成绩更不理想。而且炎热的天气还会减少短期和长期的学习效果。研究人员称考试日的炎热天气和贯穿整个学年的高温会让成绩更加糟糕。该研究是美国针对高温对学生影响的首个主要调查。研究人员分析了气温对千万美国学生考试成绩的影响。研究结果表明温度平均每上升0.55摄氏度就会导致学习成绩下降1%。

The research is in a paper called "Heat and Learning" and was published last month by the USA's National Bureau of Economic Research. One of the more concerning conclusions contained in the study is that global warming may affect learning and the income-earning potential of students around the world. The researchers predicted that if global temperatures continued to rise, the average American student could lose $25,000 in income over their lifetime because of lower exam results. Using air conditioning in classrooms could circumvent this. The researchers also found that hotter weather was, "particularly damaging...for low income and minority students" across the USA.

该研究出现在一篇题为《高温与学习》的论文中，该论文于上个月由美国国家经济研究局发表。该研究中一个更让人关心的问题是全球变暖或会影响世界学生的学习和收入潜力。研究人员预测，如果气温持续上升，那么受更低考试分数的影响，普通美国学生一生所挣收入可能会损失25,000美元。在教室里开空调能够避免这种影响。研究人员还发现高温尤其对美国“低收入和少数民族学生”影响严重。