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13 科技新闻摘要（二）
DATE=4-17-01
TITLE=SCIENCE IN THE NEWS #2120 - Digest
BYLINE=Staff
VOICE ONE:
This is Bob Doughty.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Sarah Long with Science in the News, a VOA Special English program about recent developments in science. Today, we tell about American women and smoking. We tell about the study of (1) evolution in the state of Kansas. We tell about chemicals found in Americans. And we tell about work to develop new (2) vaccines against foot-and-mouth-disease.
((THEME))
VOICE ONE:
A new American government report (3) confirms that smoking tobacco is a serious health problem for women and girls. The report says women now （4） represent thirty-nine percent of deaths caused by smoking in the United States. It says the rate of American women who die from such disease has increased more than one- hundred percent since Nineteen-Sixty-Five.
The top American health officer, Surgeon General David Satchel, (5) released the report. He says the findings show that women who smoke like men die like men.
VOICE TWO:
For a long time, many more American men than women smoked and died from (6) sicknesses linked to smoking. The report says those differences narrowed in the Nineteen-Eighties. The study found that twenty-two percent of American women smoked cigarettes in Nineteen-Ninety-Eight.
The report expresses concern about the large number of girls under twenty years of age who smoke. Almost thirty percent of girls in high school reported that they smoke (7) cigarettes.
VOICE ONE:
The report says women who smoke face an increased risk of several diseases linked to smoking. They include lung (8) cancer, heart disease and breathing (9) disorders. Since Nineteen-Eighty, about three- million American women have died at an early age from such sicknesses. The report says lung cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death among American women. This year, lung cancer will kill almost sixty- eight- thousand American women.
The Surgeon General says female smokers face other health risks that men do not face. They include (10) reproductive problems and cancer of the cervix. They also include problems of the bones like (11) osteoporosis and (12) arthritis. Women who smoke while they are (13) pregnant also may harm their babies.
VOICE TWO:
Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson says smoking is an important women's health issue that requires action. He says anti-smoking efforts must begin in schools before girls begin to smoke. The report calls for stronger national and local efforts to reduce and prevent tobacco use among women and girls.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE ONE:
Education officials in the American state of Kansas have rejected an earlier decision to remove the study of evolution from science education programs. The Kansas Board of Education voted in February to approve new rules for teaching science in the state. Those rules will be used to prepare new (14) statewide tests for high school students. The tests will now include questions about evolution.
VOICE TWO:
The theory of evolution says that all life on Earth developed from common ancestors in a biological process during millions of years. Some scientists say evolution is the most important idea of biology. British scientist Charles Darwin developed the theory of evolution in the Nineteenth Century. It was a way to describe the development of new kinds of animals, including humans.
Some (15) conservative religious leaders (16) condemn Darwin's ideas. They argue that evolution cannot be proven. Conservative Christians say the ideas conflict with their belief that God created the universe and all living things on Earth, including humans.
VOICE ONE:
Two years ago, the Kansas Board of Education voted to end most questions about evolution on the statewide tests. Board members did not ban the teaching of evolution in the state's schools, however. The vote represented a major (17) victory for religious conservatives.
The Board's decision (18) shocked many scientists and educators. Kansas Governor Bill Graves called the vote terrible and tragic. Efforts to cancel that decision started last year after statewide elections for members of the Board of Education. Voters removed from office two Board members who supported the Nineteen- Ninety- Nine decisions.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE TWO:
You are listening to the Special English program SCIENCE IN THE NEWS on VOA. This is Sarah Long with Bob Doughty in Washington.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
American health officials have produced a scientific report about environmental chemicals found in average Americans. It is the most detailed study of such chemicals in the general population. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the report.
The findings are based on a technology known as (19) biomonitoring. Biomonitoring permits scientists to measure chemicals in a person's blood and waste fluid. In the past, scientists measured chemicals in air, water or soil to estimate chemical exposures in people.
VOICE ONE:
The new study examined the blood and urine from three- thousand-eight- hundred adults and children. It found small amounts of twenty-seven environmental chemicals. The chemicals include metals, products to kill insects and (20) substances found in plastics.
Officials say the presence of a chemical does not necessarily mean that it will cause disease. They say additional studies are required to show if the levels reported are a cause for concern.
VOICE TWO:
A few of the chemicals were measured in earlier studies. Levels of two of them -- tobacco smoke and lead -- have decreased sharply in the past ten years.
Scientists say one surprise was the high level of man-made compounds called (21) phthalates. Phthalates are used to make plastics, toys and products for the skin. Scientists say laboratory rats fed large amounts of the substance have had birth defects and reproductive problems.
C-D-C officials say they want to expand the study to provide information about one- hundred chemicals. They also want to find out how these chemicals affect health.
((THEME))
VOICE TWO:
This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS program was written and produced by George Grow. This is Sarah Long.
VOICE ONE:
And this is Bob Doughty. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.
注释：
(1) evolution[ 7i:vE5lu:FEn, 7evE- ]n.进展, 发展
(2) vaccine[ 5vAksi:n ]adj.疫苗的, 牛痘的n.疫苗
(3) confirm[ kEn5fE:m ]v.确定, 批准
(4) represent[ 7ri:pri5zent ]v.表现, 描绘
(5) release[ ri5li:s ]n.释放,豁免v释放, 解放,
(6) sickness[ 5siknis ]n.疾病, 呕吐
(7) cigarette[ si^E5ret ]n.香烟, 纸烟
(8) cancer[ 5kAnsE ]n.癌, 毒瘤
(9) disorder[ dis5C:dE ]n.杂乱, 混乱, 无秩序状态v.扰乱, 使失调, 使紊乱
(10) reproductive[ 5ri:prE5dQktiv ]adj.生殖的, 再生的, 复制的
(11) osteoporosis[ 7CstiEupC:5rEusis ]n.骨质疏松症
(12) arthritis[ B:5Wraitis ]n.关节炎
(13) pregnant[ 5pre^nEnt ]adj.怀孕的, 重要的
(14) statewide [5steitwaid]adj.遍及全州的, 全州范围的
(15) conservative[ kEn5sE:vEtiv ]adj.保守的, 守旧的n.保守派
(16) condemn[ kEn5dem ]v.判刑, 处刑
(17) victory[ 5viktEri ]n.胜利, 战胜
(18) shocked[ FCkt ]adj.震惊的,震撼的
(19) biomorphism[ 7baiEu5mC:fizm ]n.生物形态主义, 有机形态主义
(20) substance[ 5sQbstEns ]n.物质, 实质, 主旨
(21) phthalate[ 5WAleit ]n. [化]邻苯二甲酸盐(或酯)酞酸盐(或酯)
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