VOA慢速英语 2007 0313b

VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Bob Doughty¹.

VOICE TWO:

hoarding2 about 70 horses, many of them sick and hungry. She denied mistreating them but said the situation ''got out of hand.''" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070816/0903310.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Horses are seized from a Maryland farm in December. Officials accused the owner of hoarding about 70 horses, many of them sick and hungry. She denied mistreating them but said things ''got out of hand.''

And I'm Faith Lapidus. On our program this week, we tell about compulsive hoarding syndrome³. It is both a mental sickness and a public safety issue.

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VOICE ONE:

Many people in the United States are looking forward to the return of spring. During this season, millions of Americans do what is known as spring cleaning. They open windows in their homes to let in fresh air. They use cleaning products that make their homes smell nice. And they organize their belongings⁴.

Some Americans have a strong desire to clean up their homes. This can also be called removing clutter⁵. Clutter can be described as a disorganized collection of things. To remove clutter means to throw away the things you do not want. Then, organize the things you have decided⁶ to keep.

VOICE TWO:

In recent years, it has become easy to find information on how to attack clutter. There are books and even television programs on the subject. Specialty⁷ stores sell containers and boxes for storing things around the house.

Some Americans pay people to come to their home to remove clutter. Such people provide advice on what to keep and what to throw away. They also help with organizing things. However, the services of a professional organizer can be costly⁸. Such services can cost up to two hundred dollars an hour.

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VOICE ONE:

A home with a stairwell filled with useless things

Some people have serious problems with clutter. They have a mental disorder⁹ called compulsive hoarding syndrome. Hoarding is the gathering¹⁰ of objects and not being able to throw them away. Most people would say the objects are useless or worthless. However, hoarders believe the objects could be useful some day. They may even develop an emotional connection to such things.

Hoarders are afraid to throw away things. Yet they continue to bring more and more things into their homes. They may save objects such as newspapers, clothing, and even old food.

VOICE TWO:

Hoarders live with so much clutter it may endanger their physical health. Dirt, insects, and bacteria that form over a period of time can cause sickness.

Safety experts say the homes of hoarders often are unsafe. A room filled with newspapers, for example, can cause floor supports to break down. In many cases, a room is filled from top to bottom with useless things. There is only a small space to walk from one end of the room to the other.

VOICE ONE:

One of the most famous hoarding cases involved two brothers in New York City. Homer and Langley Collyer were found dead in their home in nineteen forty-seven. Langley Collyer was buried under what appeared to be a mountain of old newspapers. The weight of the newspapers crushed him. Langley was Homer's caretaker. Medical experts believed Langley had been dead for several days before his brother Homer died of starvation.

Police found the home was filled with thousands of unused books, pieces of wood, and skins from large fruits and vegetables. The two brothers also saved pipes and very large automobile¹² parts.

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VOICE TWO:

Compulsive hoarding can have a severe effect on a family. Family members who share a home with the hoarder¹¹ cannot understand why their loved one keeps so many useless and sometimes dangerous things. It prevents the family from enjoying their home. Experts say the hoarder should make a greater effort to keep the home clean and organized. However, it is not that simple.

Randy Frost is a psychologist at Smith College in Massachusetts. He also has studied hoarding. Mister Frost says it is more than a mental disorder. He says hoarding is a public health problem.

VOICE ONE:

Collecting waste, food or materials that can cause fires creates serious health risks. In the United States, hoarding violates laws that were created to protect public safety and property. Some cities have formed groups to deal with the problems caused by hoarding. Each group usually has representatives from one or more government agencies.

Agency officials say they often hear about hoarders from citizens who live near someone affected¹³ with the disorder. The citizens no longer want to see broken household equipment or old clothing lying on property near their homes.

VOICE TWO:

Persons suffering from compulsive hoarding syndrome do not only collect objects. Some collect cats, dogs or other animals. Most animal hoarders believe they are rescuing the animals with the purpose of caring for them. However, hoarders do not realize when they have too many animals. They are really doing more harm than good. They may not be able to provide medical care for the animals. Some animals may not be washed or fed.

Officials have been shocked at the condition of the homes of animal hoarders. Floors were covered with animal wastes. Infectious diseases were a problem. Some animals were found starving, while others had died.

An animal hoarder usually collects other things, such as clothing or magazines. Experts suspect that many hoarders have had uncaring parents or disorderly lives as children. The animals serve as a way for hoarders to get the love they always wanted.

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VOICE ONE:

Compulsive hoarding syndrome affects an estimated one million people in the United States. Compulsive hoarding is most commonly connected to obsessive-compulsive disorder, or O.C.D. This disorder causes people to have ideas that interfere¹⁴ with their daily activities. Such persons act on these ideas, even when they know the resulting actions are senseless.

For example, fear of being dirty may cause persons with O.C.D. to wash their hands again and again. They may inspect things repeatedly, like making sure all electrical devices are turned off.

VOICE TWO:  

Sanjaya Saxena is director of the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders¹⁵ Program at the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine. He says hoarders have high levels of uneasiness, depression and a need to be perfect.

In a recent paper, Professor Saxena reported discovery of an effective treatment for patients who suffer from compulsive hoarding. The study included seventy-nine patients with O.C.D. Thirty-two of them had compulsive hoarding syndrome. The study found that the drug paroxetine was effective in treating those suffering from compulsive hoarding. Researchers say the study suggests that more controlled studies of medicines to treat the disorder could offer more improvements.

VOICE ONE:

Professor Saxena also led an earlier study of the disorder. In that study, he and his team used images from a process called positron emission¹⁶ tomography to measure brain activity. They compared images of the brains of hoarders to those from other persons with O.C.D.

The hoarders had lower activity in an area of the brain called the anterior¹⁷ cingulated gyrus. This area helps to control decision-making and the ability to solve problems. The study suggested that different medicines could improve the success of treatment.

VOICE TWO:

Recently, another study identified a possible genetic¹⁸ marker for compulsive hoarding. The American Journal of Psychiatry¹⁹ published results of the study.

The lead researcher was Jack²⁰ Samuels of the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland. He and his team studied more than two hundred families with O.C.D. The researchers found evidence suggesting that an area of genes²¹ on chromosome²² fourteen was linked with compulsive hoarding. They said the linkage²³ became stronger when two or more family members affected with compulsive hoarding were tested.

VOICE ONE:

Treatment of compulsive hoarding is very difficult. It may involve medicines and working with a mental health expert. The expert helps hoarders to understand their actions of saving worthless things. Patients are taught to develop a plan for organizing. They learn how to decide what to throw away. They learn to resist the urge to bring home more things.

Experts suggest taking a picture of the area to be organized before and after the work is completed. They say this will provide the patient with a feeling of progress. They also say the treatment program, changes in the way of thinking, and improved decision-making skills will help the patient for a long time.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Lawan Davis. Brianna Blake was our producer. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Bob Doughty. We hope you can join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 hoarding   

n.贮藏；积蓄；临时围墙；囤积v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• After the war, they were shot for hoarding. 战后他们因囤积而被枪决。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Actually he had two unused ones which he was hoarding up. 其实他还藏了两片没有用呢。 来自英汉文学

3 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

4 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

5 clutter   

n.零乱，杂乱；vt.弄乱，把…弄得杂乱

参考例句：

• The garage is in such a clutter that we can't find anything.车库如此凌乱，我们什么也找不到。
• We'll have to clear up all this clutter.我们得把这一切凌乱的东西整理清楚。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

8 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

9 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。

10 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

11 hoarder   

n.囤积者，贮藏者

参考例句：

• Was I becoming an eccentric hoarder? 是我变成了一个古怪的收藏者吗？ 来自互联网

12 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

13 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

14 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

15 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》

16 emission   

n.发出物，散发物；发出，散发

参考例句：

• Rigorous measures will be taken to reduce the total pollutant emission.采取严格有力措施，降低污染物排放总量。
• Finally,the way to effectively control particulate emission is pointed out.最后，指出有效降低颗粒排放的方向。

17 anterior   

adj.较早的；在前的

参考例句：

• We've already finished the work anterior to the schedule.我们已经提前完成了工作。
• The anterior part of a fish contains the head and gills.鱼的前部包括头和鳃。

18 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。

19 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。

20 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

21 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

22 chromosome   

n.染色体

参考例句：

• Chromosome material with exhibits of such behaviour is called heterochromatin.表现这种现象的染色体物质叫做异染色质。
• A segment of the chromosome may become lost,resulting in a deletion.染色体的一个片段可能会丢失，结果产生染色体的缺失。

23 linkage   

n.连接；环节

参考例句：

• In their monographic treatment of linkage,they have emphasized this especially.他们在论连锁的专题文章中特别强调了这点。
• Occasionally,problems with block inheritance or linkage are encountered.有时会遇到区段遗传或连锁问题。