对儿童而言,用头击足球可能是危险的

Using Head in Soccer May Be Dangerous for Children 对儿童而言,用头击足球可能是危险的

Soccer is not a violent game. But players can hit the ball with their head and collide¹ with other players, the ground and goal posts.

Catherine McGill is a neuropsychologist at the Children’s National Health System in Washington, D.C. She examines many children who have suffered concussions³. Concussions are the most common brain injury, while playing soccer. She says concussions from soccer and other youth sports are increasing.

“One, we are getting better, and I say ‘we’ meaning parents, coaches and medical providers alike, are getting better at recognizing and responding to that injury, and that’s a huge testament⁴ to media paying more attention to this and leagues paying more attention to the safety of their players. Also, kids are getting bigger, faster, stronger across the sports, and so more injuries may be occurring simply because of that, and more kids are playing sports, and they’re playing more frequently.”

Catherine McGill spoke⁵ at a recent conference on ways to make soccer safer for young players. The meeting was held recently in Washington, D.C. Later, she spoke to VOA about her efforts. She says researchers are examining the effects of soccer-related head injuries. They want to know if repeated hits to the head can cause chronic⁶ traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. CTE is a brain disorder⁷ than worsens as a person ages.

She says parents often ask doctors about the use of the head by soccer players to purposely change the direction of the ball. In the sport this move is known as a “header.”

“We’re often asked by parents, you know, what’s the age, what age do they start ‘heading’ or should there be ‘heading’ at all? And, the answer is this is a very individual decision. The age for one child may be very different for an age of another child, right?”

Words in This Story

collide – v. to hit something or each other with strong force; to crash together or to crash into something

concussion² – n. an injury to the brain that is caused by receiving a powerful hit to the head

testament – n. proof or evidence that something exists or is true; informal – compliment⁸, or good result from attention being paid

league – n. a group of sports teams that play against each other

frequently – adj. happening often

1 collide   

vi.碰撞，互撞，冲突，抵触

参考例句：

• The interests of the two countries collide.两国的利益发生冲突。
• The tides slide on the tidy wide beach and collide each other.海潮在整洁宽阔的海滩上滑行并相互碰撞。

2 concussion   

n.脑震荡；震动

参考例句：

• He was carried off the field with slight concussion.他因轻微脑震荡给抬离了现场。
• She suffers from brain concussion.她得了脑震荡。

3 concussions   

n.震荡( concussion的名词复数 )；脑震荡；冲击；震动

参考例句：

• People who have concussions often trouble thinking or remembering. 患脑震荡的人通常存在思考和记忆障碍。 来自互联网
• Concussions also make a person feel very tired or angry. 脑震荡也会使人感觉疲倦或愤怒。 来自互联网

4 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

7 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。

8 compliment   

n.[pl.]问候，致意；n./v. 称赞，恭维

参考例句：

• The manager paid her a compliment on her work.经理赞扬了她的工作。
• Your presence is a great compliment.承蒙光临，不胜荣幸。