Hypoxia While Flying

                       26 关于飞行缺氧的原因分析
DATE=3-22-01
TITLE=SCIENCE REPORT - Hypoxia While Flying
BYLINE=Nancy Steinbach

(Start at 59") This is the VOA Special English Science Report.
Airline industry officials say as many as one-hundred people a year die from medical problems suffered while travelling on airplanes.
One of these problems is (1)hypoxia, a lack of oxygen to the (2)brain. Medical experts say the body begins losing oxygen minutes after a plane leaves the ground. The air pressure inside an airplane in flight is lower¹ than at sea level. This makes it more difficult for the body to (3)effectively² use the same amount of oxygen as it would on the ground. Fewer oxygen (4)molecules cross the (5)tissues³ in the lungs and reach the bloodstream.
The result is a five to twenty percent drop in the amount of oxygen in the blood. This reduces the amount of oxygen that reaches the (6)organs of the body.
A (7)headache is one result of this lack of oxygen to the brain. When this happens, the heart tries to fix the situation by beating harder and faster. This can make the person feel tired.
These signs of hypoxia are not dangerous in a healthy person. But a drop in oxygen level can cause a health (8)emergency in people with lung or heart problems. They might lose (9)consciousness or even suffer a heart attack.
Medical experts say another cause of hypoxia in flight is the use of alcohol⁴ or (10)cigarettes before getting on the plane. Drinking alcohol reduces the body's ability to use oxygen effectively. Cigarette smoking⁵ damages the tissues in the lungs where oxygen is exchanged. Experts say people should not drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes either before or during a flight. The result could be chest⁶ pain or a heart attack.
A health study completed last year showed that having a meal before flying can prevent such problems. Makoto Matsumura of the Saitama Medical School in Japan reported the findings⁷ at an American Heart Association⁸ meeting.
The study involved twelve people in a pressure-controlled room. Researchers produced conditions (11)similar to those on an (12)airplane in flight. They tested the peoples' health before and after eating and drinking. They found that eating a meal increased oxygen levels in the brain by forty-eight percent. It increased oxygen in other organs by twenty-one percent.
Medical (13)experts say flying is generally safe. But they say people with heart, lung or blood problems should talk to their doctors before traveling on an airplane.
This VOA Special English Science Report was written by Nancy Steinbach.

(1)  hypoxia[ hai5pCksiE ]n.[医]组织缺氧,氧不足
(2)  brain[ brein ]n.脑, 头脑
(3) effectively[I5fektIvlI]adv.有效地, 有力地
(4) molecule[ 5mClikju:l, 5mEu- ]n.[化]分子, 些微
(5) tissue[ 5tisju: ]n.薄的纱织品, 薄纸, 棉纸, [生]组织, 连篇
(6) organ[ 5C:^En ]n.[机]元件, 机构, 机关, 机关报[乐]风琴, 管风琴, 嗓音[生物]器官
(7) headache[5hedeIk]n.头痛, 令人头痛之事
(8) emergency[ i5mE:dVnsi ]n.紧急情况, 突然事件, 非常时刻, 紧急事件
(9) consciousness[ 5kCnFEsnis ]n.意识, 知觉, 自觉, 觉悟, 个人思想
(10) cigarette[ si^E5ret ]n.香烟, 纸烟
(11) similar[ 5similE ]adj.相似的, 类似的
(12) airplane[ 5ZE7plein ]n.飞机
(13) expert[ 5ekspE:t ]n.专家, 行家, [军](特等)射手adj.老练的, 内行的, 专门的

1 lower   

adj.较低的；地位较低的，低等的；低年级的；下游的；vt.放下，降下，放低；减低

参考例句：

• Society is divided into upper,middle and lower classes.社会分为上层、中层和下层阶级。
• This price is his minimum;he refuses to lower it any further.这个价格是他开的最低价，他拒绝再作任何降价。

2 effectively   

adv.有效地，有力地，实际上

参考例句：

• This method worked effectively.这方法很见效。
• The public should be educated to use resources more effectively.应该教育大众更有效地使用资源。

3 tissues   

n.组织( tissue的名词复数 )；薄纸；棉纸；一套

参考例句：

• The teacher showed the students the pictures of brain tissues. 老师给学生们看脑组织的图片。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Give some face tissues to me. 给我些面巾纸。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 alcohol   

n.酒精，乙醇；含酒精的饮料

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors.法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。
• The alcohol is industrial.这些酒精是供工业用的。

5 smoking   

n.吸烟，抽烟；冒烟

参考例句：

• He was wise to give up smoking.他戒烟是明智的。
• He has decided to cut out smoking and drinking.他已决心戒烟、戒酒。

6 chest   

n.胸，大箱子，金库，资金，一箱，密封室，衣橱

参考例句：

• The bear's chest is hairy.那只熊的胸部毛茸茸的。
• Mother has a pain in her chest.母亲胸口疼.。

7 findings   

n.发现物( finding的名词复数 )；调查（或研究）的结果；（陪审团的）裁决

参考例句：

• It behoves us to study these findings carefully. 我们理应认真研究这些发现。
• Their findings have been widely disseminated . 他们的研究成果已经广为传播。

8 association   

n.联盟，协会，社团；交往，联合；联想

参考例句：

• Our long association with your company has brought great benefits.我方和贵公司的长期合作带来了巨大的利益。
• I broke away from the association ten years ago.我10年前就脱离了那个团体。