(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.
Every day, people come into contact with thousands of chemicals. These chemicals are said to be harmless to human health. In fact, the chemicals are considered so safe that we wash with them. We put them on our bodies and even our faces. Other chemical products are used throughout our homes.
By the time, you walk out your front door you have already been exposed to thousands of chemicals.
On its own, each chemical seems harmless. But in combination with other chemicals, they may become deadly. That is the finding of a two-year study by a high-profile task force of scientists. The task force was told to investigate the cancer-causing possibility of chemical mixtures.
Linda Gulliver was one of 174 scientists on the task force. Their job was to study the cancer-causing potential of 85 chemicals. All 85 are said to be common in the environment.
Ms. Gulliver explains that chemicals have the potential, or ability, to form dangerous mixtures. Even simple minerals can become dangerous when mixed with chemicals found in plastics or beauty products.
"We're talking about everything that could be from basic minerals elements like copper, nickel to pesticides that are used in things like cosmetics and hair sprays and nail polishes and food wrappers."
Ms. Gulliver is also on the medical faculty of Otago University in Dunedin, New Zealand. While the chemicals are safe on their own, she says, the researchers found that many chemical compound cause cancer in human cells.
Working in groups, the scientists explored how different chemical mixtures could lead to cancer. Ms. Gulliver's team looked at the ability of different combinations to support the increase of malignant human cells.
She says the big issue – what she calls ‘the $64 million dollar question' – is, "Which common, every day chemicals do people need to avoid?"
"The $64 million dollar question that everybody wants to ask is, ‘Which ones [chemicals] should we be looking out for?' And the answer to that is, ‘We don't know yet.' "
She says the current way to identify whether chemicals cause cancer is to test them one at a time. This method leads, she adds, to a long list of supposedly "safe" chemicals. She and her team say that approach needs to change.
"We definitely need certain research ... to find out what mixtures of chemicals would be more harmful than others; what groups of chemicals, when together, would produce more harmful effects. And at the moment, that is not known."
An estimated one in five cancers has been linked to chemical exposure. It may turn out that the cancer-causing villain is not a single chemical at all. The villain could be a deadly combination. The increase of risk to cancer could be from exposure to many chemical compounds at the same time, or simultaneously.
The task force published its findings in the journal Carcinogenesis.
And that's the Health & Lifestyle report. I'm Anna Matteo.
词汇解析
1.high-profile adj. 高调的；备受瞩目的；知名度高的
Football is a high profile business.
足球是一个引人注目的产业。
2.pesticide n. 杀虫剂
This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields.
这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。
3.wrapper n. 包装材料；[包装] 包装纸；书皮
I emptied the sweet wrappers from the ashtray.
我从那个烟灰缸里倒出了那些糖纸。
4.malignant adj. [医] 恶性的；有害的；有恶意的 n. 保王党员；怀恶意的人
He said that we were evil, malignant, and mean.
他说我们邪恶、恶毒、卑鄙。
内容解析
1.By the time, you walk out your front door you have already been exposed to thousands of chemicals.
exposed to 容易受到…，易受，易招致，易招惹；露于；朝向
The area where most refugees are waiting is exposed to the elements.
大多数难民等待救济的地方都不能挡风遮雨。
Audiences' expectations are ratcheted up as they are exposed to high-budget productions.
观众看过高成本影片后期望会相应上升。
2.On its own, each chemical seems harmless. But in combination with other chemicals, they may become deadly.
on one's own 独立地；独自地；主动地
I live on my own in a studio flat.
我自己住在一个单间公寓里。
When push comes to shove, you are on your own.
如果形势糟糕，你就只能靠自己了。
参考译文
这里是美国之音慢速英语健康与生活方式报道。
人们每天都会接触数千种化学品，据说这些化学品对健康危害。事实上，这些化学品被视为是安全的，我们用它们来洗身体，甚至洗脸。其他的化学品用在家里的方方面面。
当你走出大门为止，你已经接触了数千种化学品。
每种化学品本身看似无害，但当与其他化学品结合时，就可能是致命的。这是一个著名的科学家工作组经过两年的研究发现的，该工作组被要求调查化学品混合物致癌的可能性。
琳达·格列佛是该工作组174名科学家之一，他们的工作是研究85种化学品致癌的可能性，据悉这85种化学品在日常中很常见。
格列佛解释说，化学品可能会形成危险的化合物，即使是简单的矿物质，在与塑料制品或美容产品中的化学品结合时，也会很危险。
“我们说的是从铜、镍矿石等基本矿物质到杀虫剂这些物质，它们被用于化妆品、发胶、指甲油和食品包装。”
格列佛是新西兰达尼丁市奥塔哥大学医学系的教员，她说尽管这些化学品本身是安全的，研究者发现很多化学品的混合物会在人体细胞中致癌。
这些科学家分组研究，探索不同的化学品混合物如何能致癌。格列佛的团队研究不同混合物支持恶性人体细胞增长的能力。
她说其中的大问题是人们需要避免使用哪些常见的日用化学品，这就是所谓的“价值6400万美元的问题”。
“人们都想问的价值6400万美元的问题是，‘我们应该找出哪些化学品？’答案是，‘我们还不知道’。”
她说目前识别化学品是否致癌的办法就是每次测试一种化学品，她说这种方法产生了一长串被视为安全的化学品，她和她的团队称这种方法需要改变。
“我们当然需要一定的研究来发现化学品的哪种组合会比其他组合更有害，什么化学品组合在混合时会更有害，目前我们并不知道这个。”
据估计，五分之一的癌症与接触化学品有关，这可能表明，致癌的元凶并不是单一某种化学品，而可能是化学品的致命组合。致癌风险增加可能是因为同时接触了多种化学品。
该工作组将其发现发表在期刊《癌症月刊》上。
这就是健康与生活方式报道，我是安娜·马特奥。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
