随身英语 The dogs who safeguard our hearts 养狗能保护我们的心脏健康
有人说养宠物对人类身心健康有好处,那么养狗真的可以让人健康长寿吗?据一项最近调查显示,狗主人患心血管疾病的可能性要远低于不养狗的人。这是为什么呢?这项调查的结果可信吗?本集《随身英语》探讨养狗和人类心脏健康之间的联系。
课文内容 Vocabulary: dogs and hearts 词汇:犬和心脏
As a dog lover, our canine companions always fill me with joy. Whether pedigree or mongrel, tame or stray, whenever I see one, I smile. After all, their loyalty is indisputable, their companionship is always welcome, they fetch for us, guard for us and even work for us when required. Good old Fido has always been close to my, and many other’s hearts.
Well, not content with just warming the cockles of your heart, it seems that our four-legged-friends actually lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a 2017 scientific study, which looked at 3.4 million Swedes from 2001 to 2017.
The study concluded that this lower risk, which was particularly evident in owners of hunting breeds, may not just be due to the increased physical activity that goes hand-in-hand with owning a dog, but could also be down to dogs increasing the owner’s social contact, or by changing the owner's bacterial microbiome, which is the collection of microscopic species that live in the gut. Dogs change the dirt in home environments and therefore expose people to bacteria that they would otherwise not encounter.
These effects were particularly marked in those who lived on their lonesome. According to Mwenya Mubanga of Uppsala University and lead author of the study, “single dog owners had a 33% reduction in risk of death and an 11% reduction in risk of cardiac arrest compared to single non-owners.”
However, before your heart skips a beat, Tove Fall, senior author of the study, also adds that there may be limitations. It’s possible that the differences between owners and non-owners, which already existed before the dog was bought, could have influenced the results – or that people who are generally more active also tend to get a dog anyway.
It seems that the results are not as clear cut as they initially appear to be, but as far as I’m concerned, that’s ok. I love dogs for how they make me feel and, cardiovascular benefits or not, they’ll always be top dog to me – cross my heart.
词汇表 canine 犬的
pedigree(动物)纯种
mongrel 杂种狗
tame(尤指动物)温顺的
stray 流浪的
companionship 陪伴,友谊
fetch 拿来,取回,
guard 守卫,保护
Fido 对宠物狗的一个通用名称
close to one’s heart 贴近某人的心
warm the cockles of your heart 温暖你的内心
cardiovascular 心血管的
breed(动物)品种
physical activity 体育运动
social contact 社会关系,社会往来
bacterial microbiome 细菌微生物群
gut 肠道
on one’s lonesome 单独的,独自的
cardiac arrest 心脏停搏
your heart skips a beat(形容紧张或兴奋)心跳停了一下
top dog 最好的狗,胜利者
cross my heart 我保证所说属实
测验与练习 1. 阅读课文并回答问题。
1. What reasons does the author give for loving dogs?
2. When did the study mentioned in the article take place and who were its participants?
3. Which three reasons are given for a dog reducing a person’s cardiovascular risk?
4. True or false? Single-household dog owners see no health benefits compared to single-household non-owners.
5. What limitations are mentioned that could affect the results of the study?
2. 请在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处。
1. That dog doesn’t have an owner so come away immediately. Can’t you see it’s a ______? It might have a disease!
tame Fido stray mongrel
2. Quickly, nurse. He’s going into ______. Get me the defibrillator!
microbiome top dog canine cardiac arrest
3. He won’t bite, but he doesn’t like being touched. It’s ______ his last owner, who used to beat him.
cross my heart down to clear cut breeds
4. How can you not see it? There’s a ______ difference between the first picture and the second!
marked gut hand-in-hand tame
5. Please stop smoking, son. It goes ______ with cancer and you don’t want that.
skips a beat cross my heart on their lonesome hand-in-hand
答案 1. 阅读课文并回答问题。
1. What reasons does the author give for loving dogs?
They fill the author with joy. Their loyalty is indisputable, their companionship is always welcome, they fetch for us, guard for us and even work for us when required
2. When did the study mentioned in the article take place and who were its participants?
The study took place between 2001 and 2017. Its participants were 3.4 million Swedes.
3. Which three reasons are given for a dog reducing a person’s cardiovascular risk?
The increased physical activity associated with dog ownership, the increased social contact and the change of the owner’s microbiome.
4. True or false? Single-household dog owners see no health benefits compared to single-household non-owners
False. Single dog owners had a 33% reduction in risk of death and 11% reduction in risk of cardiac arrest compared to single non-owners.
5. What limitations are mentioned that could affect the results of the study?
There may be a difference between dog owners and non-owners that existed before the dog was obtained. It’s also possible that people who tend to buy dogs are also generally more active.
2. 请在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处。
1. That dog doesn’t have an owner so come away immediately. Can’t you see it’s a stray? It might have a disease.
2. Quickly, nurse. He’s going into cardiac arrest. Get me the defibrillator.
3. He won’t bite, but he doesn’t like being touched. It’s down to his last owner, who used to beat him.
4. How can you not see it? There’s a marked difference between the first picture and the second!!
5. Please stop smoking, son. It goes hand-in-hand with cancer and you don’t want that.
国内英语资讯:Feature: Chinese technology supports rescue network in Ecuador
2017届高三一轮英语 单元验收试题12 新人教版
2017届高三一轮英语 单元验收试题8 新人教版
2017高考英语二轮复习限时训练19 完形填空第二节(1)
2017高考英语二轮复习限时训练28 社会生活型阅读理解(2)
体坛英语资讯:Bremen beat Hamburg, Darmstadt upset Schalke in German Bundesliga
2017年高考英语二轮复习 定语从句(学案)
2017高考英语二轮复习限时训练29 科普知识型阅读理解(1)
广东省2017高考英语二轮限时训练:18 定语从句
广东省2017高考英语二轮限时训练:16 复合句结构
2017高考英语二轮复习限时训练27 社会生活型阅读理解(1)
广东省2017高考英语二轮限时训练:15 非谓语动词(3)动名词
国内英语资讯:Feature: Chinese vessel sets sail to revive ancient maritime silk road legend
体坛英语资讯:Xavi: Barcelona miss Dani Alves
2017届高三一轮英语 单元验收试题5 新人教版
国内英语资讯:Eritrean FM to visit China
2017年高考英语二轮复习 代词(学案)
2017届高三一轮英语 单元验收试题11 新人教版
2017高考英语二轮复习限时训练23 资讯报道型阅读理解
2017高考英语二轮复习限时训练20 完形填空第二节(2)
国际英语资讯:Ecuador to mark one-year anniversary of deadly quake
广东省2017高考英语二轮限时训练:5 议论文型完形填空
一毛不拔的富豪们:那些拒绝将财产留给子女的名人
贝克汉姆一家都是宝 小七名字注册为商标
国际英语资讯:50 buses of Shiite evacuees enter Aleppo following massive explosion
广东省2017高考英语二轮限时训练:12 情态动词与虚拟语气
2017高考英语二轮复习限时训练26 史地常识型阅读理解
国内英语资讯:Senior Chinese, U.S. officials exchange views on Korean Peninsula situation
2017届高三一轮英语 单元验收试题4 新人教版
国际英语资讯:13 injured as passenger train derails in northern India
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |