高温加速衰老？

近日，最新研究发现，极端热浪可能会加速人体衰老。

今天你练听力了吗？

🤔️小作业：

1. Which group is most likely to experience the fastest rate of biological aging due to heat waves?

A. Young adults living in urban areas with air-conditioning

B. Older adults working outdoors without air-conditioning

C. Middle-aged individuals with no preexisting diseases

D. Children attending schools with cooling systems

无注释原文：

In a Hotter World, Some People Age Faster, Researchers Find

From: The New York Times

Living through extreme heat waves can accelerate your rate of aging, according to research published Monday.

Scientists analyzed 15 years' worth of health data from nearly 25,000 adults in Taiwan and found that two years of exposure to heat waves could speed up a person's so-called biological aging by eight to 12 extra days.

It may not sound like a lot, but this number builds over time, said Cui Guo, an assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong who led the study, which was published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change.

“This small number actually matters,” she said. “This was a study of a two-year exposure, but we know heat waves have actually been occurring for decades.”

The research comes as human-induced climate change is making heat waves more intense and long-lasting. The West Coast of the United States is suffering from sweltering temperatures while Iran is experiencing searing heat. Record-breaking temperatures punished Europe, Japan and Korea earlier this month. France recently experienced its second heat wave of the summer, sparking a national debate over air-conditioning.

In 2024, the hottest year on record, climate change was responsible for 41 extra days of extreme heat worldwide, according to an analysis by World Weather Attribution.

Particular groups are more vulnerable to faster aging because of heat, the researchers found. If you're an older person who has lived through many heat waves, you may age faster than a younger person who had the same exposure, Dr. Guo said. Other factors, such as living without air-conditioning or working outdoors, can also make your aging rate significantly worse.

Dr. Guo cautions this isn't the same as losing literal days off your life; it reflects a measurable shift in biological aging markers, not the calendar.

The study defined heat waves as both a period of at least two consecutive days of abnormally high temperatures as well as any time when officials issued heat warnings. It also took the sum of a person's heat exposure into account.

The researchers quantified the heat's effects by comparing people's biological age to their chronological age. Biological age, is a measure of how healthy a person's lungs, liver and cells are compared with a perfectly healthy person, Dr. Guo said.

The study used 12 of these health measurements, known as biomarkers, to calculate how heat affected the rate of aging for the study's participants. The results accounted for individual factors that can affect aging markers, such as exercise, smoking and preexisting disease.

“Most countries are facing an aging population,” Dr. Guo said. Since biological aging is closely linked to death and many diseases, speeding it up can be an indicator of serious health problems.

- ◆ -

注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为纽约时报官方译文，仅供参考

含注释全文：

In a Hotter World, Some People Age Faster, Researchers Find

From: The New York Times

Living through extreme heat waves can accelerate your rate of aging, according to research published Monday.

根据周一发表的研究，极端热浪可能会加速人体衰老。

Scientists analyzed 15 years' worth of health data from nearly 25,000 adults in Taiwan and found that two years of exposure to heat waves could speed up a person's so-called biological aging by eight to 12 extra days.

科学家分析了中国台湾近2.5万名成年人长达15年的健康数据，发现暴露在高温天气下两年可能使个体的所谓生物衰老加速八至12天。

exposure /ɪkˈspəʊ.ʒər/ 1）表示“接触；面临；遭受”，英文解释为“the fact of experiencing something or being affected by it because of being in a particular situation or place”举个🌰：You should always limit your exposure to the sun. 无论什么时候，都不要长时间晒太阳。

2）表示“揭发；揭露”，英文解释为“the fact of something bad that someone has done being made public”举个🌰：The exposure of the politician's love affair forced him to resign. 他在风流韵事曝光后，被迫辞职。

3）表示“（在报纸或电视上的）报道，宣传，曝光”，英文解释为“the fact of an event or information being often discussed in newspapers and on the television, etc.”举个🌰：His last movie got so much exposure in the press. 他最新拍摄的电影受到了新闻媒体的极大关注。

4）表示“（暴露于严寒而导致的）冻伤（病），受寒”，英文解释为“a serious medical condition that is caused by being outside in very cold weather”举个🌰：All the members of the expedition to the South Pole died of exposure. 南极探险队的所有队员都死于冻伤。

biological /ˌbaɪ.əˈlɒdʒ.ɪ.kəl/ 1）表示“亲生的”，英文解释为“related by birth”举个🌰：She decided to search for her biological mother after her adoptive parents died. 在养父母去世后，她决定去寻找自己的生母。

2）表示“生物的；与生命过程有关的”，英文解释为“connected with the natural processes of living things”如：the biological sciences 生物科学。

It may not sound like a lot, but this number builds over time, said Cui Guo, an assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong who led the study, which was published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change.

听起来可能不多，但是这个数字会随着时间的推移而累积，香港大学助理教授、该研究负责人郭萃表示。该研究于周一发表在《自然气候变化》(Nature Climate Change)期刊上。

“This small number actually matters,” she said. “This was a study of a two-year exposure, but we know heat waves have actually been occurring for decades.”

“这个数字看似微小，实际上很重要。”她说。“这项暴露研究为期两年，但我们知道几十年来一直在出现高温天气。”

The research comes as human-induced climate change is making heat waves more intense and long-lasting. The West Coast of the United States is suffering from sweltering temperatures while Iran is experiencing searing heat. Record-breaking temperatures punished Europe, Japan and Korea earlier this month. France recently experienced its second heat wave of the summer, sparking a national debate over air-conditioning.

该研究发布之际，人类活动引发的气候变化正使高温天气更强烈、更持久。美国西海岸正经历酷暑，伊朗遭遇灼热高温，欧洲、日本和韩国本月初也创下历史高温纪录。法国近期的第二波夏季热浪引发了关于空调使用的全国讨论。

作动词，1）表示“诱发（某种身体反应）；引起，导致”，英文解释为“to cause a particular physical condition”如：a drug-induced coma 药物引起的昏迷，举个🌰：Patients with eating disorders may use drugs to induce vomiting. 患有进食障碍的人可使用药物催吐。

2）表示“催生；引产”，英文解释为“to use a drug to make a pregnant woman start giving birth”举个🌰：In this hospital, twins are often induced. 在这家医院生育双胞胎常常要引产的。

sweltering /ˈswel.tər.ɪŋ/ 表示“热极了，热得难受的”，英文解释为“extremely and uncomfortably hot”举个🌰：In the summer, it's sweltering in the smaller classrooms. 夏天，那些小一些的教室里热极了。

searing /ˈsɪə.rɪŋ/ 表示“（感觉、温度等）极度的，强烈的”，英文解释为“If something, such as a feeling or temperature, is described as searing, it is extreme.”举个🌰：A searing pain shot up her arm. 她的手臂忽觉一阵火辣辣的痛。

spark /spɑːk/ 表示“引发”，英文解释为“If one thing sparks another, the first thing causes the second thing to start happening.”举个🌰：My teacher organized a unit on computer science that really sparked my interest. 我的老师编排了一个关于计算机科学的单元，它真正激发了我的兴趣。

此前，《后浪》和「青年」文中标题中就用到：Bilibili's May 4th Youth Day video sparks discussion on social media 引发热议。

类似的还有：

📍stir表示“激发，激起（强烈的感情）；引起（强烈的反应）”，英文解释为“to make someone have a strong feeling or reaction”举个🌰：The poem succeeds in stirring the imagination. 这首诗能够激发起想象力。

📍provoke也表示“激起，引起”，英文解释为“to cause a reaction or feeling, especially a sudden one”，如：provoke debate/discussion 激起辩论/讨论。

📍spur 鼓动；激励；鞭策；刺激；鼓舞”，英文解释为“If one thing spurs you to do another, it encourages you to do it.”举个🌰：It's the money that spurs these fishermen to risk a long ocean journey in their flimsy boats. 是金钱驱使这些渔民驾驶单薄的小船冒险出海远航。

🎬电影《龙之心3：巫师的诅咒》（Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse）中的台词提到：To spur the clans to war. 激励部族发起战争。

📍trigger表示“发动；引起；触发”，英文解释为“to make sth happen suddenly”举个🌰：Nuts can trigger off a violent allergic reaction. 坚果可以引起严重的过敏反应。

In 2024, the hottest year on record, climate change was responsible for 41 extra days of extreme heat worldwide, according to an analysis by World Weather Attribution.

世界天气归因组织的分析显示，2024年是有记录以来最热的一年，气候变化导致全球极端高温天数增加了41天。

Particular groups are more vulnerable to faster aging because of heat, the researchers found. If you're an older person who has lived through many heat waves, you may age faster than a younger person who had the same exposure, Dr. Guo said. Other factors, such as living without air-conditioning or working outdoors, can also make your aging rate significantly worse.

研究发现，特定群体更易受高温天气加速衰老的影响，郭萃表示，经历过多次高温天气的老年人的衰老速度可能比同样经历高温天气的年轻人更快；其他因素也有影响，比如缺乏空调或户外工作者的衰老速率也会明显上升。

vulnerable /ˈvʌl.nər.ə.bəl/ 表示“易受伤的；易受影响（或攻击）的；脆弱的”，英文解释为“able to be easily physically, emotionally, or mentally hurt, influenced, or attacked”举个🌰：I felt very vulnerable, standing there without any clothes on. 一丝不挂地站在那儿，我感觉自己不堪一击。

Dr. Guo cautions this isn't the same as losing literal days off your life; it reflects a measurable shift in biological aging markers, not the calendar.

郭萃特别指出，这种衰老并非具体天数上的寿命缩短，它反映的是生理衰老标志物的可测量变化，而非日历上的时间。

caution /ˈkɔː.ʃən/ 作名词，表示“谨慎，小心，慎重”，英文解释为“great care and attention”举个🌰：We need to proceed with/exercise caution (= be careful in taking action, making decisions, etc.) 我们必须谨慎行事。

作动词，表示“告诫，提醒”，英文解释为“to warn someone”举个🌰：The newspaper cautioned its readers against buying shares without getting good advice first. 报纸告诫读者事先没有获得好的建议，不要购买股票。

literal /ˈlɪt.ər.əl/ 表示“（意义）字面的，根本的”，英文解释为“The literal meaning of a word is its original, basic meaning.”举个🌰：The literal meaning of "television" is "seeing from a distance". television 的字面意思是“从远处看”。

The study defined heat waves as both a period of at least two consecutive days of abnormally high temperatures as well as any time when officials issued heat warnings. It also took the sum of a person's heat exposure into account.

该研究将高温天气定义为连续至少两天的异常高温，以及官方发布高温警告的任何时间。它还考虑了一个人的热暴露的总和。

consecutive /kənˈsek.jə.tɪv/ 表示“连续的，连贯的，不间断的”，英文解释为“Consecutive events, numbers, etc. follow one after another without an interruption.”举个🌰：This is the fifth consecutive weekend that I've spent working. 这是我连续第五个周末加班。

📍《经济学人》（The Economist）一篇讲述绿色风投的文章中提到：Last year taxpayer-funded green-energy R&D around the world rose for the third consecutive year, to a record $25.4bn, accroding to the IEA. 根据国际能源署的数据，去年全球受政府资助的绿色能源研发连续第三年增长，达到创纪录的254亿美元。

abnormally /æbˈnɔː.məl.i/ 表示“异常地”，英文解释为“in a way that is abnormal (= different from what is usual or average)”举个🌰：The success rate was abnormally high. 成功率异常的高。

The researchers quantified the heat's effects by comparing people's biological age to their chronological age. Biological age, is a measure of how healthy a person's lungs, liver and cells are compared with a perfectly healthy person, Dr. Guo said.

研究通过比较个体的生理年龄与实际年龄来量化高温天气的影响。郭萃解释，生理年龄是一个人肺部、肝脏和细胞健康状况与完全健康个体相比有多健康的指标。

quantify /ˈkwɒn.tɪ.faɪ/ 表示“以数量表述；量化；确定…的大小（或数量）”，英文解释为“to measure or judge the size or amount of something”举个🌰：It's difficult to quantify how many people will be affected by the change. 很难确定将有多少人受到该变化的影响。

chronological /ˌkrɒn.əˈlɒdʒ.ɪ.kəl/ 表示“按事件发生的年代顺序排列的”，英文解释为“following the order in which a series of events happened”举个🌰：Give me the dates in chronological order. 把日期按早晚顺序给我。

The study used 12 of these health measurements, known as biomarkers, to calculate how heat affected the rate of aging for the study's participants. The results accounted for individual factors that can affect aging markers, such as exercise, smoking and preexisting disease.

研究采用12项被称为生理标志物的健康指标，量化高温对研究参与者衰老速度的影响。研究结果考虑了可能影响年龄标志的个人因素，如运动、吸烟和既往疾病。

biomarker /ˈbaɪ.əʊˌmɑː.kər/ 表示“生物标记，生物标志物”，英文解释为“something, for example a gene or substance, that shows that a particular biological process or condition is present”举个🌰：The Johns Hopkins team have identified a genetic change, or biomarker, that can be measured in the blood of colon cancer patients. 约翰·霍普金斯大学的团队已经确定了一种可以在结肠癌患者的血液中检测到的基因变化，也称生物标志物。

pre-existing /ˌpriː.ɪɡˈzɪs.tɪŋ/ 表示“先于…存在（或生存）的”，英文解释为“existing before something else”

“Most countries are facing an aging population,” Dr. Guo said. Since biological aging is closely linked to death and many diseases, speeding it up can be an indicator of serious health problems.

“大多数国家正面临人口老龄化，”郭萃说。由于生理上的衰老与死亡和许多疾病密切相关，加速衰老可能预示着严重的健康问题。

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