空气污染削弱智力

2019-09-10胡金莹

疯狂英语·读写版 2019年7期

胡金莹

Air pollution is a killer. The World Health Organization says it kills about seven million people around the world each year. Even if polluted air does not kill us， it can make us very sick. However， breathing dirty air may do more than hurt your body. It can also affect your brain and your ability to think.

A new study shows that air pollution can cause a “huge” reduction in our intelligence. Long⁃term exposure to air pollution can affect a persons mental abilities in two areas： language and mathematics.

The researchers studied about 25，000 people from across China. These Chinese men， women and children were given language and math tests. Then researchers compared the test results with measurements of pollution in the air. They found that breathing polluted air can reduce a persons education level by about one year. The effect generally is worse for those over 64 years of age， for men and for those with little or no education. Besides， the effect of pollution on verbal （言语的） ability is even more serious as people age， especially among men and the less educated.

There are two main kinds of tissue（组织） in the brain： white matter and gray matter. White matter is more connected with a persons language skills， while gray matter is connected to our ability to solve math problems. Air pollution has a great effect on the white matter in the brain， but not the gray matter.

The study was carried out in a single country. But the findings may be important to people all over the world， especially those living in highly polluted areas. People who work outdoors fall into a high⁃risk group. However， that does not mean those who work inside buildings are safe from air pollution. The smallest pieces of air pollution， called PM2.5， can go directly into peoples brain. So， no matter whether you stay outdoors or indoors， everyone is affected. Therefore， the government policymakers need to engage in cleaning up the sky in the long term instead of investing in short?term avoidance， such as the face masks or air filters （过滤器）.

Air pollution is a killer. It can not only hurt our 1. ， but also reduce our 2. . According to a study in 3. ， air pollution has a serious effect on our 4. skills， espe⁃cially for 5. who are more than 64 and for those with little or no 6. . For those who work 7. ， air pollution is more serious. However， those who work indoors can also be

8. . Therefore， it is high time that our 9. should take measures to 10. up the sky.

Ⅰ.Important vocabulary in the text

1.exposure n. 暴露

2.generally adv. 通常;普遍地;一般地

3.be connected with 与……有关

4.have a great effect on 对……有很大的影响

5.carry out 执行;完成

6.fall into 陷入

7.engage in 从事;参加

8.in the long term 从长远来看

Ⅱ.Sentence for writing

while 意为“然而”，表示对比。