考博英語外刊選讀丨?More evidence that animals reduce childh

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More evidence that animals reduce childhood allergies

題材：科普類

出處：The Economist 《經(jīng)濟學人》

字數(shù)：523 words

[1] The problem with a catchy name is that sometimes it catches on too well. Take the hygiene hypothesis, outlined in 1989 by David Strachan of St George’s, a hospital and medical school in London. It suggests that the rise of allergenic sensitivity observed in rich countries over the course of the 20th century may have been caused by a corresponding decline in childhood infections, and also by a shift from rural to urban living, so that children are no longer routinely exposed to farm animals.

【有時一個名字太過引人注目，反而會帶來問題。以衛(wèi)生學假說為例，該假說由倫敦圣喬治醫(yī)院和醫(yī)學院的大衛(wèi)·斯特拉徹于1989年提出。該假說認為，通過觀察，20世紀發(fā)達國家的過敏敏感性上升可能是由于童年期的感染相應下降以及從農(nóng)村向城市生活的轉變從而兒童不常接觸農(nóng)場動物所致?！?/p>

【重點詞匯】

catchy /?k?t?i/ adj.  (樂曲、名字、廣告) 引人注意的; 容易記住的

catch on 受歡迎；流行起來

hygiene /?ha?d?i?n/ n. 衛(wèi)生

hypothesis /ha??p?θ?s?s/ n. 假設；假說

allergenic /??l??d?en?k/ adj. 過敏的

infection /?n?fek?n/ n. 傳染；感染

routinely /ru??ti?nli/ adv. 常規(guī)地

【長難句分析】

It suggests that the rise of allergenic sensitivity observed in rich countries over the course of the 20th century may have been caused by a corresponding decline in childhood infections, and also by a shift from rural to urban living, so that children are no longer routinely exposed to farm animals.

主句：It suggests… (it指代前面提到的“假說”)

賓語從句：the rise of allergenic sensitivity may have been caused by …, and also by…

observed in rich countries…是過去分詞短語做后置定語，其中in rich countries是地點狀語，over the course of the 20th century是時間狀語。

結果狀語從句：so that children are no longer routinely exposed to farm animals

[2] Dr Strachan’s work still has much to recommend it. What the catchy label has fostered, however, is an erroneous belief that cleanliness is not necessarily a health benefit. In reality, says Thomas Marrs, a paediatric allergist at Kings College, London, hygiene is usually about bugs causing infection—and the bugs that may be beneficial are different from those which do that. But it is plain to see why alternative descriptions, such as “the high turnover and diversity hypothesis” or “the microbial deprivation hypothesis”, have not caught on, more accurate though they may be.

【斯特拉徹博士的研究仍然有很多值得推薦的地方。然而，這個朗朗上口的標簽滋生了一種錯誤的觀念，即清潔不一定有益于健康。倫敦國王學院的兒科過敏癥?？漆t(yī)生托馬斯·馬斯說，事實上，衛(wèi)生問題通常是致病菌引起的感染問題——益菌可能與致病菌不同。但是為什么 “高周轉和多樣性假說”或“微生物剝奪假說”等更準確的描述并沒有流行起來，這是很明顯的?！?/p>

【重點詞匯】

erroneous /??r??ni?s/ adj. 錯誤的

paediatric /?pi?di??tr?k/ adj. 兒科的

microbial /ma??kr??b??l/ adj. 微生物的；由細菌引起的

[3] In an attempt to collect further data on the matter, Okabe Hisao of Fukushima Medical University and his colleagues have trawled through the Japan Environment and Children’s Study, which tracked over 100,000 pregnancies between 2011 and 2014. Pursuing the animal connection, they looked for correlations between household pet ownership before and immediately after a child’s birth, and any food allergies diagnosed in that child’s first three years. They have just published their results in PLOS ONE.

【為了進一步收集相關數(shù)據(jù)，福島醫(yī)科大學的岡部久雄和他的同事們查閱了日本環(huán)境與兒童研究，該研究在2011年至2014年間追蹤了10萬多名孕婦。為了追溯過敏癥與動物的聯(lián)系，他們研究了孩子出生前和出生后家中是否養(yǎng)寵物，與孩子在3歲前是否診斷出任何食物過敏癥的相關性。他們剛剛在PLOS ONE上發(fā)表了他們的研究結果。】

【重點詞匯】

trawl /tr??l/ v. 查閱（資料）；搜集 (trawl through sth.)

correlation /?k?r??le??n/ n. 相互關系，關聯(lián) 

[4] Of the 66,000 or so children they chose to look at, 22% had been born into households with pets, and were thus exposed to microbes and other potential allergens from those animals both before and after birth. Children in households with dogs, the researchers found, had lower rates than average of allergies to eggs, milk and nuts. Those cohabiting with cats seemed more tolerant of eggs, wheat and soyabeans. However, children whose parents kept “turtles” (terrapins, in particular, are popular pets in Japan) appeared unaffected. And, curiously, those exposed to hamsters appeared more likely than average to be allergic to nuts.

【研究者們挑選了6.6萬名兒童進行觀察，其中22%出生在有寵物的家庭，因此這些兒童在出生前后都接觸到這些動物的微生物和其他可能的過敏原。研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，養(yǎng)狗家庭中的兒童對雞蛋、牛奶和堅果的過敏率低于平均水平。養(yǎng)貓家庭中的兒童似乎對雞蛋、小麥和大豆更耐受。然而，養(yǎng)“龜”(尤其是在日本頗受歡迎的“水龜”)家庭中的孩子似乎不受影響。奇怪的是，有倉鼠家庭中的兒童似乎比平均水平更容易對堅果過敏。

【重點詞匯】

microbe /?ma?kr??b/ n. 微生物

allergen /??l?d??n/n. 過敏原

hamster /?h?mst?(r)/ n. 倉鼠

[5] What exactly all this means is unclear. One potentially important observation is that both pre- and postpartum exposure were needed for the observed effects to show up. Neither, by itself, was sufficient. Possibly, it is the time around birth itself which is the crucial factor, for this is when it is believed that the bulk of a child’s gut flora is established.

【這一切究竟意味著什么尚不清楚。一個可能重要的觀察是，需要在出生前和出生后都接觸才能出現(xiàn)觀察的效果。單獨某個階段接觸是不夠的?？赡荜P鍵因素是妊娠階段，因為人們認為這是兒童腸道菌群建立的主要時間?！?/p>

【重點詞匯】

postpartum /p??st?pɑ?t?m/ adj. 產(chǎn)后的

bulk /b?lk/n. 主體；大部分

flora /?fl??r?/ n. (尤指某個地區(qū)的) 植物群

[6] There are confounding variables. The researchers themselves point out that pet-owning households are more likely to live in the countryside, with its other sources of immune-system-stimulating factors. And, as Dr Marrs observes, allergy-prone families are less likely to own pets in the first place. These facts, rather than the presence of companion animals, might explain at least part of the effect.

【這里存在混雜變量。研究人員自己指出，養(yǎng)寵物的家庭更有可能生活在農(nóng)村，那里有其他刺激免疫系統(tǒng)的因素。而且，正如馬爾斯博士所觀察到的，容易過敏的家庭一開始就不太可能養(yǎng)寵物。有這些事實的存在，而不是有寵物的存在，可能至少解釋了部分效應?！?/p>

【重點詞匯】

variable /?ve?ri?bl/ adj. 多變的；n. 可變情況；變量

[7] Confirming or denying this will need more study. Nevertheless, Dr Okabe’s contribution is an interesting addition to the debate about Dr Strachan’s brainchild.

【確認或否認這一點還需要更多的研究。盡管如此，岡部博士的貢獻是對斯特拉徹博士假說爭論的一個有趣的補充。】

【重點詞匯】

nevertheless /?nev?e??les/ adv. 盡管如此；不過；然而

brainchild /?bre?nt?a?ld/n. 主義；發(fā)明