听力训练材料bbcthe weather really affect our health

TheWeatherReallyAffectOurClaudiaHammond:InBritain,theclockshavejustgoneback.TheeveningsareclosinginandweatherisgettingcolderandIforoncefeellikehibernating.Anditturnsouttheremightbegoodscientificreasonforthis.Thefieldofhumanbiometrologyproposesthattheweatherdoeshaveimpactonourhealthbutmentally,likemydesiretohibernate,andphysically.ThefiledhasrootinGermanspeakingcountriesnotsurprisingconsideringthathalfoftheGermanpopulationclaimstheweatherhasadirecteffectontheirhealth.Inamoment,wewillhearfromtwopeoplewhohaveevensetupservicestoadvicepeopleontheweather’seffect.AutomaticephoneAnswering:othisisanautomaticephonecallonbehalfofyourGPpracticefortheinyourhouseholddiagnosewithCOPD.ClaudiaHammond:Butbeforethat,ourreporter,AnnaLucywenttotheAustrianTerrelltosamplethefreshairandratheranunusualwind.AnnaLucy:InthevillageofObuglugluintheAustrianouts,strangewindsareblowing.Todaythesunisoutandthecattlearehappilymunchingtheoutngrassbutforaround50daysayear,awindcoulddefend,passesdownthroughthevalleyandcausesthefensickness.Respondentone:Thefen?Ohitmakesmereallygrumpy!Don’tapproachmewhenthefenisRespondenttwo:SometimesbutnotalwaysIgetaheadache.AndsometimesIamgettingsick.ButIdon’tknowwhyonlysometimesandothertimes,Ihaveno.Ithasn’talwaysthesamedegreeyouknow.Respondentthree:Usuallyyouknowthatthefeniscomingwhenpeoplestartrunninglikemadinthestreet,youknow.Becausetheyareallveryaggressiveandbee,andngwiththingslikenearlyhityou.Respondentfour:SometimesIfeelitbutstrongly.AnnaLucy:Andwhathappenstoyou?Respondentfour:Headache,youfeelsick,youknow,AnnaLucy:Sowhatisthismysteriousfen?GaelMaineisaprofessorintheatmosphericsciencedepartmentattheUniversityofGinsburg.ProfessorGaelMain:Fenisagustywindandliveoffthemountains,hillsorevenoffgaps.Whenitjuststarts,yougetabiggustofairandthenyouhavethiswindblowingintoyourfaceandshakingyouaroundandblowingyourhairupandallthat.Anddependingontheseason,youcanfeelniceandwarmoryoucanbeawfullycold,ifit’sinthecoldertimeoftheyear.AnnaLucy:AndhowlongdoesitlastProfessorGaelMain:Thatcanbeanytimefromanhour,runningtoseveraldaysinaAnnaLucy:Althoughitmaysoundstrangetopeoplewhodon’tlivenearmountains,itseemsthesewindsreallydocausechangesinhealth.EvaVankerisbiomythologistworkingattheuniversityhospitalinMyunec.hdiseasesmightgetproblemswiththeirbreathingortheymightgetsomeasthmaticattack.Otherstudiesfoundsomehintsforthesymptomsofheartdiseaseandfen.AnnaLucy:Iunderstandthattherearesomeresearchabouthowfencanalsoaffectspeople’smentalwellbeing.Bedepressionorenteringintopsychiatricsunitsandevensuicide.EvaVanker:Yeah,that’scorrect.Wefoundinonestudywhichweconductedthatthereweremoreemergencycallsbecauseofpsychiatric,entriesintopsychiatricwardsorsuicides.AnnaLucy:Andthiswasduringfenwinds?EvaVanker:Yes,thatwasduringfenAnnaLucy:Despitefindingalinkwithmentalproblems,noonecanfindabiologicalexnation.Howevertherearesometheoriestowhythesewarmwindstriggerheadaches.EvaVanker:Ifthetemperatureisrising,thebodytriestokeephishottemperatureandtherefore,hehastoextendthearteriesandveinsandthatmightleadtoheadachesormigraineattacks.AnnaLucy:Rapidchangesinairpressurefromwindsrushingdownthemountainhavealsobeenblamedforthesickness.ButbackinGinsburg,ProfessorMyerhasspottedtheproblem.ProfessorMyer:Thefunnyortheinterestingthingisthatwhilethisclearlycanbeexperiencedhere.Ihavebeentoquiteafewothercesintheworldthattherearealsofenwindsbuttheydon’tusuallycominabout“thoseheadachesaredriveusgoingmad.”AnnaLucy:Soifotherfenlikegausssuchasthatyouknow,Santanaandboroughwindsdon’tcauseproblems.ArepeopleinNeaujustimaginingthings?UnidentifiedRespondent1:No,no,no,no,no,no.AnnaLucy:It’sreal.AnnaLucy:SosomepeoplecanpredictwhenitisUnidentifiedRespondent1:Yeah,yeah,yeah,yeah,likeaweatherforecast,UnidentifiedRespondent2:IknowmuchaboutthisinfluenceisfromoutsideandIthink,yeah,it’sreallyaneffectof,ofnature.EvaVanker:Wefoundoutthatit’struethattheweatherhasaneffectonthehumanhealthandonthehumanbody.Weaskedpeoplewhofeelweathersensitiveandtheyweredowninadiarywhentheyhavepainandhowlongtheyhavepain.Andwefoundoutthattwosortofthesepeoplearereallyweathersensitivebecausewealsohadseveralmeasurementsbetweenthesenotesinthediary,andtherealmeasurementsofseveralmetrologicalparameters.AnnaLucy:Soit’sdefiniynotallintheEvaVanker:It’snotallinthemind.It’salsoClaudiaHammond:EvaVankerendingthatreportsfromAustriabyAnnaLucy.Sohowmuchisthereinthisideathattheweathercanhavearealimpactonourhealth.WellenoughforthemetrologyofficeinBritaintoofferhelpweatherforecasttohelppeoplewithrespiratorydiseases.AndIamjoinedfromtherebyWaneEliotwhoheadstheweatherandhealthanddepartmentandbyDr.JohnBertwhoco-foundedtheCanadianMedicalMetrologyNetwork.ImeanJohn,ifIcanstartwithyou,weheardaboutthewholerangeofconditionsthere.Peoplewereconvincedthattheywerelinksbetweentheweatherandtheirhealth,howmuchgoodevidenceistherereallyforlinkbetweenthetwo?Dr.JohnBert:Thereisalotofgoodevidence.Ithinkwhathastobeappreciatedisthatweare lsandmostsmallm lscancertainlyknowwhentheweatherischangingwellbeforeweappreciateitexceptfortheweatherforecast.Thereisanemergencysystem,somethingthatsendsitschangesintheweather.Inhumanbeings,insomewhereIthinkwehaverepressedthat,butwecan’trepressitalltogetherinsomeofthechangesthatweseeare,asaresultofreceptorsthatwedon’tunderstandhowtheywork.ClaudiaHammond:Yeah,Iwasgoingtoaskyou,doweknowwhatthemechanismscouldbe?Imean,it’seasytoseehowyougetsomeburnswhenitspuffingsun,youknow,thataffectbytheweather.Yougetmorefluinwinter.Butsomethinglikemigraine,whyshouldthatberelatedtotheweather,whyshouldtheweatherchanginggiveyouamigraine?Dr.JohnBert:Idon’tthinkanybodyknows.Ithinkthat’soneofthethingsthatreallyinterest,themigraine,andI,whenwestartedmediclime,wewantedtoprovideadatabankofpeoplewhoaresensitive,whoknowthattheyaresensitiveandwhowecancontacttoseeifwecanidentifywhatitis.ClaudiaHammond:WellIwanttobringinWaneEliot,ImeanWane,whichconditionsdoyoubelievehavethestrongestlinkswiththeweather?WaneEliot:Wellwehavebeenresearchingintothisareanowforjustover80yearsandIwholeheartedlyagreewithwhatDr.Bertwassayingthattherewasalotofevidence.Alotofinitialresearchwasbasedoncorrelationsbetweenenvironmentalinformation,chieflytheweatherofcourse.Andavarietyofhealthconditionsandtherespiratoryconditionsreallyofferedthemselvesasbeingthekeyareaofresearchthatweshouldpushahead.Andthat’swherewearemostadvancedreallyintermsofofferingservicetothehealthcareworkerandalsotheindividualwiththerespiratoryconditionandadvisingthemwhattheycandoaboutittokeepthemselveswell.ClaudiaHammond:SoJohn’sadviceserviceiswebbasedandlooksattheweatherjustcomingupandinyours,youactually,peopleactuallygetaphonecalliftheweatherisgoingtobeinacertainWaneEliot:Wellthat’stryingtoprotecttheexampleoftherespiratorycondition,thechiefonewearedealingwithissomethingcalledtheCOPD–ChronicObstructivePulmonaryDiseasesfullyemphasizethemonbronchitisdependingonthepartofthelungthatisaffected.Thesepeopleareclearlyaffectedbyavarietyofconditionsbutchieflycoldweather,andquitewindyweatherwhileoftencedparts,especiallywhenthereissuddenchange,arelativelyquickchangefrommildconditionstocolderconditions.Sothechangeisimportant.Butalsothelevelofinthecommunityatanyonepointandthisiswherethekindofsophisticationcomesinwithourparticularservices.YoutakethetwoinputsandyoubasicallyuseafairlystraightforwardmodelsthatwehavedesignedwhicharesignedalisttopeoplewhohaveCOPDastowhethertheyarelikelyto eunwell.Andthenyoucaninformtheindividual,andinourcase,becausemostpeoplewhohaveCOPDaregenerallyover55andover60,theephoneistheobviousonetochooseasopposedtoSMSorE-mail,weactuallyphysicallyphonethem.ClaudiaHammond:Andtherehasmorethan22thousandpeopleyougotsignedupandsoonyouwillknowandfindingthemeachindividuallyandlingthemabouttheweather?WaneEliot:No.IwasnearlytoldbutIhavemanagedto,passthatoneaway.Isayasanautomaticsystem,whichcallspeoplethen,weintroducedthesystemissolelydonethroughtheGPpracticeandweareinvitedtotakepartandtheyaregivenapatientpackandIcanclearadvicetowhattodowhenyoureceivethisalertcall.Andiftheytakethemeasuresbasedondiet,aboutexercise,abouttakingyourmedications,ifyouhaven’tkeeyourroomtemperature,thelighttemperature.Basicmeasuresaretokeehimselfaswell,theevidenceshowsthattheystandamuchbetterchanceofgoingthroughthewinteringoodhealth.ClaudiaHammond:Andwiththerespiratoryproblemsdoyouknowwhyitisthattheweathermightaffectus?Doyouknowtheactualmechanism?WaneEliot:It’saboutthelungfunction,theconstrictionofthepassagewayswhichmakesthepassageofoxygenlessefficient.ClaudiaHammond:MostoftheworksinthisareaofweatherandhealthseemstobedoneincountrieswithtemperateclimatesandweknowthereissomethinglikemeningitisbuildacrossAfricaandtheoutbreakaremuchworseduringhotanddustyconditions,isthereanywayofexpandingyourworkwingtoincludethingslikethat?WaneEliot:WellIwasrecentlyinGenevaattheWorldHealthOrganizationmeetingwithsomeofchangeandhowweatherpatternsarelikelytoimpactoncommunitiesintropicalareas,predominantlyAfrica.AndIkindofwithexpectanttotalkaboutthat,andImentionedthatwehavethisservicewithweathertorespondconditionally,theyaskedmore.AndIstillyedtheephonecalltothem,Ihaveitonmylaptopthen,andIsortofexinedhowitworkedasfirstshowedandtheywereblownawayaboutthat.Ithoughtwell,Imean,alotofpeopleinthedevelocountriesisnotnewandIdon’tclaimitisbutIthinkthereissomethingabout,attheclickofabutton,youcouldsendout22,000anditcouldrampuptomany,manyhundredthousandsofpeople,thereisnolimitonthat.Inareaswherephonesarevery,very,accessibleindevelocountriesnow,solinkingittomalaria,tomeningitis,todroughts,tomanyenvironmentalissuesisextremelypossible.Dr.JohnBert:Yes,wehavesinceJanuarythisyear,wehavesentoutabout650,000e-mailalerts,allrequestedbysubscribers.Sothereachisenormousforwhatis,whatreallyisaverysmallinputofeffortsintermsof,thereisahugewinhereifwecanonlyjustgetholdofitproperly.ClaudiaHammond:AndyoufindJohnisascenariothatishardtogetpeopletotakeseriouslyenough,youknow,willpeoplesaytoyou,alwaysabitlikeblamingthefullmoon,youknow,