無敵翻譯有限公司

Vuvuzelas "may spread diseases" 烏烏茲拉可能散佈疾病

Vuvuzelas - the horns used by football fans celebrating last year’s World Cup - not only cause noise pollution but may also spread diseases, say experts. 
專家說，去年足球迷用來慶祝世界盃的喇叭——烏烏茲拉，不只會製造噪音污染，還可能散佈疾病。

A short burst on the instrument creates a spittle shower similar to a sneeze, travelling at a four million droplets a second, a PLoS One journal study shows.
公共科學圖書館綜合期刊（PLoS ONE）刊登的研究顯示，對著這種樂器短促的吹氣，一次會製造打噴嚏般、以每秒400萬滴的速度噴出的唾沫雨。

In crowded venues one person blowing a vuvuzela could infect many others with airborne illness like the flu or TB. Organisers are considering whether to allow them at the 2012 London Olympics. 
在擁擠的地方吹烏烏茲拉，可能讓其他人感染感冒或肺結核等飛沫傳染病，2012年倫敦奧運主辦單位正在考慮，是否要允許民眾在奧運期間使用烏烏茲拉。

Critics say they are anti-social and unsafe because of their potential to generate a din louder than a plane taking off. 
批評者說，烏烏茲拉反社會且不安全，因為它們可能製造比飛機起飛還大的噪音。

Dr Ruth McNerney, who carried out the latest work at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said a "vuvuzela blowing etiquette" may be needed rather than a ban. "Just as with coughs or sneezes, action should be taken to prevent disease transmission, and people with infections must be advised against blowing their vuvuzelas close to other people," she said.
在倫敦衛生與熱帶醫藥學院領導這份最新研究的麥克內尼博士表示，需要的可能是一個「烏烏茲拉吹奏禮儀」而不是禁令，「就像咳嗽或打噴嚏，要有所行動來避免疾病傳播，有傳染病的人也必須要被勸告，不要在接近其他人的地方吹烏烏茲拉」。
新聞辭典
airborne：形容詞，空中傳播的。例句：The airborne radioactive particles have covered a huge area of Russia.（飄散空中的輻射微粒覆蓋俄羅斯大片區域。） 
din：名詞，喧鬧聲。例句：The children were making a terrible din.（孩子們製造可怕的喧鬧聲。）
etiquette：名詞，禮儀。Social etiquette dictates that men cannot sit while women are standing.（社交禮儀說，女性站著的時候，男性不能坐著。）
◎國際新聞中心 自由電子報

PM’s son named ’New Zealand’s top planker’ 總理之子被稱為「紐西蘭頂尖仆街客」

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key’s son was named the country’s "top planker" Tuesday after a photo appeared online apparently showing him performing the Internet craze as his father looked on.
在一張網路照片明白顯示，紐西蘭總理約翰．凱伊的兒子是在老爸在旁觀看之下表演席捲網路的「仆街」後，週二他被稱為該國的「頂尖仆街客」。

The New Zealand Herald said the grainy picture of Max Key planking on the back of a couch in the prime ministerial residence appeared on the "Planking New Zealand" Facebook page this week, causing a stir among Internet users.
紐西蘭前鋒報說，當這張粒子粗大、顯示麥克斯．凱伊在總理官邸的一張沙發椅背上「仆街」的照片，本週出現在「紐西蘭仆街」臉書上後，便在網友間引發一陣騷動。

In a front-page headline, it declared the 16-year-old "NZ’s top planker" but noted the prime minister himself had not personally performed the stunt.
該報頭版的標題宣稱，16歲的麥克斯是「紐西蘭的頂尖仆街客」，但註明總理本人並沒有親自表演此一特技動作。

Planking involves someone lying flat on their stomach with their arms against their bodies in unusual and sometimes dangerous situations, with photos of their exploits posted on social media sites.
「仆街」係指某個人趴著、雙臂貼靠著身體、（讓自己）處於一種不尋常、有時甚至危險的情況下，然後將其「仆街」壯舉照貼到社交網站上。

The fad has been linked with at least one fatality in Australia, when a man was killed in Brisbane in May after plummeting to his death while attempting to "plank" on a seven-storey balcony.
此一熱潮已在澳洲至少導致1死，5月份一名男子企圖在布里斯本的一處7樓陽台上「仆街」，結果墜地摔死。

新聞辭典
craze：名詞，狂熱，風尚。例句：He is against the craze of planking.（他反對「仆街」熱潮。）
look on：慣用語，在旁邊看；onlooker，名詞，旁觀者。
cause（quite）a stir：慣用語，引發騷動。quite為加強語氣。例句：She caused quite a stir in her little black dress last night.（她昨晚的黑色小洋裝引發好一陣騷動。）
◎張沛元 自由電子報

Lions ’more likely to eat people after a full moon’ 獅子「在滿月後更有可能吃人」

Other predators, such as wolves, may also be at their most dangerous when the moon starts to wane.
其他肉食動物，例如狼，在月亮開始虧缺時也可能最危險。

The discovery, from an African study of 500 lion attacks, could explain the full moon’s place in folklore as a harbinger of evil or disaster, and its association with werewolves and vampires.
這項發現，來自非洲一份對500次獅子攻擊行動的研究，或許可以解釋滿月在民間傳說中作為禍害或災難前兆的地位，及其與狼人和吸血鬼的關連性。

Scientists studied records of nearly 500 lion attacks on Tanzanian villagers between 1988 and 2009. In more than two thirds of cases, the victims were killed and eaten. The vast majority of attacks occurred between dusk and 10pm on nights when the moon was waning and providing relatively little light.
科學家研究1988至2009年間，獅子對坦尚尼亞村莊居民發動500次攻擊行動的紀錄。在超過3分之2的案例中，受害者被咬死並被吃掉。絕大多數的攻擊行動發生在傍晚到晚上10點之間，當時月亮逐漸虧缺，月光相對微弱。

Lions hunt most successfully when darkness allows them to surprise their prey, but on bright moonlit nights they might have to go hungry. The period immediately following a full moon provides a lion with a welcome opportunity to catch up on missed meals.
當黑暗讓牠們得以出其不意地攻擊獵物時，獅子的獵捕行動最為成功，但在月光明亮的夜晚，牠們可能就得挨餓。緊接著滿月之後的這段時間，為獅子提供了彌補錯過大餐的大好機會。

Lion attacks also increased during the rainy season, when the moon was more likely to be obscured by clouds.
獅子的攻擊行動在雨季也會增加，屆時月亮更可能被雲層遮蔽而黯淡。

"Although we are safest from lion attacks during well-lit nights, the full moon accurately indicates that the risks of lion predation will increase dramatically in the coming days. Thus the full moon is not dangerous in itself but is instead a portent of the darkness to come." said the scientists.
「雖然我們在月光明亮的夜晚被獅子攻擊的可能性最低，滿月卻精確地指出，獅子發動獵食行動的危險將在未來幾天內急遽增加。因此滿月本身並不危險，危險的是黑暗即將到來的凶兆。」科學家說。


新聞辭典
wane：動詞或名詞，月虧（缺）、衰退，片語wax and wane指月亮盈虧、圓缺。例句：The moon may be dim or bright, wax and wane.（月有陰晴圓缺。）
folklore：名詞，民間傳說、民俗。例句：Academia Sinica honored him for his lifetime of research on Taiwanese folklore.（中研院表揚他窮盡一生對台灣民俗的研究。）
portent：名詞，預兆，尤指惡兆；異象，動詞為portend。例句：The prophet has revealed important portents for the near future.（這位先知揭露了關於不久將來的重要徵兆。）
◎陳泓達 自由電子報

Childhood pets linked to lower allergy risk 兒童時期養寵物與降低過敏風險有關

Good news for families that would love to have a furry dog or cat but hesitate for fear the kids might become allergic: Fido or Kitty might actually be good for children’s health, scientists say.
對想擁有毛茸茸的狗狗或貓咪，卻因擔心小孩或許過敏而有所遲疑的家庭來說這是個好消息︰狗或貓或許實際上有益於兒童健康，科學家說。

They found that children who were exposed to animals at a young age had lower rates of nasal allergies as adolescents.
科學家發現，幼年與動物接觸的兒童，青少年時鼻子過敏的比率較低。

"Family pets, in particular dogs...need not be removed to prevent allergies, and in fact may protect against them," Melanie Matheson of the University of Melbourne, lead author of the study said.
「家庭寵物，特別是狗不需為了預防過敏而被除去，事實上或許還能防範過敏。」該研究主筆、墨爾本大學的馬瑟森說。

Looking at survey responses from nearly 8,500 adults from Europe and Australia, Matheson and colleagues focused on those who grew up around house pets or farm animals, and those who had the troublesome runny noses, itchy eyes, and sore throats that plague nasal allergy sufferers.
觀察歐洲與澳洲近8500名成人的調查回應，馬瑟森與其同僚聚焦於那些成長時身邊有寵物或家畜者，以及那些有令人苦惱的流鼻水、眼睛癢、喉嚨痛等現象的人，這些症狀折磨著鼻子過敏者。

In the new study, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, more than one in four respondents said they had nasal allergies. In most cases, people said their allergies started when they were adolescents.
在這份發表於過敏與與臨床免疫學期刊的新研究，4名回應者中，超過1人有鼻子過敏，而在大部分的案例，人們說他們的過敏是從青少年開始。

A number of factors were linked to a higher risk of nasal allergies in the study. Some, like a family history of allergies and the mother smoking while pregnant, are well documented risk factors.
在該研究中，一些因素與較高的鼻過敏罹患風險有關，比如家庭過敏史與母親懷孕時抽菸都是證據充分的風險因子。

新聞辭典
Fido︰名詞，意指狗狗。出處來自美國總統林肯的寵物狗「Fido」，fido的拉丁字是「fidelis」，意思是忠實的、忠誠的。
exposed︰形容詞，暴露的、無遮蔽的、易受攻擊的。例句︰Children are exposed to many diseases.（小孩容易感染多種疾病。）
well documented︰有據可查的、證據充分的。例句︰The link between poverty and sickness is well documented.（貧窮與疾病的關聯是有據可查的。）
◎魏國金 自由電子報

Dark winters led to bigger human brains and eyeballs 黑暗的冬天讓人大腦與眼珠較大

The Oxford University team said bigger brains did not make people smarter. Humans living at high latitude have bigger eyes and bigger brains to cope with poor light during long winters and cloudy days. 
牛津大學團隊說，較大的大腦不會讓人更聰明。生活在高緯度的人，眼睛與大腦較大，才能在漫長的冬季與烏雲天裡處理光線不佳的問題。

The scientists measured the eye sockets and brain volumes of 55 skulls from 12 populations across the world. Lead author Eiluned Pearce told BBC News: "We found a positive relationship between absolute latitude and both eye socket size and cranial capacity."
這群科學家評估世界上12種人55顆頭顱的眼窩與大腦容量。領導研究者皮爾斯告訴英國廣播公司新聞網：「我們發現絕對緯度與眼窩大小以及頭顱容量都有正面關係。」

The team, from the Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology, used skulls dating from the 1800s kept at museums in Oxford and Cambridge. The skulls were from indigenous populations ranging from Scandinavia to Australia, Micronesia and North America. The largest brain cavities came from Scandinavia, while the smallest were from Micronesia.
這個來自認知與進化人類學研究院的團隊，使用牛津與劍橋博物館內保存的、溯及西元1800年代的頭顱。這些頭顱來自斯堪地那維亞、澳洲、密克羅尼西亞與北美的原住民族，最大的腦腔來自斯堪地那維亞，最小的來自密克羅尼西亞。

Eiluned Pearce said: "Both the amount of light hitting the Earth’s surface and winter day-lengths get shorter as you go further north or south from the equator. We found that as light levels decrease, humans are getting bigger eye sockets, which suggests that their eyeballs are getting bigger. They are also getting bigger brains, because we found this increase in cranial capacity as well. In the paper, we argue that having bigger brains doesn’t mean that high-latitude humans are necessarily smarter. It’s just they need bigger eyes and brains to be able to see well where they live."
皮爾斯說：「光線照射地表的量，以及冬天白天長度，都是赤道以北越北越短，或赤道以南越南越短。我們發現人類眼窩隨著光線照射程度減少而增大，代表他們的眼球也會隨之增大；他們也有較大的大腦，因為我們發現這也會增加頭顱容量。在報告中我們主張，大腦較大不代表高緯度的人一定較聰明，只是他們需要更大的眼睛與大腦，讓他們在所住的地方看得更清楚而已。」

新聞辭典
cope with：片語，處理。例句：There was more work than I could cope with.（工作多得我應付不過來。）
date：動詞，年代溯及。例句：Archaeologists have been unable to date these fossils.（考古學家無法為這些化石定年。）
capacity：名詞，容量。例句：This hotel has large capacity.（這家旅館可接待大量住客。）
◎國際新聞中心

Chimp’s maternal instincts awakened as she feeds milk to a baby tiger 餵奶給老虎寶寶 喚醒了黑猩猩的母性本能

Some adorable images reveal the close bond that has formed between a two-year-old chimpanzee called Do Do and a two-month-old tiger cub called Aorn.
一些可愛的影像顯露出兩歲黑猩猩多多與兩個月大幼虎阿旺之間所建立的親密連結。

Completely at ease in each other’s company, the ape’s motherly instincts take over as she attentively bottle-feeds the baby tiger. Aorn gratefully laps up the milk as Do Do tenderly holds the tiger in her arms.
牠們對彼此的相伴全然自在，當這隻黑猩猩聚精會神以奶瓶餵食老虎寶寶時，她的母性本能取得主導。阿旺感恩地舔光牛奶，而多多溫柔地將牠抱在臂彎裡。

At one point, Do Do puts the bottle in her own mouth - almost mimicking the actions of a human mother checking to see if the milk is suitable for her offspring to consume.
有一度，多多將奶瓶放進嘴裡——酷似人類母親檢查看看牛奶是否適合給其子女喝的動作。

For some unexplained reason Do Do is wearing a pair of denim shorts - perhaps to protect her thighs from Aorn’s claws.
因為某個未解釋的原因，多多穿著牛仔短褲——這或許是為了保護她的大腿免遭阿旺的爪子抓傷。

They were photographed at Samut Prakan Crocodile Farm and Zoo on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand. The crocodile farm houses some 80,000 crocodiles. However, the farm doesn’t just contain crocodiles. 
牠們的互動是在泰國曼谷市郊的北欖鱷魚園和動物園內被拍下的。這個園區內飼養有8萬隻鱷魚。不過，園區內不是只有鱷魚而已。

新聞辭典
at ease︰片語，放心、自在。例句︰He was never at his ease with his father.（他與他的父親在一起時從未感到自在。）
take over︰片語，在此指取得主導地位。例句，Don’t let your prejudice take over.（不要被偏見所左右。）
bottle-feed︰動詞，用奶瓶餵（嬰兒或幼小動物）。例句︰Many women choose not to bottle-feed their babies. They insist to breastfeed their own children.（許多婦女選擇不要用奶瓶餵養寶寶，她們堅持為孩子哺乳。）
◎魏國金 自由電子報