手机有害吗？

　　Anti-Radiation Trousers Fuel Mobile Phone Debate

　　U.S. jeans maker Levi Strauss & Co. denied it was playing on consumer fears by launching a line of trousers fitted with anti-radiationpockets for mobile phones. The trousers, with a lining which the makers say shields against radiation, are designed by Dockers, a brand name of Levi Strauss. We're not implying in any way that mobile phones are dangerous. Our intention is not to cash in on consumer fears but provide the consumers with what they want,Levi's European communications manager Cedric Jungpeter said. The design was the fruit of extensive market research showing that the fashion conscious were also health conscious, Jungpeter said. the debate is open. Although no study has proved mobile phones are harmful, no study has proved the contrary either,he added. Worldwide studiessintosthe possible dangers of mobile phones produce often conflicting conclusions. A recent one carried out by Australian researchers over a three-year period showed that radio emissions from mobile phones did not trigger the growth of tumors in mice, and therefore probably did not do so in humans either. And another Australian study concluded cellular phones could foster tumor growth. Swedish research published recently concluded that long-term users of first generation mobile phones faced an up to 80 percent greater risk of developing brain tumors than non-users. But a Danish study last year of 400,000 mobile phone users showed no increased cancer risk.

　　美国牛仔裤制造商李维-斯特劳斯公司否认它推出一系列配有“防(手机)辐射”口袋的裤子的做法是在利用消费者的恐惧心理。李维-斯特劳斯公司旗下品牌之一“多克斯”设计了这一系列牛仔裤，里面有据制造商称可防辐射的衬里。李维公司欧洲区联络经理塞德里克-君皮特说：“我们并未以任何方式暗示手机会带来危险。我们的意图不是利用消费者的恐惧来赚钱，而是为他们提供他们想要的产品。”君皮特说，李维公司进行了广泛的市场调查，发现那些留心时尚的人同样也在意健康，这款设计由此而来。他补充道：“此事还未有定论。虽然没有研究表明手机有害，但也没有研究证实手机无害。”世界范围内关于手机潜在危害的研究经常得出互相矛盾的结论。澳大利亚研究者最近所作的一项为期3年的研究显示手机的射电辐射不会引发老鼠体内肿瘤的生长，因此可能也不会对人造成这样的伤害。而另一项同样来自澳大利亚的研究的结论则是手机会刺激肿瘤生长。瑞典方面最近公布了一项研究，结论是长期使用第一代手机的人长脑瘤的几率比不使用手机的人高80%，而丹麦在去年对40万手机用户所作的一项研究却表明手机不会增加得癌症的风险。

　　Remarks：考虑到我们已经身处一个充满各种辐射的世界，手机即便有辐射也算不得什么大事情，真正的祸患是新科技带来的那种无处躲藏的焦虑——就算生命的长度没有因此缩短，生活的质量却无疑已经大打折扣。

　　拿食物来玩

　　Playing with Their Food...

　　Forget the cello, just listen to that cucumberophone. The land of Mozart will be exporting its latest cultural product next week when the First Viennese Vegetable Orchestra goes on its nine-date debut European tour. The orchestra, which consists of eight musicians, one sound technician and one cook, plays vegetable-based instruments they make themselves. We believe that we can produce sound that cannot be easily produced by other instruments. You can hear the difference, it sometimes sounds like animals, sometimes just abstract sounds,the band says in its homepage ( www.gemueseorchester.org). It takes the band about half an hour to make a carrot flute, and under 15 minutes to make a cucumbero-phone, which has a pepper bell and cucumber tubing. Other instruments include celeriac bongos, eggplant cymbals and pumpkin drums. The sounds are amplified using a variety of microphones. At the end of a performance, which can include free jazz, experimental music, or the Radetzky March by Austrian Johann Strauss, the stage is cleared and a cook uses the instruments to prepare a soup for both audience and musicians. the audience has the possibility of once again enjoying what they just heard,the band adds. We employ a real chef for the preparation of the soup so it is indeed tasty and very special.Their mothers obviously never told them not to play with their food.

　　忘掉大提琴，去听“黄瓜风”吧。莫扎特的故乡将在下周出口其最新的文化产品，届时维也纳第一蔬菜乐队将开始进行为期9天的首次欧洲巡演。乐队由8名乐手、1名录音师及1名厨师组成，使用自制的蔬菜乐器进行演奏。他们在自己的主页(www.gemueseorchester.org)上写道：“我们自信能奏出难以用其他乐器奏出的声音。你能听到它的与众不同，它有时听来像动物的叫声，有时则只是抽象的声音。”乐队制作一个胡萝卜长笛要花大约半小时的时间，而做一个“黄瓜风”则用不了15分钟。“黄瓜风”的喇叭口是用甜椒做的，管身则由黄瓜制成。其他乐器还有块根芹手鼓、茄钹和南瓜鼓。他们使用各式各样的麦克风来放大乐器的声音。演出中将有自由爵士乐、实验音乐或是奥地利作曲家约翰-施特劳斯的《拉德茨基进行曲》之类的节目。完场之时，他们会把舞台清理干净，之后厨师就用这些乐器来为观众和乐手做一锅汤。“观众可以再次享受他们刚刚听过的东西，”乐队补充道。“我们雇了一位真正的厨师来做汤，做出的汤的确可口，风味也十分独特。”很显然，他们的妈妈没有教过他们不要拿食物来玩。

　　Remarks：很有创意和娱乐性的玩法，不过乐手和观众都应该对此有清醒的认识：他们玩的是食物而不是音乐。

　　“伤心”的点球大战

　　Penalty shoot-outs raise heart risks

　　Scientists have found medical evidence of something every football fan already knows penalty shoot-outs are literally heart-stoppers. The British Medical Journal said that researchers who studied England's 1998 World Cup football matches found that heart attacks increased by 25 percent when England lost to Argentina after a gripping penalty shoot-out. these findings support the view that heart attacks can be triggered by emotional upset, such as watching your football team lose an important match particularly those in which there is a penalty shoot-out,the journal said in a statement. Researchers from the University of Bristol and University of Birmingham examined hospital admissions for heart attack, stroke, deliberate self-harm and road traffic injuries on the day of and five days after England's World Cup matches, compared with admissions at the same time in previous and following years and in the month before the tournament. They found that the risk of admission for heart attacks increased by 25 percent on June 30 the day of the England-Argentina match and the following two days. The researchers suggested that, in the interests of public health, the penalty shoot-out should be abandoned.

　　科学家们为每个球迷都知道的事情找到了医学证据——点球大战的确会令你心跳骤停。《英国医学杂志》报道，研究者们在考察1998年英格兰队的世界杯之旅后发现：在英格兰队经过一场惊心动魄的点球大战输给阿根廷队之后，(英国人的)心脏病发病率提高了25%。“这一研究成果为以下观点提供了佐证：感情上的打击——比如看着你的球队输掉一场重要比赛，尤其是点球决胜的比赛——可能引发心脏病。”该杂志在报告中说。来自布里斯托尔大学和伯明翰大学的研究者们检查了在英格兰队世界杯比赛日当天及此后5天中心脏病、中风、自残、交通伤害等4类伤病患的入院记录，并与前后两年同一时段及世界杯之前一个月的记录相比较。他们发现，在6月30日——英阿之战的日子——及此后两天中因心脏病发入院的几率提高了25%。研究者们因此建议，为维护公众健康起见，点球大战应当废止。

　　Remarks：没有心脏病危险的人生算不得精彩。生活中比点球大战刺激的东西还多得很呢，怎可一一因噎废食！

　　进球别跳番茄舞

　　Putting the Squeeze on1 Ketchup Goal Celebration

　　Lazio's tough midfielder Diego Simeone said his teammates should find a more manly way to celebrate goals than imitating a teenage dance craze. Lazio, then second in Serie A, had celebrated goals by doing the Ketchup Songdance, made popular by Spain's Las Ketchup2. Argentine striker Claudio Lopez celebrated his three goals against Inter Milan by jiggling around like the girls who had been at number one across Europe. you can't celebrate like that,Argentine Simeone told the daily Gazzetta dello Sport. a goal is a goal it should be celebrated in a stronger manner, not with that dance.Lazio's owners are troubled food company Cirio makers of Italian ketchup.

　　1.put the squeeze on：对……施加压力；指责。

　　2.Las Ketchup：“番茄三姐妹”，为西班牙女子流行乐团，自2002年夏季开始风靡全球，由其歌曲《番茄酱之歌》(The Ketchup Song)衍生的“番茄酱之舞”亦随之风行。

　　拉齐奥队的中场硬汉迭戈-西蒙尼认为队友们应该用更有男子气概的方法来庆祝进球，而不是去模仿十几岁孩子的时髦舞蹈。当时在(意大利)甲级联赛中排名第二的拉齐奥队用跳“番茄酱之舞”来庆祝进球，该舞蹈因西班牙的“番茄三姐妹”乐团而风行一时。阿根廷前锋克劳迪奥-洛佩斯在对国际米兰队的比赛中进了3个球，他的庆祝方式是在场上不停摇摆，就像在欧洲各个排行榜上位居首位的那几个女孩一样。“你不能这样庆祝，”阿根廷人西蒙尼对《体育报》说。“进球就是进球——应该用更豪迈的方式来庆贺，而不是那样的舞蹈。”拉齐奥队的老板正是陷于困境的奇里奥食品公司——意大利番茄酱的制造商。

　　Remarks：所谓“怜子如何不丈夫”，这样的动作可能会因展现了硬汉们的柔情一面而令足球运动更添魅力——所以贝贝托在1994年世界杯上的“摇摇篮”庆祝方式会引来大群仿效者。

　　票价蝗虫三万八

　　Price of Elton John Tickets 38,000 Grasshoppers

　　A concert by pop star Elton John had music fans hopping in Canada's farming heartland as they braved a plague of grasshoppers in an unusual quest to win a pair of tickets. all I kept thinking is, is this enough Brandy Elliott said after winning a radio contest for the prized tickets by capturing 38,000 grasshoppers. I knew I was grossed out and, honestly, every night I went to bed all I could dream about was grasshoppers and just bags and bags of grass hoppers.Elliott was one of more than 100 Saskatchewan residents to respond to the contest launched by a popular Regina radio show. The rules were simple: whoever collected the most grasshoppers over a two-day period, would win the two highly coveted tickets to see Elton John at a sold-out concert. When we first thought of this contest we thought, oh you know, we might get a few hundred, maybe even a thousand grasshoppers from people. She (Brandy) showed up with 38,000 grasshoppers which blew us away,said Buzz Elliot, a morning show host on Z99, the station that launched the bug-gathering gimmick. Elliott rigged up 1.5-meter nets made out of window bug-screens and plastic tubing. She then recruited her roommate and some young nephews and nieces to help with the harvest. Saskatchewan, a province known for its vast fields of wheat, also has a reputation for vast, cyclical grasshopper invasions.

　　流行歌星艾尔顿-约翰的演唱会使歌迷们在加拿大的农业中心地带忙个不停。为了一个不寻常的目标——赢得两张门票，他们英勇地对抗蝗灾。“我一直在想的只是，够了吗？”布兰迪-埃利奥特说，她捕获了3万8千只蝗虫，赢得了电台举办的以门票为奖品的竞赛。“我知道我已经受不了了，说真的，我每天睡觉都只能梦到蝗虫——一袋又一袋的蝗虫。”有100多个萨斯喀彻温省居民参加了里贾纳市(萨省首府)一个流行广播节目举办的这次竞赛，埃利奥特是其中之一。竞赛规则很简单：谁在两天时间里抓到的蝗虫最多，谁就可以获得两张十分抢手的门票，去看早已售磬的艾尔顿-约翰演唱会。搞出这次捕虫噱头的Z99电台晨间节目主持人巴茨-埃利奥特说：“刚开始筹划比赛的时候，我们想也许会有人交来几百只，甚或是一千只蝗虫。她(布兰迪)带着3万8千只蝗虫来了，让我们目瞪口呆。”埃利奥特用窗纱和塑料管做了一张1.5米长的网，然后拉上室友和几个侄儿侄女来帮着捉蝗虫。以拥有广袤麦田著称的萨斯喀彻温省同时也以严重的周期性蝗灾闻名。

　　Remarks：一张门票等于1万9千条生命，真是“一将功成万骨枯”啊！

　　手术未完，我存钱先

　　Doctor Leaves Surgery Patient to Visit Bank

　　A Massachusetts doctor has been suspended for leaving a patient on the operating table midway through spinal surgery so he could deposit a check at his local bank, authorities said. The state board of medicine said David Arndt, an orthopedic surgeon, posed an immediate threat to the public health, safety and welfare after he left the patient with an open incision in his back. Arndt left behind a surgeon who was not qualified to complete the surgery, according to board documents. After his 35-minute trip to the bank, Arndt returned to the operating room and finished the surgery within a few hours. The patient, who was anesthetized during the procedure to restabilize his spine, apparently did not suffer any harm from Arndt's absence. The board suspended Arndt's license to practice medicine in Massachusetts, but he will have a chance to appeal the decision. Arndt explained to the investigator he had been waiting for his paycheck because he had to pay some overdue bills, and had been hoping to finish the surgery before his bank closed for the day. The procedure took longer than he expected, however, and Arndt decided to make a break for the bank midway through surgery.

　　马萨诸塞州医药当局说，该州一名医生为了去当地银行存现支票而在一个脊柱手术中途离开，把患者留在手术台上，他已因此被暂停行医资格。州医学委员会说，整形外科医生大卫-阿尔恩特扔下背部已然打开切口的患者，其行为已经构成了“对公共卫生、安全和福利的直接威胁”。根据委员会的有关记录，阿尔恩特留了一个不具备手术资格的外科医生在手术室里。35分钟的银行之行之后，他回到手术室并在几小时内做完了手术。患者在重新固定脊柱的过程中一直处于麻醉状态，显然未因阿尔恩特的离开而受到任何伤害。委员会暂时吊销了阿尔恩特在马萨诸塞州行医的执照，但他还有机会申诉。阿尔恩特对调查此事的人解释说，他一直在等薪金支票，因为他必须支付一些拖欠的账单。他本希望那天能在银行关门之前做完手术，可是手术时间比他预计的要长，他这才决定中途暂停手术到银行去。

　　Remarks：“医者父母心”，这位仁兄却置自己的小计较于病人的大得失之上。虽侥幸未成祸事，其心真可诛矣！

　　想揍同事一顿吗？

　　Feel Like Punching a Colleague

　　Half of Britain's stressed-out office workers say they have come close to punching a colleague, according to a survey. Overwork, faulty computers and annoying workmates were the main cause of Office rage and women are more likely to snap than men. Our research shows that common occurrences such as broken computers and interruptions can push people over the edge at work,said Tim Watts, chairman of Pertemps, the British recruitment agency which commissioned the survey. The report found 51 percent of women had nearly punched a colleague, compared to 39 percent of the men questioned. Three quarters of workers felt they worked less productively in a bad mood. Some 15 percent said fear of making a mistake when their boss was angry made them work more slowly. Pertemps said employees can cut tension by avoiding gossip, talking to managers and not disturbing colleagues. And bosses should defuse conflicts early, listen to staff complaints, avoid overcrowding and set realistic workloads and deadlines.

　　根据一项调查，不堪压力的英国办公室职员中有半数说他们已经到了想动手打同事的地步。过度操劳、时时故障的电脑和讨厌的同事是“办公室怒火”的主要诱因——而女的比男的更容易发作。委托进行此次调查的英国猎头公司珀腾普斯的主席蒂姆-瓦特说：“我们的研究表明，像电脑坏了或是工作被人打断这样的寻常琐事都可能使人们在工作中做出过分的举动。”调查报告显示51%的受访女性几乎要动手打同事，而在男性中这一比例是39%。3/4的员工认为心情不好时工作效率会降低。大约15%的人说，害怕在老板生气时犯错使他们工作速度更慢。珀腾普斯说，员工可以通过远离流言、和主管谈话以及不去打扰同事等方法来缓解紧张，而老板则应该及早消弭冲突、倾听员工的抱怨、防止工作环境过度拥挤并制定合理的工作量和完成期限。

　　Remarks：所谓压力，不过得失二字；抛却患得患失之心，自然风平浪静、海阔天空。

    酒里出西施

　　Beer-goggle Effect Does Actually Exist

　　Want to be more attractive Make sure those around you areshavingsa drink. British scientists have found even modest amounts of alcohol will make the opposite sex appear better-looking. We have carried out experiments which show that what is known in the trade as the詁eer-goggle effect,* does actually exist,Barry Jones, professor of psychology at Glasgow University, told reporters. The study of 120 male and female students found drinking up to four units of alcohol about two pints of beer or four glasses of wine increased the perceived attractiveness of members of the opposite sex by about 25 percent. Jones said alcohol apparently stimulates a part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens, which judges facial attractiveness. He said the study had been prompted by the causal link between risky sex and alcohol consumption. Its findings come at a time when young Britons are increasingly binge drinking, which has serious health risks.

　　* beer-goggle effect：指人在饮酒后容易对异性产生好感这种情形，意译为“酒里出西施效应”。

　　想更有魅力吗？你得让周围的人都喝上点酒。英国科学家发现，哪怕是一丁点酒精也会让异性看起来更美丽。格拉斯哥大学心理学教授巴里-琼斯对记者说：“我们做了实验，结果表明此道中人所称的‘酒里出西施效应’的确存在。”对120名男女学生所作的研究发现，喝下4个单位的酒精——大约等于两品脱啤酒或4杯葡萄酒——会使受试者中的异性成员在他们心目中的吸引力提高大约25%。琼斯说，显然酒精能刺激大脑中名为伏隔核的那一部分，其功能正是对面部魅力进行判断。他还说，这项研究的动因是饮酒与危险性关系之间的因果关系。他们的研究结果出现在这样一个时代：年轻的英国人日益滥饮，而这严重影响健康。

　　Remarks：西方人的量化癖在25%这个不可能有任何道理的数字中暴露无遗，不过这项容易误导青年的研究的确可以启发我们去思考醇酒与美人之间微妙的因果关系。

　　欺生的水獭

　　Tourist Otters Confused by Accent

　　Two Canadian otters at a sanctuary in Scotland have been placed under 24-hour protection from aggressive local otters who are confused by their Foreign accents,a newspaper reported. The National Sea Life Sanctuary in Oban has installed an electric fence and surveillance cameras to protect its Canadian guests, Fingal and Sula, according to The Independent. Though almost twice the size of their wild Scottish relatives, the pair are disadvantaged by their foreign accents and scent. Lialects are common in animal communications, but because of the differences in the sounds they make it will be difficult for these Canadian otters to communicate with the native ones,Matthew Evans, an animal communications expert from Stirling University, was quoted as saying. there is no doubt dropping two foreign otterssintosa territory of wild locals would lead to the local ones beating the living daylights out of the new ones*,he added. The pair arrived at the center's Otter Creek on the banks of Loch Creran a year ago and are currently being housed in an indoor seal pup nursery.

　　*beat the living daylights out of sb.：<俚>把某人狠揍一顿。

　　据报载，来到苏格兰一处保护区的两只加拿大水獭已经受到了24小时的严密保护，因为它们的“外国口音”引起了当地水獭的困惑和敌意。《独立报》报道，位于沃班的国立海洋生物保护区已经设置了电网和监视摄像机来保护这两位分别名为芬高和苏拉的加拿大客人。虽然这对水獭的体型几乎有其苏格兰野生亲戚的两倍大，但它们还是因为自己的“外国”口音和气味而处于下风。“动物交流中方言很常见，但是由于这两只加拿大水獭发出的声音和本地水獭不同，它们很难和本地水獭交流，”报纸援引斯特灵大学动物交流专家马修-伊万斯的话说。“毫无疑问，如果把两只外国水獭放到野生本地种的领地中，本地水獭会对新来者发起猛烈攻击，”他补充道。一年前，这对水獭来到了保护中心位于克雷兰湖畔的水獭溪中，目前它们被放养在室内的一个海豹幼崽保育所里。

　　Remarks：不同并不就意味着邪恶和敌意，但愿我们的境界能比水獭高一些。