VOA慢速英语2016 研究发现绿色植物有助女性长寿

Study: Plants May Help Women Live Longer 研究发现绿色植物有助女性长寿

Living among trees, plants and flowers can fill your life with beauty. And if you are a woman, it can also help you live longer.

居住在丛林间，你的生活会被鲜花点缀、美景环绕。如果你恰巧还是位女性，这样的环境还能助你长寿。

Researchers found that women who live in homes surrounded by plants appear to have lower death rates than women who live in areas with less greenery.

研究人员发现，住所周围绿植环绕的女性与住所周边绿植较少的女性相比，其死亡率要低的多。

Researchers at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health reported the finding 1.

哈佛大学陈曾熙公共卫生学院的研究人员公布了这一发现。

Peter James is a research associate in the school’s Department of Epidemiology. An epidemiologist is an expert in how disease 2 spreads and how it can be controlled.

皮特·詹姆斯是学院的流行病学系的研究助理。流行病学家专门研究疾病传播与控制。

James and his team looked at information from one of the largest and oldest investigations 3 of women’s health: the Nurse’s Health Study. The Nurse’s Health Study began 40 years ago and expanded in 1989. It now has information on nearly 200,000 women.

詹姆斯与同事查阅了护士健康研究的信息，这是一份最全面、年代最久的女性健康问题的调查。护士健康研究于40年前开始，1989年时调查范围全面展开。目前，护士健康研究调查已收录了近20万名女性的信息。

For the new study, the Harvard team looked at the mortality rates of more than 100,000 women between the years 2000 and 2008.

为了进行研究，哈佛团队查看了2000-2008年10万多名女性的死亡率。

Then the researchers compared the mortality rates of these women to the greenery around their homes.

To determine the amount of trees and other vegetation 4, researchers examined satellite images.

随后，他们将这些女性的死亡率与其住所周围的绿化程度进行了对比。

The researchers considered other risk factors – things such as the age of the women, their economic status, race and ethnicity. They also looked at whether or not the women smoked.

为了确定树木和其它绿植数量，研究人员还调查了卫星图像。甚至还考虑到其它的风险因素，如女性年龄、经济地位、民族与种族。此外，他们还调查了这些女性是否吸烟。

The study found that the mortality rate among women who lived in the greenest spaces was 12 percent lower than those from the least green areas.

研究发现，居住在绿化率最高地区的女性与绿化率最低地区的女性相比，其死亡率低百分之十二。

Peter James said he and his team were surprised to find such a strong link between high vegetation levels and low mortality rates. He adds they were also surprised to find how high levels of plant life can affect a woman’s mental health.

皮特·詹姆斯表示，发现绿植水平和死亡率之间的密切联系时，他和团队都很惊讶。他补充道，他们也没有想到植物可严重影响女性的心理健康。

The study suggests that living among vegetation -- trees, flower and other plants -- lowered levels of depression. Researchers say women in greener areas spent more time with other people, exercised more and were less exposed to air pollution.

研究显示，如果女性生活在丛林间患抑郁的可能性较低。生活在绿化率高的地区的女性会花时间与其他人接触，还会经常锻炼身体，接触污染空气的机会少。

One of the biggest effects of greenery appeared to be a lowered risk of respiratory disease and cancer. Here are some numbers. The study found that women living in areas with the most greenery had a 34 percent lower rate of dying 5 from a respiratory disease and a 13 percent lower rate of dying from cancer.

绿植最大的好处之一就是可以降低患呼吸疾病和癌症的风险。有些数据已经证明这一点。研究发现，绿化率高地区的女性死于呼吸道疾病的风险比在绿化率低地区的女性低34％，其死于癌症的风险低13％。

James says that it is common knowledge that vegetation helps the environment in many ways. But, he adds, the new findings 6 suggest ways for city planners, landscape architects and policymakers to grow even healthier living areas.

詹姆斯称，大家都知道植物对环境大有益处。但他补充道，这项研究成果为城市规划师、造园技师和立法人员提供了很多建议，帮他们规划更为健康的社区。

Words in This Story

mortality – n. the number of deaths that occur in a particular time or place

vegetation – n. plants in general : plants that cover a particular area

epidemiology – medical n. the study of how disease spreads and how disease can be controlled

satellite – n. a machine that is sent into space and that moves around the earth, moon, sun, or a planet 7

risk factor – n. something that increases risk; especially : something that makes a person more likely to get a particular disease or condition

landscape architect – n. a person whose job is to plan and create large outdoor spaces such as gardens, parks, etc.