时间:2018-12-16 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2013年(五月)


英语课

New Documentary Explores Aluminum 1's 'Dark Side'



Aluminum is everywhere, including in products that make us feel better, safer and cleaner.  Like antacids, sunscreen and antiperspirants.


But Austrian filmmaker Bert Ehgartner says there’s another side to aluminum. “It has a lot of good plus[es].  But there is also a dark side of this metal," he said. 


Ehgartner explores that alleged 2 "dark side" in his new film, The Age of Aluminum.


The documentary shows the mining and production of aluminum and its resulting impact on the environment.


One sees the mining of bauxite 3, an ore that contains a large amount of aluminum hydroxide, from a rainforest in Brazil. The film shows how large areas of rain forest have to be dug up in order to reach the bauxite.


The toxic 4 waste from aluminum production is then discarded over vast areas. 


And according to the film, the mining waste is apparently 5 causing health problems for the nearby inhabitants who swim in the water, drink it and cook with it.  The children complain of itchy skin and have developed blisters 6.


The film also includes footage of a 2010 accident at a Hungarian aluminum factory.


Ehgartner says aluminum is also making people sick, in other ways - through the very products that make life more convenient, and safer, for so many.


“I was surprised, for example, when I found it in vaccines 7 or when I found it in certain kinds of cosmetics 8 and antiperspirants, even in foods. You find it everywhere," he said. 


Scientists in the film link aluminum found in those products to a wide variety of modern diseases, including breast cancer, Alzheimer’s, allergies 9 and Autism.


Neuroscientist Dr. Christopher Shaw is particularly concerned about the link between aluminum, which can be found in drinking water and antacid medication, and Alzheimer’s, a fatal brain-wasting disease. 


“Many researchers are beginning to accept that aluminum has some sort of role to play in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.  Whether it does in others is still an open question, but Alzheimer’s is really coming into focus and it's fairly clear that the body burden of aluminum from all the sources to which humans are exposed may be contributing to Alzheimer's disease," he said. 


But not everyone agrees with those findings.


The Aluminum Association declined our request for an interview but issued the following statement: 


The Age of Aluminum deviates 10 from decades of mainstream 11 scientific research and consensus 12. The weight of published scientific evidence demonstrates no direct causative link between aluminum and the illnesses depicted 13 in the film.


“My first message would be don’t panic," said Melissa Perry, an epidemiologist at The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. 


“The current status of the evidence does not give us definitive 14 conclusions that aluminum is linked to Alzheimer’s disease or other brain problems, or breast cancer. This means it’s critically important to conduct more human studies," she added. 


More studies - that's a point on which even The Age of Aluminum filmmaker Bert Ehgartner agrees. 


“So aluminum is really a threat for mankind and we don’t have enough research, and that’s one of the reasons why I made this film - to give support to the scientists who want to do more research. And I think it’s really necessary," he said. 


Experts on both sides of the issue agree that aluminum is here to stay.  They also agree that what is needed, at the very least, is more research to understand the link between aluminum and human health.




1 aluminum
n.(aluminium)铝
  • The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
  • During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段,它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。
2 alleged
a.被指控的,嫌疑的
  • It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
  • alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为
3 bauxite
n.铝土矿
  • Aluminum is made from bauxite.铝是从铝土矿中提炼出的。
  • The United States was vulnerable to shortages of chrome,bauxite,and platinum.美国的弱点是缺少铬、矾土和铂。
4 toxic
adj.有毒的,因中毒引起的
  • The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
  • There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。
5 apparently
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
6 blisters
n.水疱( blister的名词复数 );水肿;气泡
  • My new shoes have made blisters on my heels. 我的新鞋把我的脚跟磨起泡了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • His new shoes raised blisters on his feet. 他的新鞋把他的脚磨起了水疱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 vaccines
疫苗,痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )
  • His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
  • The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。
8 cosmetics
n.化妆品
  • We sell a wide range of cosmetics at a very reasonable price. 我们以公道的价格出售各种化妆品。
  • Cosmetics do not always cover up the deficiencies of nature. 化妆品未能掩饰天生的缺陷。
9 allergies
n.[医]过敏症;[口]厌恶,反感;(对食物、花粉、虫咬等的)过敏症( allergy的名词复数 );变态反应,变应性
  • Food allergies can result in an enormous variety of different symptoms. 食物过敏会引发很多不同的症状。 来自辞典例句
  • Let us, however, examine one of the most common allergies; hayfever. 现在让我们来看看最常见的变态反应的一种--枯草热。 来自辞典例句
10 deviates
v.偏离,越轨( deviate的第三人称单数 )
  • The boy's behavior deviates from the usual pattern. 这个男孩子的举止与一般人不同。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The limit occurs when the ordinate deviates appreciably from unity. 这个限度发生在纵坐标明显地从单位1偏离的时候。 来自辞典例句
11 mainstream
n.(思想或行为的)主流;adj.主流的
  • Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
  • Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。
12 consensus
n.(意见等的)一致,一致同意,共识
  • Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗?
  • What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么?
13 depicted
描绘,描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 ); 描述
  • Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
  • They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。
14 definitive
adj.确切的,权威性的;最后的,决定性的
  • This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
  • No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样,还没有人给出明确的答复。
学英语单词
Abdel
acceleration of ripening
additional advance
anecdotically
antiriot ammunition
apical bud
arecaceaes
augelli
average repair
Bankia spengler
bankruptcy administrator
basic lead sulphate
bilge logs
booster inoculation
bored shitless
boringly
chain and sprocket drive
Chalkedon
checking off symbol
CLMW
course-stability
cross rod
Curley
damper segment
declaratory judgments
deflection calculation
delivered free to destination
dietary-supplement
dress in
dust crops with an insecticide
emince
enterouterine anus
equitangential
faralatrioside
farbs
finely divided scale
folia vermis
heavy work
helius (helius) minusculus
Hose Connectors
hyperhomocysteinemic
intermolecular respiration
lava column
lead number
lends out
lenticel(le)
lywallzyme
macnee
magnitude spectrum
master screw
max sth out
mellower
memory error report analysis
movable appendage
naked-flame mine
nickel-vanadium steel
nominal ocular hazard area
oculometry
one pack
ordinary wheel
organizational climate index
over-grateful
over-indulged
overtowered
pattern representation
phenoxathin
phenylphosphine
pick-up attachment
pilot flame burner
pipeline stopcock
plash
pot-holder
preservative substance
pressure admission chamber
pressure of blast
Prohepes
pseudodiploidy
r.d
ramming up
rankine thermometric scale
riborg
righi-leduc effect
roricon
sclenchyma
self-illuminating sight
selfcontradictory
sniper
sousant
Subhanallah
sukhooei
Swap Curve
tahsildars
thermo anelasticity
three stages fluidized-bed dryer
toner concentration
unkissing
unvote
upright drill
visual agnosia
Wiener schnitzel
with a swing in it
worldless