英语听力文摘 English Digest 25、婚姻的创伤

　　婚姻的创伤
Anyone who's been married knows that arguing with your spouse¹ comes with the territory. Those heady, romantic days of courtship have given way to arguing about doing the dishes and taking out the garbage. But, as any marriage counselor² will tell you, at least some fighting is a healthy part of a relationship.
According to a study done by researchers at Ohio State University, though, marital³ stress has its downside as well. According to the study, the stress that a married couple experiences during a typical argument can slow the body's power to heal wounds by up to two days.
The study involved forty-two married couples who'd been together for an average of twelve years. First, each spouse was given small wounds on their arms and took tests to determine their stress levels. Then they were videotaped while having a supportive discussion about their relationship.
Two months later the couples were again given small wounds and this time videotaped while discussing something more emotionally volatile⁴. The researchers found that the wounds took one day longer to heal after the stressful discussion than they did after the supportive discussion. Couples that had really hostile arguments took as long as two extra days to heal their wounds.
The researchers are still trying to determine why higher levels of stress slow the wound healing process. But the findings could be important in many ways. Hospitals, for example, might take more care to make hospital stays less stressful so patients will heal faster. So, if you're about to go under the knife, it may be a good idea to save the argument about leaving the toilet seat up until after your body has fully⁵ healed.

1 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？

2 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

3 marital   

adj.婚姻的，夫妻的

参考例句：

• Her son had no marital problems.她的儿子没有婚姻问题。
• I regret getting involved with my daughter's marital problems;all its done is to bring trouble about my ears.我后悔干涉我女儿的婚姻问题, 现在我所做的一切将给我带来无穷的烦恼。

4 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。