英语听力文摘 English Digest 65、腿部神经过敏综合症

　　I slept last night with my wife but those crazy legs of hers are driving me crazy.
Did she kick you in her sleep?
Sometimes,but that's not the half of it.She's got this thing called Restless leg syndrome¹ and it makes the legs sort of itch², and the only thing that relieves the itch is to move them. If that weren’t bad enough, the itching³ gets worse at night;so she can’t stop moving her legs around all night long.
You will be glad to know that recent researches have found that there seem to be no pathological changes in the brains of people with Restless Leg Syndrome. That is, there is no loss or damage of brain cells, as is the case in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
That's good, but what causes this thing?
It appears that cells in a section of the brain are simply not getting enough iron. These patients’ brains are lacking a specific receptor that transports iron. They get enough iron to keep the brain cells alive, but not enough to keep them functioning well, hence the itching sensation that gives the patient the urge to move his or her legs. Because it’s a matter of the receptor for iron malfunctioning⁴, iron supplements are not the answer. While scientists are still working on developing a definitive⁵ treatment, there are medications your doctor can prescribe that may help ease the symptoms.
itch:痒
Alzheimer:老年痴呆症
receptor:感受体
prescribe:开处方

1 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

2 itch   

n.痒，渴望，疥癣；vi.发痒，渴望

参考例句：

• Shylock has an itch for money.夏洛克渴望发财。
• He had an itch on his back.他背部发痒。

3 itching   

adj.贪得的，痒的，渴望的v.发痒( itch的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The itching was almost more than he could stand. 他痒得几乎忍不住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My nose is itching. 我的鼻子发痒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 malfunctioning   

出故障

参考例句：

• But something was malfunctioning in the equipment due to human error. 但由于人为的错误，设备发生故障了。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• Choke coils are useful for prevention of malfunctioning electronic equipment. 扼流圈对于防止电器设备的故障很有帮助。 来自互联网

5 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• 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。