美国国家公共电台 NPR Opinion: Why The Pool Poll Should Give Us Pause

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

The next time anyone reports the results of a poll or survey, even us, remember - a new survey says 51% of the adults in America splash around in swimming pools instead of showering or bathing. Further results get even yuckier. Forty percent of Americans confessed that they - how to put this delicately - have voided in pools. Experts warn the resulting effluence reduces the antiseptic potency¹ of the chlorine.

Dr. Chris Wiant, chair of the Water Quality and Health Council, says when dirt, sweat, personal care products and other things on our bodies react with chlorine, there is less chlorine available to kill germs. Further survey results grow even ickier. The Sachs Media Group conducted the survey of 3,100 people online. I think I would be reluctant to shake any of their hands. The survey reassures² people they can check pools in which they're about to paddle with test strips, thoughtfully available at no cost from a water quality and health council website, to see if they're adequately chlorinated.

Now, a survey like this sounds compelling, doesn't it? It might spare millions of Americans from immersing themselves, head to toe, in feculence and exudation³. But Jessica Huseman, the reporter for ProPublica and adjunct professor at the Columbia Journalism⁴ School, says that although at least seven national news sites reported this story as some kind of revelation - "Woodward And Bernstein Go Swimming And What They Found Will Shock You" - she discovered by just a few quick clicks that the Water Quality and Health Council is sponsored by the chlorine chemistry division of the American Chemistry Council. That's a trade group for the chlorine industry. The chlorine industry must be as concerned about the rise of saltwater pools, which use less chlorine, as gas companies are about electric cars or the Yankees are about the Red Sox.

You might recall this survey about America's showering choices when you see another poll on urgent issues - immigration, abortion⁵, guns, especially if they're promoted by advocacy groups. Questions can be phrased in ways to tilt⁶ results the way a group wants. But professional pollsters who work with news organizations have an interest in offering surveys that illuminate⁷ the range of diverging⁸ views people can hold in a huge and varied⁹ country regardless of results. In the meantime, everybody into the pool.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SPLISH SPLASH")

BOBBY DARIN: (Singing) Splish, splash, I was taking a bath, long about a Saturday night, yeah, a rub dub¹⁰ just relaxing in the tub, thinking everything was all right. Well, I stepped out the tub and put my feet on the floor. I wrapped a towel around me, and I opened the door. And then a splish, splash, I jump back in the bath. Well, how was I to know there was a party going on? There was a-splishing and a-splashing, reeling with the feeling, moving and a-grooving, rocking and a-rolling. Yeah. Yeah.

1 potency   

n. 效力，潜能

参考例句：

• Alcohol increases the drug's potency.酒精能增加这种毒品的效力。
• Sunscreen can lose its potency if left over winter in the bathroom cabinet.如果把防晒霜在盥洗室的壁橱里放一个冬天，就有可能失效。

2 reassures   

v.消除恐惧或疑虑，恢复信心( reassure的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A significant benefit of Undo is purely psychological: It reassures users. 撤销的一个很大好处纯粹是心理上的，它让用户宽心。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Direct eye contact reassures the person that you are confident and honest. 直接的目光接触让人相信你的自信和诚实。 来自口语例句

3 exudation   

n.渗出，渗出物，分泌；溢泌

参考例句：

• It'showed no signs of exudation or other failure to contain liquid loadings. 未出现渗液或其它的不能保持住液体的迹象。 来自辞典例句
• Conclusion US is of great value in diagnosing umbilical exudation in infant. 结论超声在诊断婴儿脐部渗液病因中具有重要价值。 来自互联网

4 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

5 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

6 tilt   

v.(使)倾侧；(使)倾斜；n.倾侧；倾斜

参考例句：

• She wore her hat at a tilt over her left eye.她歪戴着帽子遮住左眼。
• The table is at a slight tilt.这张桌子没放平，有点儿歪.

7 illuminate   

vt.照亮，照明；用灯光装饰；说明，阐释

参考例句：

• Dreams kindle a flame to illuminate our dark roads.梦想点燃火炬照亮我们黑暗的道路。
• They use games and drawings to illuminate their subject.他们用游戏和图画来阐明他们的主题。

8 diverging   

分开( diverge的现在分词 )； 偏离； 分歧； 分道扬镳

参考例句：

• Plants had gradually evolved along diverging and converging pathways. 植物是沿着趋异和趋同两种途径逐渐演化的。
• With member-country bond yields now diverging, 'it's a fragmented set of markets. 但随着成员国债券收益率之差扩大，市场已经分割开来。

9 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

10 dub   

vt.（以某种称号）授予，给...起绰号，复制

参考例句：

• I intend to use simultaneous recording to dub this film.我打算采用同期录音的方法为这部影片配音。
• It was dubbed into Spanish for Mexican audiences.它被译制成西班牙语以方便墨西哥观众观看。