万花筒 Kaleidoscope 2007-09-29&09-30, 鼾声不再

Peter and Britt Poole have been happily married for a little over a year, despite Peter's snoring that so bad, he couldn't sleep at night and was tired all day.

You come home from work, you sleep, you get back to work. You know, that's not life, (Yeah) you know, for, for any of us.

Turns out, Peter, like maybe four percent of all middle-aged¹ men, according to sleep experts, suffers from obstructive sleep apnea. That's a narrowing of the airway² so tight as a sleep study video shows that you snore, eventually you stop breathing, and then your body shakes itself to reopen the airways³.

I just thought I was supposed to be constantly tired. You know that's just nature, that's part of being an adult.

Three months ago, Peter's doctor gave him this high-tech⁴ mask. It forces pressurized air through the mouth and nose, Peter says, greatly reducing his apnea.

......so I mean, it looks a bit Hannibal Lector, but it's actually really quite comfy…

Comfortable but not cheap. Peter's mask costs about 800 dollars and Britain's state-run health care system paid for it. Now the country's health watchdog says it may recommend that the national health care service foot the bill for these masks for the thousands of British snorers who need them.

That may generate flack from those who say the health service, constantly criticized for inefficiency⁵, could better spend its public money. One of the country's top sleep experts disagrees.

You can have a hip⁶ replacement⁷ that's paid for by the NHS. This is a disease like any other. It can transform people's lives.

Peter and Britt Poole joke that the mask has transformed their life and saved their marriage. When Britt wants to make an apple pie now, Peter is awake enough to help in the kitchen instead of snoring on the couch. Alphonso Van Marsh CNN, London

1 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

2 airway   

n.空中航线，通风口

参考例句：

• Lay them on their side and ensure the airway is unobstructed.让他们侧躺着，并确保呼吸道畅通。
• There is a purple airway in London Airport.伦敦机场里有一条皇家专用飞机跑道。

3 AIRWAYS   

航空公司

参考例句：

• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
• At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。

4 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

5 inefficiency   

n.无效率，无能；无效率事例

参考例句：

• Conflict between management and workers makes for inefficiency in the workplace. 资方与工人之间的冲突使得工厂生产效率很低。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This type of inefficiency arises because workers and management are ill-equipped. 出现此种低效率是因为工人与管理层都能力不足。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

7 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。