SCIENCE IN THE NEWS

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS
By

Broadcast: Tuesday, June 15, 2004

VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English. I'm Sarah Long.

VOICE TWO:

 
Feb. 6, 2000: Ronald Reagan is kissed by his wife, Nancy, on his 89th birthday at their home in Bel-Air, California. Mr. Reagan withdrew¹ from public life after he announced in November 1994 that he had Alzheimer's disease².
And I'm Bob Doughty⁴. In November of nineteen-ninety-four, Ronald Reagan wrote a letter to the American people. The former president shared the news that he had Alzheimer's disease. He began what he called his journey into the sunset of his life. That ten-year journey ended on June fifth, at the age of ninety-three.

VOICE ONE:

Today we have a special program about Alzheimer's disease, as seen through the life of a woman named Irene. We first told you about Irene several years ago. Yet the story of her struggle remains⁵ timely⁶.

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VOICE TWO:

Irene lives near Rochester, New York. She is her late eighties, but she is not always sure about her age. Sometimes she says she is twenty-seven. At other times she says she is ninety-seven. Often Irene cannot remember names of people she has known for many years. Also, she struggles to find words to say what she wants to say. And sometimes she forgets what she was talking about.

She is no longer permitted to drive a car. She almost had a terrible accident one day. She turned at a place where she should not have turned. Her husband Dick told her she should not drive because it was too dangerous. This made some parts of Irene's life difficult.

She had to depend on others to drive her to the many community activities that she had always been involved in. Irene used to live a very full life. But then came new restrictions⁷ on her abilities, restrictions that seemed to increase almost daily. Today she lives in a nursing home where she receives care.

VOICE ONE:

Several years ago, Irene discovered that she had Alzheimer's disease. She is among more than four-million Americans suffering from the disease. As the population of the United States grows older, many millions more are expected to have the disease in years to come.

Doctors describe Alzheimer's disease as a slowly increasing brain disorder⁸. It affects memory and personality -- those qualities that make a person an individual. There is no known cure for Alzheimer's disease. Victims of the disease slowly lose their ability to deal with everyday life. At first they forget simple things, like where they put something, or a person's name.

As time passes they forget more and more. They forget the names of their husband, wife, or children. Then they forget who they are. Finally they remember nothing. It is as if their brain dies before the rest of their body dies. Victims of Alzheimer's do die from the disease, but not always right away.

VOICE TWO:

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of a disability or mental sickness called dementia. Dementia is the loss of thinking ability that is severe enough to interfere⁹ with daily activities. It is not a disease itself. Instead dementia is a group of signs of certain conditions and diseases¹⁰.

Some forms of dementia can be cured or corrected. This is especially true if they are caused by drugs, alcohol¹¹, infection, sight or hearing problems, heart or lung problems, or head injury.

Other forms of dementia can be corrected by changing levels of hormones¹² or vitamins in the body. However, in victims of Alzheimer's disease, brain cells die and are not replaced.

As the ability to remember and think decreases, victims can become angry and violent. Often they shout and move about with no purpose or goal. Media reports often tell about older people found walking in places far from their homes, not knowing where they are, or where they came from. Generally these people are suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

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VOICE ONE:

Although Alzheimer's disease develops differently in each person, there are early signs of the disease that are common. Often, victims of the disease may not recognize changes in themselves. Others see the changes and struggle to hide them.

Probably the most common early sign of Alzheimer's disease is short-term¹³ memory loss. Also, victims of the disease have increasing difficulty learning¹⁴ and storing new information. Slowly, thinking processes become more difficult. For example, they find themselves unable to understand a joke, or cannot cook a meal, or do simple tasks.

Another sign of Alzheimer's is difficulty in solving easy problems, such as what to do if food on a stove is burning. Also, people have trouble trying to follow directions or find the way to nearby places.

Another sign is victims struggling to find the right words to express thoughts or understand what is being discussed. Finally, people with Alzheimer's seem to change. Quiet people may become noisier and aggressive. They may easily become angry and lose their ability to trust others.

VOICE TWO:

Alzheimer's is considered an old people's disease. It normally¹⁵ affects people more than sixty-five years old. However, a few rare cases have been discovered in people younger than forty. The average age of those found to have the disease is about eighty years old.

Alzheimer's disease is found in only about two percent of people who are sixty-five.

But the risk increases to about twenty percent by age eighty. By age ninety, half of all people are found to have signs of the disease. Alzheimer's affects people of all races equally. However, women are more likely than men to develop the disease. This is partly because women generally live longer than men.

There is no simple test to tell if someone has Alzheimer's disease. Doctors who suspect a person has the disease must test a patient for many other disabilities first. If the tests fail to show that other disabilities are responsible for the problems, then a doctor suspects that Alzheimer's disease is responsible.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

In his book "The Notebook," Nicholas Sparks¹⁶ calls Alzheimer's disease "a barren¹⁷ disease, as empty and lifeless as a desert. It is a thief of hearts and souls and memories." British writer Iris¹⁸ Murdoch, who died of Alzheimer's disease, said it was a dark and terrible place.

Irene, also a writer, refused to surrender¹⁹ to that opinion. Instead, she began writing a book about her experience. She also wrote a short letter giving advice to those suffering from Alzheimer's. She wrote that she lives with the disease "hopefully."

She wrote: "We know that negative emotions can be harmful to health, and a strong will to live may well strengthen the body's defense²⁰ system. So, it seems wise to not spend time looking into the future, but to get the most from each day as it comes."

At the end of her letter, Irene wrote about care givers. She said she greatly honors²¹ those who take care of Alzheimer's patients, because that job is so very hard. And that is one of the most tragic²² things about Alzheimer's disease – care for the patient becomes more and more difficult.

Often the caregiver's help is rejected, as Alzheimer's victims grow more and more distant and more difficult to control. And often, the caregiver is a family member.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Ronald Reagan was probably the most famous person suffering from Alzheimer's disease. In his letter in nineteen-ninety-four, America's fortieth president wrote about the fears and difficulties presented by Alzheimer's. He said that he and his wife, Nancy, hoped that their public announcement would lead to greater understanding of the condition among individuals and families affected²³ by it.

Mister²⁴ Reagan shared something in common with Irene. In their letters, they each expressed hope, a desire to continue their lives as they had in the past, and concern for those who must care for them.

VOICE ONE:

Researchers are not sure what causes Alzheimer's disease. But they are working to find ways to treat the disease, and to cure or prevent it. There have been some hopeful developments in recent years. Still, there is nothing yet that can stop the disease or ease³ the pain of those caring for victims of Alzheimer's.

Today, Irene's book about her own experience remains unfinished.

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Oliver Chanler and produced by Mario Ritter. This is Sarah Long.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Bob Doughty. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

1 withdrew   

v.取[收]回( withdraw的过去式 )；（使）撤退[出]；提；收回

参考例句：

• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She quickly withdrew her hand from the hot iron. 她很快地将手从火烫的熨斗上缩了回来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

3 ease   

n. 安乐,安逸,悠闲; v. 使...安乐,使...安心,减轻,放松

参考例句：

• His mind was at ease and he felt confident in the future. 他心情舒畅,对前途很有信心。
• You should ease up on the child and stop scolding her. 你应该对那个孩子宽松些,不要再骂她了。

4 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 timely   

adj.及时的，适时的；adv.及时地

参考例句：

• We are particularly grateful to him for his timely help.我们特别感谢他的及时帮助。
• Your arrival was most timely yesterday.你们昨天来得非常及时。

7 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

8 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

9 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

10 diseases   

n.疾病( disease的名词复数 )；弊端；恶疾；痼疾

参考例句：

• Smoking is a causative factor in several major diseases. 抽烟是引起几种严重疾病的病因。
• The illness frequently coexists with other chronic diseases. 这种病往往与其他慢性病同时存在。

11 alcohol   

n.酒精，乙醇；含酒精的饮料

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors.法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。
• The alcohol is industrial.这些酒精是供工业用的。

12 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

13 short-term   

adj.短期的

参考例句：

• The short-term training class has been run three times.短训班办了三期。
• For this they are running short-term courses and evening classes.为此，他们办了短训班和夜校。

14 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

15 normally   

adv.正常地，通常地

参考例句：

• I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
• My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。

16 sparks   

电工，无线电通讯员； 火花( spark的名词复数 )； （指品质或感情）一星； 丝毫； 电火花

参考例句：

• The amplifier exploded in a fountain of sparks. 放大器爆炸，喷射出火星。
• A shower of sparks flew up the chimney. 烟囱里飞出无数火星。

17 barren   

adj.贫瘠的，不（生）育的，没有结果的

参考例句：

• The place used to be a stretch of barren land.早先这里是一片不毛之地。
• The barren land could produce little food.那贫瘠的土地几乎不长庄稼。

18 iris   

n.虹膜，彩虹

参考例句：

• The opening of the iris is called the pupil.虹膜的开口处叫做瞳孔。
• This incredible human eye,complete with retina and iris,can be found in the Maldives.又是在马尔代夫，有这样一只难以置信的眼睛，连视网膜和虹膜都刻画齐全了。

19 surrender   

v.投降，自首；屈服；交出，放弃

参考例句：

• He preferred to die rather than surrender to the enemy.他宁死也不愿向敌人投降。
• Liu Hulan would rather die than surrender before the enemy.刘胡兰在敌人面前宁死不屈。

20 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

21 honors   

n.礼仪；荣典；礼节； 大学荣誉学位；大学优等成绩；尊敬( honor的名词复数 )；敬意；荣誉；光荣

参考例句：

• He aims at honors. 他力求名誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We did the last honors to his remains. 我们向他的遗体告别。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

23 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

24 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。