新世纪医学英语教程社会医学第二第三单元课文翻译.docx

1、新世纪医学英语教程社会医学第二第三单元课文翻译Unit2 AAmerica is experiencing a major epidemic today.现今美国正在经历一场重要的流行病。Unlike epidemics of the past, it is not a disease transmitted by bacteria or viruses.不同于过去的流行病，它不是由细菌或病毒传染的疾病。This epidemic is an increase in diseases and problems related to stress, and it touches all of o

2、ur lives.这个流行病的增加是与压力有关的疾病和问题引起的，它涉及我们生活的方方面面。In 1900 the average life expectancy in this country was 47, and the major killer diseases included tuberculosis pneumonia,influenza, cholera, typhoid, and smallpox infectious diseases which struck people of all ages, regardless of their lifestyle.1900年，这

3、个国家的平均预期寿命为47岁，其主要致命疾病包括肺结核肺炎，流行性感冒，霍乱，伤寒，天花-这些传染性疾病袭击了所有年龄层的人，不管他们的生活方式怎样。Today, on the other hand, life expectancy has been extended to 74, thanks in large part to the conquest of the acute infectious disease through improved sanitation, better distribution and storage of foods, and the introducti

4、on of immunization and antibiotics.如今，在另一方面，预期寿命已延长至74岁，这在很大程度上是由于对于急性传染病的征服，通过改善卫生条件，更好地分配和储存食物，以及引进免疫方法和抗生素。 People today are dying of different diseases than they did at the turn of the 20th century, and the principal causes of death today are heart disease, stroke, cancer, cirrhosis of the liver

5、, and diabetes.当今人们死于的疾病与20世纪初不同，现在死亡的主要原因是心脏病，中风，癌症，肝硬化，糖尿病等。These noninfectious, chronic diseases have been shown to be directly related to the way we live, and one of the dominant factors in their development is stressan element of modern life which is taking an increasing toll on our physical an

6、d mental well-being.这些非传染性，慢性疾病已被证明是与我们的生活方式有直接联系的，使其发展的主要因素之一是压力这一现代生活元素，正对我们的身体和精神健康造成越来越严重的危害。Technically speaking, stress is a physiological state of the body, a state of arousal in response to a perceived danger or threat.从技术上来说，压力是机体对感知到的危险或威胁反应而表现的一种生理性兴奋状态。We are all familiar with the physic

7、al signs and symptoms of the stress state.我们都熟悉压力状态下的身体信号和症状。Think about how you felt that last time you had to swerve to avoid a collision which driving: your heart raced, your palms became sweaty, your muscles tensed, and your stomach knotted.想想你上一次在驾驶时突然转向以避免碰撞是何感觉：你的心狂跳起来，你的手掌变得多汗，你的肌肉紧张，而你的心也揪在

8、一起了。Such a combination of sensations is the result of a complex physical chain reaction which occurs in your body in response to a threat.这种感觉的结合是一个复杂的身体连锁反应的结果，出现在你的身体对威胁做出反应的时候。These changes are universal and predictable, and they happen to everyone.这些变化是普遍的并且可以预见的，可以发生在每一个人身上。Our prehistoric ance

9、stors, upon encountering a dangerous animal in the wild, would have felt exactly the same response as their bodies switched into a stress-induced “high-gear” to deal with the emergency.我们的史前祖先，一旦在野外意外地遇见危险动物，就会感受到完全一样的反应，当他们的身体转入一种紧张引起的“高速挡”，以应对紧急状况。Physiologist Walter Cannon, back in the 1920s, lab

10、eled this reaction the fight-or-flight response.生理学家沃尔特坎农，追溯到20世纪20年代，把这种反应称为打或逃跑反应。As the term implies, the original purpose of the fight-or-flight response was to prepare the body to respond either by fighting the enemy, or by fleeing.这个术语暗示，战或逃跑反应的最初目的是准备让身体作出反应，要么对抗敌人，要么逃离。Whether the primitive

11、hunter succeeded in killing the mountain lion or in running away from it, the result was the same: once the threat was resolved, the body could relax, eventually returning to its normal baseline functioning.无论是成功杀死美洲狮或远离它的原始猎人，其结果是一样的：一旦威胁得到解决，身体能放松，最终恢复到自身正常的基础运作状态。Interestingly enough, situations

12、which provoke the fight-or-flight response are not necessarily unpleasant ones.非常有趣的是，引起战或逃跑反应的情况发生并不必然是不愉快的。Pleasant experiences, if they are sufficiently intense, can produce the same combination of physiological symptoms.愉快的经验，如果它们足够的强烈，可以产生相同组合的生理症状。When your boss tells you that hes recommended

13、you for a promotion, you are most likely experiencing some of the same physiological responses that you experience when you swerve to avoid a traffic accident: sweaty palms, racing heart, changes in breathing.当你的老板告诉你，他已经推荐你晋升，你是最有可能体验到一些与当你拐弯去避免一宗交通意外所产生的相同的生理反应：手心出汗，心跳加速，呼吸的变化。Pleasant or unpleasa

14、nt, its the intensity of the experience that produces the stress.愉快或不愉快的，取决于产生压力的感觉的强度。Dr. Hans Selye, an endocrinologist whose ground-breaking research was a major contribution to our understanding of stress, defined stress as the nonspecific or general response of the body to any demand made upon

15、it to readjust.汉斯薛利医生，一名内分泌学家，其开创性研究在我们对压力的理解上是一个重大的贡献，把压力定义为身体根据它的任何需要作出重新调整的非特异性或一般应激反应。Selye emphasized that stress is not necessarily something to be avoided.薛利强调，压力是不可避免的。It is a natural part of our lives; any normal activity, pleasant or unpleasant, produces some degree of stress.它是我们生命自然的一部分，

16、任何正常活动，愉快或不愉快，都会产生一些程度的压力。As Selye said “The absence of stress is death.”正如薛利说的：“没有压力是死亡。Just as stress prepared primitive man to confront the fight with his enemy or to run away, so in modern life it helps the athlete to achieve peak performance or the executive to meet impossible deadlines.“正像原始人因

17、压力做好面对敌人是斗争或是逃跑的准备一样，在现代生活中它也可以帮助运动员达到最佳表现或主管人员处理不可能的最后期限。Under such circumstances, stress can be a very useful response, contributing to heightened achievement and a greater sense of personal satisfaction.在这种情况下，压力可以是一个非常有用的反应，有助于提高成绩和个人满足感。When stress is associated with such a positive experience,

18、 Selye called it eustress (something also called prostress); when it becomes unpleasant or damaging, it is called distress.当这种压力是与一种积极的经验有联系时，薛利称之为好的压力（也被称为积极压力），当它变得不愉快或具破坏性时，它被称为不好的压力。Eventsthat provoke stress are known asstressors.引起压力的事件被称为压力源。Its easy to identify many such triggers of stress in

19、 our daily lives.在我们的日常生活中，识别许多这样的压力源是容易的。Some sources of stress can be classified as environmental: weather changes, temperature, noise, air pollution, crowding, and uncomfortable living or work space can all have an influence on your stress level.有些压力源同环境一样可被归类为：天气变化，温度，噪音，空气污染，拥挤和不舒服的生活或工作空间，都可以对

20、你的压力水平造成影响。A major source of stress in our modern world is change; more than ever before in history we are forced constantly to adapt to rapid change in many important aspects of our liveschanging values, family structure, and sex roles, the decline of religious faith, and the changing nature of wor

21、k.在我们现代世界的一个主要压力来源是变化，我们比过去任何时候更加被迫地去不断适应生活中许多重要方面的快速变化价值观改变，家庭结构，性别角色，宗教信仰的减弱，和工作性质的变化。Interpersonal stressors emerge from your relationships with other peopleyour boss, your fellow workers, your family and friends.人际关系的压力源来自你同别人的交往中你的老板，你的同事，你的家人和朋友们。And a significant source of stress in many of o

22、ur lives today is work stressorsthe structure of your employers organization, your position within it, your interaction with other people, and your feelings about job are all factors that can contribute to raising your overall stress level.今天我们生活中很明显的一个压力源来自工作你所在单位的机构组成，你在其中的职位，你与其他人互动，你对工作的感受都是能提高你

23、的总体压力水平的因素。You may have notice that many of the stressors we have been describing dont actually represent threats to your physical survival.你可能已经注意到许多我们描述的压力源事实上并不代表会威胁你的身体生存。Rather, they are psychological or social in nature.相反地，它们本质上是心理或社会性质的。Imagined threats to your sell-esteem or security can ar

24、ouse the fight-or-flight response just as readily as an attacking mountain lion or an oncoming car.想象你的自尊或安全的威胁会激发战或逃反应，就像面对攻击性的美洲狮或迎面而来的汽车反应一样。Moreover, our psychological and emotional reactions to stressful situation, such as anxiety or guilt, can actually become potent stressors in their own righ

25、t.此外，我们心理上和情绪上对有应激情况的反应，比如焦虑或内疚，实际上可以凭借它们本身的能力成为强大的压力源。What arouse a high level of stress in one person may not be perceived as threatening to another, for our individual perception of the stressor is what ultimately makes the situation stressful or not.能激起一个人高水平的压力的（事件）可能不被视为能对另一个人构成威胁，因为我们个人对压力的感觉

26、，最终决定了是否产生压力感We are all different in our biochemical make-up, physical strength, psychological and emotional characteristics, values, attitudes, habits, and social roles.我们在我们的生化结构，体力，心理和情感特征，价值观，态度，习惯和社会角色上都是不一样的。And all these factors influence our interpretation of events and, therefore, the way w

27、e respond physically and psychologically to them.而所有这些因素影响我们对事件的理解，因此，也决定了我们对他们作出的生理和心理上的反应。As a primitive survival mechanism, the fight-or flight response served our ancestors well as a means of mobilizing the bodys defenses in times of emergency.作为一种原始的生存机制，战或逃跑反应为我们祖先在紧急情况下及时动员身体防御服务很好。Why, then,

28、 has stress become such a problem in modern life?为什么，随后，在现代生活中压力会变成一个难题呢？In the case of the primitive hunter, once the danger had been dealt with by fighting or fleeing, the problem was resolved and the stress was relieved.就原始猎人来说，一旦通过战或逃跑使危险得到了处理，问题解决了，压力才会被缓解。However, if we look around us today, w

29、e notice that the options of fighting or fleeing are rarely appropriate in our modern world.但是，今天如果我们回过头来看今天，我们注意到当今现代社会战或逃跑的选择很少是合适的。For example, if you have an argument with your boss, you may feel all the symptoms of stress but you cant relieve your stress by striking out at him, nor would it do

30、to run away.例如，如果你和你的老板发生争论，你可能会感到压力所有的症状 - 但你不能通过揍他一顿来减轻你的压力，也不会逃跑。And so the level of anger and arousal persists in the absence of a socially acceptable outlet, and at the end of the confrontation you still feel as if you want to fight someone or run away.所以气愤和激发的兴奋状态在现实社会中缺乏得到合理的发泄途径，最后你仍觉得好像你想和人

31、打架或逃跑。The fight-or flight response has now become an internalized feeling that you carry about with you, like a ticking time bomb.战或逃跑反应现在已经变成了随时随地的一种内在感觉，就像你随身携带一个开始倒计时的定时炸弹。If the fight-or flight response is activated without being used to its intended purpose, it can become a major source of dist

32、ress.如果战或逃跑反应没有被用于其预期目标的激活，它可以成为不好的压力的主要来源。If it is fired off too often, or persists too long, the body will remain in a state of continual alarm or mobilization，and the potent hormones released in the stress response can actually damage the bodys vital organs, nervous system, and immune mechanisms.如果它被激发过于频繁，或持续时间过长，身体会留在一个不断报警或调节的状态，压力反应中大量释放的激素实际上可以破坏人体的重要器官，神经系统，和免疫系统。Ironically, it appears that the stress response, which was a vital survival mechanism for o