VOA慢速英語(yǔ):研究表明一種新型材料可以保護(hù)老年人不會(huì)因?yàn)樗さ苟钦?/h1>

所屬教程:2014年03月VOA常速英語(yǔ)

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[00:00.00]From VOA Learning English, [00:01.66]this is the Health Report. [00:04.22]British scientists say they have developed a material [00:08.58]that could help protect older adults [00:11.98]from breaking bones when they fall. [00:15.28]The new substance is called Armourgel. [00:19.46]Scientists say it is soft enough [00:22.85]to be put in normal everyday clothing. [00:26.56]As people get older, [00:28.82]many of them develop the disease osteoporosis. [00:34.03]It makes their bones so weak that even a minor fall [00:39.03]can cause a bone to break. [00:41.44]In some cases, older adults can die from breaking bones [00:47.07]or from problems resulting from them. [00:50.52]The Reuters news service Reports [00:53.72]that Britain's National Osteoporosis Society says [00:59.31]more than 1,000 people die every month in Britain [01:04.66]from hip fractures. [01:06.67]Armourgel is a combination of two new man-made materials. [01:13.19]These materials quickly take in or absorb energy [01:19.04]when they hit something, [01:20.81]this protects whatever is behind the material. [01:24.91]Researcher Daniel Plant works at Imperial College in London. [01:31.82]He launched a company called Armourgel Limited. [01:36.48]He says one of the materials in Armourgel [01:40.39]moves with the clothing, [01:42.34]but becomes hard when it strikes something. [01:46.31]"It's soft and flowable [01:48.37]so it moves with the musculature of the body [01:50.27]but when you impact it it momentarily goes rigid," said Plant. [01:53.23]Researchers have joined the material [01:56.06]with a substance whose cells collapse when they are hit. [02:00.92]"When you impact it in this direction [02:03.77]it actually folds in on itself," said Plant. [02:06.68]Daniel Plant says, it is the combination of these materials [02:11.91]that makes Armourgel special. [02:15.26]The new product is said to be much thinner [02:19.42]than other protective materials currently being sold. [02:24.73]In a video on the company's website, [02:28.44]an unprotected ball hit by a hard object [02:32.76]is shown breaking into many pieces. [02:36.57]But a ball protected by Armourgel does not break. [02:41.33]That is because the Armourgel pad hardens [02:45.55]and absorbs the energy of the object when it is hit. [02:50.25]Soon after the material hardens, it becomes soft again. [02:55.53]Steven Gambert is a geriatric trauma specialist [03:00.59]at the University of Maryland Medical Center. [03:04.90]He helps older men and women who have suffered injuries. [03:09.56]He told VOA on Skype that having the ability to turn soft quickly [03:16.92]means Armourgel can be put into clothing. [03:21.23]But Doctor Gambert says, bone protectors, [03:24.89]no matter how good, are not the best solution. [03:28.99]"The key is to prevent the bones [03:30.65]from losing their mineral content, [03:32.06]staying healthy. [03:33.20]And then even if you fall, [03:34.76]you won't break your bone," said Gambert. [03:36.31]Daniel Plant says, stores could begin selling clothing [03:40.68]with Armourgel as soon as 2016. [03:45.24]From VOA learning English, [03:48.54]I'm Jonathan Evans.

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