6月26日午间英语新闻：全球海水温度持续升高 2023或成史上最热年

Highest ocean temperatures ever recorded in May

全球海水温度持续升高 2023或成史上最热年

Scientists have gathered further evidence that ocean waters are continuing to warm along with the rest of the planet. Ocean temperatures reached record-breaking highs for the month of May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration （NOAA） announced during its monthly climate call.

科学家收集到了更多证据证明，和地球其他地方一样，海水也在继续升温。美国国家海洋和大气管理局发布的全球气候月度报告中称，今年5月份海洋温度创下了历史新高。

Four main factors are contributing to the historic warming of global sea surface temperatures: human-induced climate change, a developing El Nino event, effects from the 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano eruption, and a new shipping emissions policy aimed at reducing air pollution, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA. 

洛杉矶加州大学的气候学家丹尼尔·斯温指出，全球海洋表面温度的破纪录高温是由四个主要因素导致的：人为引起的气候变化、发展中的厄尔尼诺事件、2022年洪加汤加-洪加哈派火山喷发和旨在减少空气污染的船舶排放新政策的影响。

Temperatures were above average throughout most of North America, South America and Africa. Parts of Western Europe, Northwestern Russia, Southeast Asia and the Arctic also experienced warmer than average temperatures this month, said Rocky Bilotta, climatologist at the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

美国国家海洋和大气管理局国家环境信息中心的气候学家洛基·毕洛塔说，北美、南美和非洲的大部分地区的温度都超过了平均值。西欧、俄罗斯西北部、东南亚和北极的部分地区5月也经历了比平均水平更高的温度。

The warmest global record for the time period between March and May was also reached, according to NOAA. And 2023 is very likely to rank among the 10 warmest years on record, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information statistical analysis, which was released in April. Should warmer ocean and air surface temperatures continue, 2023 could become the warmest year on record.

美国国家海洋和大气管理局指出，3月至5月期间的温度也达到了史上最高水平。环境信息中心4月发布的统计分析报告也显示，2023年很可能会成为史上十大最热年之一。如果海水和大气的表面温度继续升高，2023年可能会成为有史以来最热的年份。

Scientists anticipate that the current high temperatures could increase in the coming weeks and set record-shattering numbers, which could spell disaster for coastal communities all over the world. Warmer ocean waters can contribute to more powerful tropical storms and impact marine life. In addition, a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture and can increase potential flooding events. Melting sea ice in the Arctic is also causing sea levels to rise, which is eroding coastlines.

科学家预期，未来数周海洋的这种高温天数会增多并可能打破纪录，这可能会给世界各地的沿海社区带来灾难。海水温度升高会引发更猛烈的热带风暴并影响海洋生物。此外，湿热的空气含有更多水分，这会增大发生洪水的风险。北极融化的海冰也会导致海平面升高，从而侵蚀海岸线。

重点词汇：

climatologist

英[ˌklaɪməˈtɒlədʒist]

美[ˌklaɪməˈtɑːlədʒist]

n.气候学家;

A daytime nap is good for the brain

最新研究：睡午觉可以延缓大脑萎缩 火速安排！

Regularly finding time for a little snooze is good for our brain and helps keep it bigger for longer, say University College London researchers.

英国伦敦大学学院的研究人员指出，定期午睡对大脑有好处，能延缓大脑萎缩。

The brain naturally shrinks with age, but whether naps could help prevent diseases like Alzheimer's will still need extra research. Overall brain health is important for protecting against dementia, and the condition is linked to disturbed sleep.

随着年龄增大，大脑会自然地萎缩，但是午睡能否预防阿尔茨海默症等疾病仍需要更多研究。大脑健康对于预防痴呆症十分重要，而痴呆症和睡眠不佳有关。

The researchers suggest poor sleep is damaging the brain over time by causing inflammation and affecting the connections between brain cells. "Thus, regular napping could protect against neurodegeneration by compensating for deficient sleep," researcher Valentina Paz said.

研究人员指出，长时间睡不好会损害大脑，导致大脑炎症，从而影响脑细胞之间的联系。研究员瓦伦蒂娜·帕兹说：“因此，定期午睡能弥补睡眠不足，从而预防神经退行性疾病。”

Napping might boost health, but the reverse is also true as your health can leave you so tired you need to nap more. So the researchers used a clever technique to prove that napping is beneficial.

午睡可能有利于健康，但是反过来，你的身体如果特别累，也会需要更多的小憩。所以研究人员用了一种巧妙的技术来证明午睡的益处。

They used a gigantic natural experiment based on DNA. Previous studies have identified 97 snippets of our DNA that either make us more likely to be nappers or to power through the day. The team took data from 35,000 people, aged 40 to 69, taking part in the UK Biobank project, and simply compared those genetic "nappers" and "non-nappers".

他们采用了基于DNA的超大型自然实验的数据。先前的研究发现，人类DNA中有97个片段决定你是否喜欢午睡。因此该团队抽取了参加英国生物样本库计划的年龄在40岁和69岁之间的3.5万人的数据，并将天生的午睡者和不午睡者做了比较。

The results, published in the journal Sleep Health, showed a 15 cubic centimeter difference - equivalent to 2.6 to 6.5 years of aging.

发表在《睡眠健康》期刊上的这项研究结果显示，二者大脑体积相差了15立方厘米，相当于前者比后者晚衰老2.6至6.5年。

重点词汇：

1、neurodegeneration

英[njuərəʊdedʒenə'reɪʃn]

美[njuərəʊdedʒenə'reɪʃn] 

神经变性; 神经退行性变; 神经退行性病变; 神经元退变

2、compensating

英[ˈkɒmpenseɪtɪŋ]

美[ˈkɑːmpenseɪtɪŋ]

v.补偿; 给(某人)赔偿(或赔款); 弥补;

n.补偿；修正；抵消;

adj.补偿的；平衡的;