Afternoon naps aid children’s learning 午睡幫助孩子學習

A vendor selling watermelons naps as he waits for customers at a market in Taiyuan, in China’s Shanxi Province on July 17.
一位小販七月十七日在中國山西省太原市一處市場等待顧客上門時，小歇片刻。

Photo: Reuters
照片：路透

Getting young children to take an hour-long nap after lunch could help them with their learning by boosting brain power, a small study suggests.

A nap appeared to help three-to-five-year-olds better remember pre-school lessons, US researchers said.

University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers studied 40 youngsters and reported their findings in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The benefit persisted in the afternoon after a nap and into the next day.

The study authors say their results suggest naps are critical for memory consolidation and early learning. When the children were allowed a siesta after lunch they performed significantly better on a visual-spatial tasks in the afternoon and the next day than when they were denied a midday snooze.

(Liberty Times)

TODAY’S WORDS 今日單字

1. nap n.

午睡 (wu3 shui4)

例: Grandpa usually takes a nap after lunch.

(阿公吃過午飯後通常會睡個午覺。)

2. persist v.

持續 (chi2 xu4)

例: The cold weather is set to persist throughout the week.

(這一週都將是寒冷的天氣。)

3. deny n.

拒絕 (ju4 jue2)

例: I was denied the opportunity of learning French at school.

(我在學校沒機會學法文。)

一項小型研究顯示，讓小孩子在午餐後打盹一小時，可能有助他們增強腦力，幫助學習。

美國研究人員說，小睡一番似乎能幫助三到五歲的小孩更能記住學齡前的功課。

麻薩諸塞大學阿默斯特分校的研究人員觀察四十名小孩，並在美國國家科學院院刊報告他們的發現。午睡的好處持續整個下午到隔天。

研究作者說，他們的研究結果顯示，午睡對鞏固記憶力與早期學習至關重要。小孩子要是可以在午餐後睡個午覺，他們在下午與隔天的視覺－空間工作表現，會比不能午睡時明顯較好。

（自由時報／翻譯：自由時報國際新聞中心）

Climate change may cause more kidney stones: study 研究：氣候變遷可能造成更多腎結石

Motorists make their way out of downtown Los Angeles, California on Aug. 30 last year.
駕駛們去年八月三十日在加州洛杉磯驅車駛離市區。

Photo: AFP
照片：法新社

A warming planet is likely to bring more hot days, more sweaty people and more dehydration — a key risk factor for a surge in kidney stones, researchers said on July 10.

The study in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives found a link between hot days and kidney stones in 60,000 patients whose medical records were studied in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

“We found that as daily temperatures rise, there is a rapid increase in the probability of patients presenting over the next 20 days with kidney stones,” said lead author Gregory Tasian, a pediatric urologist at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

As average daily temperatures climbed above 50 degrees Fahrenheit, or 10 degrees Celsius, the risk of kidney stone presentation increased in all the cities except Los Angeles.

(Liberty Times)

TODAY’S WORDS
今日單字

1. sweaty adj.

流汗的 (liu2 han4 de5)

例: We spent the evening in a sweaty pub.

(我們晚上都待在熱得讓人冒汗的酒吧裡。)

2. surge n.

驟升 (zou4 sheng1)

例: An unexpected surge in electrical power caused the computer to crash.

(電壓突然遽增導致電腦當機。)

3. probability n.

可能性 (ke3 neng2 xing4)

例: There’s a strong probability that she’ll be here.

(她很可能會來。)

暖化的地球可能帶來更多炎熱的日子、更多流汗的人們，以及更多的脫水─這是腎結石暴增的重要風險因子，研究人員七月十日指出。

《環境衛生觀點》期刊刊登的這份研究，在亞特蘭大、芝加哥、達拉斯、洛杉磯與費城六萬名病患的病歷中，發現熱天與腎結石的關聯。

研究主要作者、費城兒童醫院小兒泌尿科醫師泰西安說：「我們發現，日氣溫升高時，病患未來二十天腎結石的可能性急速增加。」

日均溫上升超過攝氏十度時，這些城市除洛杉磯外，腎結石表現的風險全都升高。

（自由時報／翻譯：自由時報國際新聞中心）

Observe children’s use of electronics to understand their minds: psychiatrists 觀察孩子玩3C 了解內心世界

Regarding whether parents can truly comprehend what their children are thinking, psychiatrists say that with kids nowadays so enthralled with IT products, there is very little interaction and communication going on between parents and children, causing many things to remain bottled up and left unsaid. Can parents actually gain any insight by observing what video games their kids like to play? Which TV shows they enjoy watching? Which characters they like? If you want to understand a child’s inner world, there is no harm in talking and playing with them while they play with the IT products.

Lam Pok, an attending physician at Miaoli Wei Gong Memorial Hospital’s psychiatry department, says that back before 3C (computer, communications and consumer electronics) products existed, children and parents had more opportunities to talk with each other. Children used to vent their emotions by playing outdoor sports and also talked to their parents more about their feelings. With the proliferation of electronic products, video games have become the main way that children express their feelings. Characters in television dramas have also become objects for children to obtain emotional sustenance, making them less fond of talking to their parents about personal matters.

Lam says the theory of psychological projection explains why adolescents and young people often enjoy playing video games — the opponent that they are fighting is not actually the enemy in the game, but rather more likely to be someone in real life who makes them feel incredible pressure. It could be a classmate, a teacher or possibly parents. The same principle applies to watching the plots on TV or in films. Children who lack true love from their parents will easily be moved to tears when they see an alien savior come on the screen, Lam says.

When parents see their child playing video games or watching TV, it is best to get closer to them to make observations and show more concern for the child. Lam suggests that parents find an appropriate time to ask the following three questions. The first should be about which character they like the most. Liking a particular character is usually because that character has similar personality traits or has suffered in similar ways as the child. The second question should be about which character they wish they could be. This will be the person that possesses something that the child is lacking but aspires to be. The third question asks the child which character they loathe the most, which can represent someone who has probably hurt the child or gives them stress, Lam says.

(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)

家長是否真的了解孩子在想什麼，精神科醫師表示，現在的孩子喜歡3C產品，與父母互動溝通少，以致很多事都放在心裡不說，其實家長可以透過觀察孩子喜歡玩什麼電玩遊戲？看什麼類型的電視節目？又喜歡哪個角色？想要了解孩子的內心世界，不妨利用孩子玩3C產品時，跟孩子多談談與多溝通。

苗栗為恭醫院精神科主治醫師林博說，在以前沒有3C產品的年代，孩子與父母說話的機會較多，孩子除運動宣洩情緒外，也比較會告訴父母，但在3C產品普及之後，電玩往往成為孩子發洩情緒的方法，電視劇中的角色也成為了情感寄託的對象，讓孩子較不愛告訴父母關於自己的事情。

林博指出，從學理上的「投射理論」，可以看到青少年喜愛打電玩，往往是在對打速度感中發洩內在的不滿及痛苦，對打的對象其實不是遊戲中的敵人，而可能是生活中壓得他喘不過氣的人；這個人可能是同學、老師也可能是父母；看電視或是電影劇情也是相同的道理，缺乏父母真愛的小孩看到外星來的拯救者，會激動地流下眼淚來。

當父母看到孩子在打電玩或是看電視時，最好能走近觀察與關心一下孩子。林博建議，父母可以適時問三個問題，第一個是「你最喜歡裡面的誰？」因為會喜歡一個角色，是因為角色個性、遭遇和自己相似；第二個問題則是「你想當裡面的誰？」因為這正是孩子自己缺乏但卻十分嚮往的人；第三個問題則是「你討厭裡面的誰？」因為這個人可能曾經傷害過他或是造成壓力的人。

（自由時報記者魏怡嘉）

Anxiety and insomnia on the rise as people fret over Taiwan’s future: doctors擔心台灣未來 焦慮失眠比率升

As of late the public has been fixated on the anti-service trade pact movement. A significant number of people have been seeing doctors for psychological issues caused by anxiety and insomnia triggered by concern for various social factors, including Taiwan’s future and the student movement.

Hung Chi-wei, an attending physician at Chi Mei Hospital’s family medicine department, says that he has recently treated a spate of clinical cases like this. Some of the patients, originally quite fond of exercising, suddenly became sluggish for reasons unknown and only wanted to lounge around the house, never going out anywhere else. Even if some of them have wanted to see a doctor, they did not know which department to make an appointment with.

Hung says that family physicians often come across this type of patient, who consults a family doctor first because they do not know which type of specialist to see, as they have so many symptoms at the same time. There has been a slight rise in the number of patients visiting psychiatry departments in recent years, Hung says, adding that some of them complain about Taiwan’s stagnant economy, rising prices or how hard it is to make a living. The right amount of stress can easily give rise to mental disorders such as generalized anxiety or depression, Hung says.

Most patients with generalized anxiety disorder tend to be unaware that they have the disorder because the symptoms tend to fluctuate. When stress levels increase in everyday life or at work it typically exacerbates the patient’s condition. Common symptoms include muscle tension, an overly excited autonomic nervous system, feeling keyed up and on edge, sometimes having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, and feeling irritable. The symptoms for depression include feeling dejected and losing interest in things.Regardless of whether it is generalized anxiety disorder or depression, Hung says that as soon as you discover possibly having one of the two disorders, you should see a doctor for diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible.

(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)

TODAY’S WORDS
今日單字

1. fixate v.

注視 (zhu4 shi4)

例: Why are you suddenly so fixated on your appearance and body image?

(你為什麼突然注重你的外貌與身材？

2. trigger v.

引起；觸發 (yin2 qi3; chu4 fa1)

例: The reporter’s comment triggered her anger.

(記者的評論觸怒了她。)

3. dejected adj.

沮喪的；情緒低落的；氣餒的 (ju3 sang4 de5; qing2 xu4 di1 luo4 de5; qi4 nei3 de5)

例: The fans were dejected after the team suffered a bitter lost in the finals.

(球隊在決賽輸得很慘讓球迷情緒低落。)

最近反服貿運動引起社會關心矚目，有不少民眾因為擔心台灣未來前途以及學運等社會現象，出現焦慮失眠引發身心疾病情況而求助醫生。

奇美醫院家庭醫學科主治醫師洪啟偉表示，最近在臨床上常有此類病人就醫看診，也有患者原本很愛運動，但卻不知是何原因卻突然提不起勁，只想躲在家中，其他地方都不想去，即使想要就醫也不曉得要掛哪一科。

洪啟偉說，家醫科門診常會遇到此類病人，因為身體多發性症狀不知道該看哪科門診，而先到家醫科做諮詢。近年罹患身心科而前來就診的患者比率略有偏高，有些患者會抱怨這幾年國內經濟成長不佳、物價上漲，日子過得很辛苦等等，在壓力之下很容易引起廣泛性焦慮、憂鬱症等身心科疾病。

廣泛性焦慮症由於病情起伏不定，大部分的病人不會有所察覺，在生活工作壓力增加時病情會惡化，常見症狀包括有肌肉緊繃、自律神經亢奮、過度警戒且過度敏感等，有時也會有難以入睡或睡不安穩、易怒等情形；此外，憂鬱症則是以憂鬱情緒或失去興趣為主要症狀。

洪啟偉指出，不論是廣泛性焦慮症或是憂鬱症，一旦發現有廣泛性焦慮症或是憂鬱症的可能時，建議尋求醫師的診斷與治療。

（自由時報記者林孟婷）

‘Locks of love’ bridge in Paris evacuated after railing collapse 愛之鎖太沉重 巴黎古橋難承受

“Locks of love” attached to a fence of the Pont des Arts bridge over the River Seine are pictured in Paris, France on June 9.六月九日攝於法國巴黎扣在塞納河藝術橋圍欄的「愛情鎖」

Sometimes too much love can be a bad thing, as Paris discovered on June 8 when thousands of “locks of love” attached to a footbridge caused part of the railing to collapse, forcing an evacuation.

Thousands of lovers from across the world visit the Pont des Arts every year and seal their love by attaching a lock carrying their names to its railing and throwing the key in the Seine.

Police were forced to hurriedly usher visitors off the footbridge in central Paris early evening on June 8 after 2.4m of railing collapsed under the weight of the collected tokens of affection.

“The bridge was immediately evacuated and closed,” local police told AFP.

An architect and local officials rushed to the site and a barrier was put in place to stop further access. Police said the bridge would be re-opened on June 9.

The Pont des Arts crosses the French capital’s River Seine just in front of the Louvre museum and is known the world over for its “locks of love.”

The phenomenon has become something of a headache for officials in the City of Light, who would prefer something that poses fewer problems of security and aesthetics.

Two young Americans living in Paris have gathered thousands of signatures for a petition they launched in March calling for the locks to be removed, saying they are eyesores and cause damage to the bridges.

Today, the full 150m length of the footbridge is covered in the locks, and the practice has spread to other bridges around the capital.

Forty locks were also recently removed from the Eiffel Tower.

(AFP)

愛太多有時不見得是件好事，就好比成千上萬個扣在巴黎一座人行橋上的「愛情鎖」，致使該座橋部分圍欄於六月八日發生坍塌的意外。

每年有成千上萬對來自世界各地的情侶造訪這座藝術橋，並在圍欄掛上寫有雙方名字的掛鎖，再把鑰匙丟入塞納河中，以象徵牢牢鎖住的愛情。

因戀人集中在橋上示愛的重量實在太重，導致二點四公尺的圍欄於六月八日接近傍晚時刻倒塌，警察在不得已情況下，隨即急忙疏散遊客離開這座位於巴黎市中心的人行橋。

當地警方向法新社表示：「該橋立刻撤空並關閉。」

一位建築師與地方官員趕赴現場，並設有路障以防有人通行。警方表示，該橋於六月九日重新開放。

這座位於羅浮宮前、橫跨法國首都塞納河的藝術橋，以其橋上「愛情鎖」聞名全球。

這個鎖橋現象讓「光之城」（巴黎的暱稱）官員感到些許頭大，他們偏好其他較不影響安全也較不破壞觀瞻的示愛方式。

兩位住在巴黎的美國人認為這些鎖頭不僅有礙觀瞻還危害橋樑，三月即提出移除「愛情鎖」請願書，目前已募集到成千上萬個連署。

今天這座總長有一百五十公尺的人行橋已掛滿了鎖頭，而類似行為也已蔓延到首都內的其他橋樑。

最近有四十個鎖頭才自巴黎鐵塔移除。

Obsessive cosmetic surgery fan says she’ll never get old 執著的整型手術迷說她永遠不會變老

A doctor injects Botox into smile wrinkles on the bridge of a lady’s nose in Los Angeles, California on Sept. 11, 2009. 一名醫師二００九年九月十一日於加州洛杉磯，在一名女子鼻樑的皺紋上，注射肉毒桿菌。Photo: Bloomberg 照片：彭博社 

Little girls do, in general, grow out of their obsessions with dolls. But Orit Fox never did.

The 34-year-old Israeli model’s ambition is to turn herself into a life-size plastic Barbie doll using cosmetic surgery and hold off aging at the same time.

To do it, she has her plastic surgeon on call 24 hours a day and visits whenever she spots a wrinkle or is feeling less than happy about her looks.

“I like beauty,” she explains. “Visually, I look like Barbie, like a doll. Men love my body. It’s like a dream, a fantasy.”

Orit gained global notoriety in 2012 when a video of her being bitten on the breast by an angry snake during a photo shoot went viral.

Rumors that the snake had died thanks to its silicone-filled snack followed, but according to Orit, the reptile is still alive and none the worse for its 15 minutes of fame.

Orit says she has no plans to wind down her career or her plans for more surgery.

“I cannot stop this obsession to my beauty,” she insists.

Despite the painful nature of most of the procedures, Orit says she is willing to put up with just about anything to keep her looks.

(Liberty Times)

TODAY’S WORDS
今日單字

1. hold off v. phr.

抵擋；拖延 (di2 dang3; tuo1 yan2)

例: We should hold off making a decision until we have enough information.

(我們應該等有足夠資訊再做決定。)

2. none the worse for phr.

不受…影響 (bu2 shou4 … ying2 xiang3)

例: He seems to be none the worse for these setbacks.

(他似乎不因這些挫折而氣餒。)

3. wind down v. phr.

鬆懈；放鬆 (song1 xie4; fang4 song1)

例: You need to wind down a bit.

(你需要稍微放鬆一點。)

小女孩通常因為長大成人而擺脫對玩偶的著迷。但歐瑞特．福克斯從來沒有。

這名三十四歲的以色列模特兒志在藉整型手術將自己變成真人芭比娃娃，抵擋老化腳步。

為了做到這一點，她要她的整型醫師全天待命，只要她發現一絲皺紋或不滿意她的樣貌，就去找整型醫師。

「我喜歡美麗，」她解釋。「在視覺上，我看起來像芭比，像個玩偶。男人喜歡我的身體，它就像是幻想夢境。」

歐瑞特二０一二年因一段她拍照時被一隻蛇怒咬胸部的影片廣為流傳，而名聞全球。

傳言說那隻蛇後來因為吃到她胸部的矽膠填充物而喪命，但根據歐瑞特的說法，那隻蛇還活得好好的，沒有因為短暫紅了一下而付出代價。

歐瑞特說，她不打算結束模特兒生涯，或減少未來的整型手術計畫。

「我停止不了這種對自己美麗的著迷，」她堅持。

儘管手術大都是痛苦的，但歐瑞特說，為了保持容貌，她願意忍受一切。

（自由時報／翻譯：管淑平）

Listening to music when exercising helps relieve stress 聽音樂做運動 有助放鬆減壓

A woman listens to music while exercising on a treadmill in Taipei on July 4.
一位女士七月四日於台北使用跑步機時聽音樂。

Photo: Chiu Yi-chun, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者邱宜君

Office workers often experience unpleasantness such as stiffness in their neck and shoulders and muscle pain, but most people do not know that these ailments are caused by lack of exercise and the body being depleted of oxygen. Over an extended period of time lack of exercise can cause muscles to lose flexibility and become as hard as stone.

Many office workers make excuses for not exercising, such as not having enough time, being too tired after working, or simply being too lazy. Not having someone to exercise with makes it even easier to slack off. Chen Yi-chin, a doctor who runs a private practice for rehabilitative medicine, says that using music as an exercise partner makes it easier to regulate the intensity of one’s exercise and helps build stamina.

Chen says that a lifestyle consisting of sitting for long periods and not getting enough exercise can deplete the body of oxygen, subsequently causing lactic acidosis, a condition known in the medical field as “oxygen debt.” Oxygen debt acquired during the daytime can only slowly be repaid at night while sleeping, but if too much debt is amassed over a long period of time one will experience rigid neck and shoulders, sore muscles, lower back pain and sore joints. If you can spend some time exercising and increase the body’s metabolism of lactic acid, it will help alleviate work fatigue.

Studies have shown that music can actually improve physical coordination, increase the unloading of oxygen in muscles, and relatively faster music can increase your endurance during exercise. If you arrange the music you listen to while exercising from slow to fast, you will be able to exercise longer. Regardless of the tempo of the music, it can help you pay attention while exercising and increase stamina, Chen says.

Chen suggests listening to music at around 120 beats per minute (bpm) while stretching and doing warm-up exercises, adding that young people can switch to music at 140bpm or even 160bpm when they actually start exercising. Seniors, however, should only use music at around 120bpm for the entire duration of their exercise, he says.

(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)

上班族常有肩頸僵硬、肌肉痠痛等不舒服的感覺，但很少人知道這是因為缺乏運動，身體欠了「氧債」，久了肌肉甚至會失去彈性，僵硬如石。

很多上班族常搬出「沒有時間」、「工作太累」、「懶得運動」等不運動的理由，若找不到人結伴運動，更容易懈怠。開業復健科醫師陳易進建議，不妨以音樂相伴，因為音樂能輔助調控運動強度，還能幫助人堅持下去。

陳易進醫師表示，久坐、缺乏運動的生活型態會使體內缺氧，細胞無氧呼吸的結果是乳酸堆積，醫學上稱為「氧債」。白天的氧債只能晚上睡覺時慢慢還，但是如果堆積太多還不完的氧債，長期下來，就會產生肩頸僵硬、肌肉痠痛、下背痛、筋膜痛等不適，若能花點時間運動、加速乳酸代謝，反而可以消除工作疲勞。

陳易進醫師指出，研究證實，音樂節奏可增加肢體協調度，提升肌肉對氧的利用率，而且快節奏音樂能讓運動持續更久，如果安排音樂由慢到快，還能持續更久，而且不論音樂節奏快慢，對於運動專注力和運動耐力都有加分作用。

他建議暖身與緩和運動時，可以聆聽每分鐘一百二十拍的音樂。如果是年輕人，進入運動期可換到一百四十拍；或是更快的一百六十拍；如果是年紀較長，全程以一百二十拍的音樂為主即可。

(自由時報記者邱宜君）