VOA常速：低头看手机和电脑对身体造成慢性伤害

燕山大学 刘立军 编写

u TRANSCRIPT

Cellphones and computers are just about everywhere on earth. People hunched over these devices and it causes more harm than they realize. When Dr. Lushantha Gunasekera began feeling pain, he thought he needed strength training. “It was mainly pain on, in my upper back and, and neck, and shoulder area and it was just on the one side.” 

A fitness trainer at the Orlando Health gym knew the pain was due to poor posture. “Internally rotated shoulders, rounded back. Head is down. Neck is down.” Melendez worked with Gunasekera on his posture. All that hunching or jutting your head forward to look at a screen compresses your neck muscles. This causes fatigue, muscle tension and headaches. 

It can also injure the vertebra in your back, but it can be prevented and corrected. “You’ll be surprised with strengthening your core into impartial corrective exercises can do for your body.” 

Melendez says even being slightly unaligned can cause major strain, but researchers at Orlando Health found that less than half the Americans they surveyed seem to care. Even a slight misalignment can cause major strain. For every two and a half centimeters your head moves in front of your body, four and a half kilograms of pressure is added to your shoulders. If you move your head forward 100 millimetres, the way imbalance is even greater. “That’s the equivalent to having a child sit on your shoulders.” 

Gunasekera says changing his posture made a huge difference. “Discussing what I was doing incorrectly. Doing more core exercises, more mobility. Being cognizant every day about my posture. It’s really helped out, and now I don’t have pain there anymore.” 

Melendez says while you’re using a computer or cellphone, make sure your eye level with the screen. If you can, take frequent breaks and work on your posture.

Adapted from http://www.kekenet.com/broadcast/201910/598221.shtml

u VOCABULARY

1. hunch v. to bend the top part of your body forward and raise your shoulders and back 弓身；弓背；耸肩。用法：

l（单独使用的动词) 例如：She leaned forward, hunching over the desk. 她身体前倾，伏在写字台上。

l（动词+名词短语）例如：He hunched his shoulders and thrust his hands deep into his pockets. 他耸着肩，双手深深地插进衣袋。

2. vertebra n. any of the small bones that are connected together to form the spine 椎骨；脊椎

3. unaligned adj. 不结盟的；未对齐的

4. cognizant adj. 察知的，认识（某事物）的

u EXERCISES

TASK I

Read the passage. Then listen to the news and fill in the blanks with the information (words, phrases or sentences) you hear.

Cellphones and computers are just about everywhere on earth. People hunched over these devices and it causes more ___________________ than they realize. When Dr. Lushantha Gunasekera began feeling pain, he thought he needed _____________________________. “It was mainly pain on, in my upper back and, and neck, and shoulder area and it was just on the one side.” 

A fitness trainer at the Orlando Health gym knew the pain was due to _____________________. “Internally rotated shoulders, rounded back. Head is down. Neck is down.” Melendez worked with Gunasekera on his posture. All that hunching or jutting your head forward to look at a screen __________________ your neck muscles. This causes fatigue,  _____________________ and headaches. 

It can also injure the vertebra in your back, but it can be  _______________. “You’ll be surprised with strengthening your core into impartial corrective exercises can do for your body.” 

Melendez says even being slightly unaligned can cause ____________________, but researchers at Orlando Health found that less than half the Americans they surveyed seem to care. Even a slight misalignment can cause major strain. For every two and a half centimeters your head moves in front of your body, four and a half kilograms of pressure is added to your shoulders. If you move your head forward 100 millimetres, the way imbalance is even greater. “That’s the ______________________ to  having a child sit on your shoulders.” 

Gunasekera says ________________________ made a huge difference. “Discussing what I was doing incorrectly. Doing more core exercises, more mobility. Being cognizant every day about my posture. It’s really helped out, and now I don’t have pain there anymore.” 

Melendez says while you’re using a computer or cellphone, make sure your eye  _______________ the screen. If you can, take frequent breaks and work on your posture.

TASK II

Read the statements. Then listen to the news and decide whether the statements are  true (ü) or false (û) .

q 1. People hunched over cellphones and computers and it causes more harm than they realize. 

q 2. All that hunching or jutting your head forward to look at a screen compresses your waist muscles. This causes fatigue, muscle tension and headaches. 

q 3. It can also injure the vertebra in your leg, but it can be prevented and corrected. 

q 4. Gunasekera changed his posture and made a huge difference. 

q 5. According to Melendez, we should take frequent breaks and work on our musles while we’re using a computer.

u KEY 

TASK I

Read the passage. Then listen to the news and fill in the blanks with the information (words, phrases or sentences) you hear.

Cellphones and computers are just about everywhere on earth. People hunched over these devices and it causes more  harm than they realize. When Dr. Lushantha Gunasekera began feeling pain, he thought he needed  strength training. “It was mainly pain on, in my upper back and, and neck, and shoulder area and it was just on the one side.” 

A fitness trainer at the Orlando Health gym knew the pain was due to  poor posture. “Internally rotated shoulders, rounded back. Head is down. Neck is down.” Melendez worked with Gunasekera on his posture. All that hunching or jutting your head forward to look at a screen  compresses your neck muscles. This causes  fatigue, muscle tension and headaches. 

It can also injure the vertebra in your back , but it can be prevented and corrected. “You’ll be surprised with strengthening your core into impartial corrective exercises can do for your body.” 

Melendez says even being slightly unaligned can cause  major strain, but researchers at Orlando Health found that less than half the Americans they surveyed seem to care. Even a slight misalignment can cause major strain. For every two and a half centimeters your head moves in front of your body, four and a half kilograms of pressure is added to your shoulders. If you move your head forward 100 millimetres, the way imbalance is even greater. “That’s the equivalent to  having a child sit on your shoulders.” 

Gunasekera says  changing his posture made a huge difference. “Discussing what I was doing incorrectly. Doing more core exercises, more mobility. Being cognizant every day about my posture. It’s really helped out, and now I don’t have pain there anymore.” 

Melendez says while you’re using a computer or cellphone, make sure your eye  level with the screen. If you can, take frequent breaks and work on your posture.

TASK II

Read the statements. Then listen to the news and check the true (ü) or false (û) statements.

þ 1. People hunched over cellphones and computers and it causes more harm than they realize. 

ý 2. All that hunching or jutting your head forward to look at a screen compresses your waist muscles. This causes fatigue, muscle tension and headaches. 

    正确表达：All that hunching or jutting your head forward to look at a screen compresses your neck muscles. This causes fatigue, muscle tension and headaches. 

ý 3. It can also injure the vertebra in your leg, but it can be prevented and corrected. 

    正确表达：It can also injure the vertebra in your back, but it can be prevented and corrected. 

þ 4. Gunasekera changed his posture and made a huge difference. 

ý 5. According to Melendez, we should take frequent breaks and work on our muscles while we’re using a computer. 

    正确表达：According to Melendez, we should take frequent breaks and work on our posture while we’re using a computer.