Experts Recommend Screening Newborns for Heart Defects(1)
One of the scariest things a new parent can hear is, \"your baby has a birth defect.\" But some of the most dangerous birth defects are invisible ones, such as deformities in the baby's tiny heart. Now, a group of U.S. experts is recommending that all newborns get a simple, inexpensive screening for critical heart defects. Congenital heart disease only affects about one birth out of 120 in the United States, and only a fraction of those are considered critical. But given the number of babies born each year, it adds up.
About 3/4 of critical heart defects can be identified by routine tests already in use. \"But unfortunately there're still cases that can slip through. And the challenge is that it can be almost impossible to identify some of these cases. These are babies that otherwise look totally normal and like every other baby in the nursery.\"
Alex Kemper is a pediatrician at Duke University and a member of the expert panel that is recommending infants be screened for critical heart problems using a simple, non-invasive test called pulse oximetry. The idea is to measure the oxygen level in the blood. Low oxygen levels may signal a problem with the heart. 新生儿父母最怕听到的消息之一便是“你的宝宝有先天缺陷。” 但一些十分严重的先天缺陷
却是隐性的，例如，先天性心脏畸形。
现今，美国一组专家建议，给新生儿做简单便宜的检查，检测其是否患有严重的心脏缺陷。在美国，120名新生儿中，仅有1例患先天性心脏病，且只有一小部分病情严重。
但鉴于每年新生儿的基数庞大，患者的数量也就不容小觑。通过现有的例行检查，可以查出约四分之三的严重心脏病。“
但遗憾的是，仍有一部分病例未能被检测出来。更麻烦的是，其中有些病例几乎不可能被发现。因为这些孩子单从外观看来完全正常，与育儿室的其他健康宝宝并无二致。”
亚历克斯坎帕是杜克大学的小儿科医师，她所在的专家组建议让新生儿做一个简单无伤害的检查，即脉搏血氧饱和度检测，来筛查严重心脏疾病。该检查的目的是测量血液的含氧量，含氧量低可能是心脏病的征兆。
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The test measures oxygen levels indirectly, by shining certain wavelengths of light through a foot or finger onto a sensor on the other side.
Kemper says it's important to identify kids with these critical heart problems early on in life.
\"Because these are conditions that really need early intervention in that if you were to discharge some of these children without providing any medical care, they could go home and even die.\" Although pulse oximetry screening is easy and cheap, the hard part comes when an infant is identified with a potential heart defect. More
advanced testing is then needed, and even in a wealthy country like the United States, not all hospitals can provide those services. So does the screening make sense in more resource-poor areas? Kemper says yes, because it can identify some hidden problems that may not require expensive, high-tech treatments.
\"Anything that causes low oxygen levels in the blood would test positive. And so, there are potential other spillover effects including identifying important infections.\"
The recommendations of the expert workgroup, including Duke University's Alex Kemper, on screening newborns for heart defects is published online by the journal Pediatrics.
脉搏血氧检测通过光线照射手指或者脚投射到另一端传感器的波长来间接测试血氧含量。
坎帕说这个测试对于确诊这些幼年早期患有严重心脏问题的孩子十分重要。
“因为先天性心脏缺陷的婴幼儿确实需要早期干预治疗，而如果漏过了常规检查，没能给其中某些孩子提供任何治疗措施，他们就会简单的出院回家，甚至面临死亡。”
虽然脉搏血饱和度的检查简单方便且花费不高，但接下来的难题在于当某个婴儿被发现具有潜在心脏缺陷之后又该如何处理？确诊需要更先进的测试手段，然而即使在美国这样富裕的国家，也不是所有医院都可以提供那些设施的。
所以，在资源贫乏的地区做这种检查有意义么？坎帕给出了肯定的回答，因为它可以检测出其它很多隐藏的疾病，而这些疾病不需要昂贵的、高科技的治疗方法。
“任何能导致血液中含氧量低的物质在检测中都呈阳性。所以，该项检测有潜在的溢出效应，
可以帮助其它治疗的进行，包括确诊一些重要的感染。”
杜克大学教授亚历克斯·坎帕所在的这个专家组建议检查新生儿心脏缺陷的文章被《儿科》杂志发布在了网上。
2011/09/04
Volunteering in America is an annual study. \"We have found that volunteering is core to who we are as Americans.\" Heather Peeler is a spokeswoman for the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency that conducted the study.
\"What we've found is that volunteers are working with youth through mentoring and tutoring. More than a quarter of volunteers are helping non-profit organizations raise needed funds. And one out of five volunteers are giving what we call 'sweat hours', the general labor that's needed to help non-profit organizations run.\"
The U.S. has a long tradition of volunteering, as opposed to many European countries where government is pervasive and provides most of basic services, like free daycare for children and comprehensive medical care. In addition, recent cuts in the budgets of many U.S. states have made volunteering even more essential.
《美国志愿服务》是一份年报。
西瑟•皮勒说到，“我们知道，志愿服务是美国人的核心价值。”。她是国家和社区服务公司(CNCS)的发言人。该公司是联邦机构，负责组织年报的调查工作。
“我们了解到，许多志愿者在指导和教育青少年。 超过四分之一的志愿者在帮助非盈利组织筹集资金。五分之一的志愿者付出所谓的„苦力‟，以帮助维持非盈利机构的运营。”
美国有着悠久的志愿服务的传统。而一些欧洲国家则不一样，他们的政府无所不至，也会提供大多数的基本服务，比如免费的儿童日托服务和全面的医疗护理。另外，美国的许多州政府都在缩减开支，志愿服务也因此显得更为重要了。
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原文：
Peeler says last year American volunteers provided services valued at nearly $173 billion. Utah ranked number one among the U. S. states. Among cities, Minneapolis-St. Paul, in Minnesota, led the way. \"The people in our communities in the greater twin cities say we're not just gonna complain about a problem, we're gonna do something to help solve it.\"
Kathy Saltzman is executive director of the Minnesota Education Corps. More than 900 members of this organization donate a year, without pay, to help improve children's literacy. \"If children cannot read by third grade, they have such overwhelming obstacles to overcome in order to be successful because first you learn to read, and then after third grade, you read to learn.\" 皮勒表示去年美国志愿者提供的服务价值接近1730亿美元。犹他州在美国各州中排名榜首，而明尼苏达州的双城明尼阿波利斯-圣保罗则是城市中的佼佼者。
“在更大的双城地区，社区志愿者称我们不会直接去抱怨问题，而是想做些事情来帮助解决问题。”
凯茜.萨尔茨曼是明尼苏达教育团的行政主管。该机构每年都会有超过900名成员无偿捐款，就是为了帮助提高孩子的读写能力。
“如果孩子到了三年级还不会阅读，他们在通往成功的道路上就需战胜很大的困难，那是因为首先你要学习着去阅读，而三年级之后，你就要通过阅读来学习。”
2011、09、07
With Tropical Storm Lee bearing down on the U.S. Gulf Coast, authorities are taking action. Oil and gas producers shut down platforms and evacuated workers from the Gulf, and the governors of Mississippi and Louisiana declared states of emergency.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal warned of the potential for flooding. \"This is gonna be a slow moving storm. There's gonna be a lot of rain, and that water is gonna accumulate. And I think the biggest concern is that you're gonna have an accumulation of water 'cause that, that water is gonna pile up. It's gonna come so quickly and for such a long time, it's not gonna be able to drain.\"
One of the areas at risk is the Louisiana city of New Orleans. The city is more than two meters below sea level and shaped like a bowl, making it prone to flooding.
In 2005, New Orleans suffered devastating damage from Hurricane Katrina, and Mayor Mitch Landrieu is urging residents to be ready for Lee. \"We are all prepared and should
prepare for localized flooding and we've taken all necessary precautions to do that, and we're encouraging citizens in New Orleans to make their preparations. Again, you know, prepare for the worst and let's hope for the best.\"
随着热带风暴Lee逐渐向美国墨西哥湾逼近，美国政府已经开始采取行动。 油气生产者关闭了运作平台，并把工人从墨西哥湾撤出；密西西比州和路易斯安那州州长也都宣布全州处于紧急状态。
路易斯安那州州长博比•金德尔警告说，可能会发生洪灾。他说：“这次飓风可能会移动缓慢，造成大量雨水积聚。我认为最大的担忧是雨水聚集到一块会造成洪水泛滥，到时候来势汹涌，而且在很长一段时间内都不能排干。
路易斯安那州的新奥尔良市是危险地区之一。它的位置比海平面还要低两米多，形状就像一只碗，这样的地势使它容易发生洪涝灾害。
在2005年，新奥尔良就遭受过飓风卡特里娜带来的毁灭性破坏；市长米奇•兰德瑞欧要求市民做好应对热带风暴Lee的准备。他说：“我们已经做好准备，并且应该为局部地区发生洪灾做好准备。我们已经采取了所有必要的预防措施，并且鼓励新奥尔良的市民们也做好他们自己的预防措施。再一次，抱最好的希望，做最坏的打算。”
【BBC教学频道】奥巴马和卡梅隆
On Tuesday two men enjoyed a game of table tennis against some kids at a school in London.
They seemed like best mates. Every time one of them got a point, they did a high five.
The men were the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, and the President of the USA, Barack Obama.
The palling around took place during Mr Obama's state visit to the UK. There have been many examples of close working relationships between the leaders of the UK and the USA. Harold Macmillan and JFK, Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, Tony Blair and George Bush were all examples of Brits and Americans standing shoulder to shoulder.
The closeness between Britain and America in the past has been described as \"the special relationship\". But there has been speculation that, for Mr Obama at least, the special relationship is... not that special.
Now both men are keen to show that on matters of policy they have plenty in common. In a shared opinion piece in the Times newspaper, they write of \"coming of age\" at the same time, and seeing \"eye to eye\".
As for the special relationship, they call it \"an essential relationship\". Nick Robinson, the BBC's Political Editor, says that the two men are not pretending to be bosom buddies but want to be seen as close allies. He writes:
\"'The essential relationship' may lack emotion, warmth and nostalgia but it, like the president, is meant to be contemporary, practical and sincere.\"
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