2008年职称英语考试阅读判断习题(十二)(2)

网络资源 Freekaoyan.com/2008-04-11

Dangerous Seats?

In a widely reported case last month, an apparently healthy British woman in her late 20s took a 20-hr flight from Australia to London and collapsed at Heathrow Airport 10 minutes after arrival. She died within hours. An autopsy showed that she had developed deep venous thrombosis (DVT)—a blood clot in her legthat lodged in one of her lungs.

The airline industry, however, disputes the link between cramped seats and DVT, and got support from a new report in the British medical journal The Lancet by Dutch and Italian researchers, which found no added risk from air travel—or long journeys by any other mode of transportation.

While the airlines may take comfort in that report, doctors generally agree that some people are at greater risk for DVT than others when they sit for long periods of time—in the air or on the ground. The folks who have the most reason to be concerned are those with a history of stroke or heart conditions; people older than 65; cancer patients; and anyone with elevated estrogen levels, such as pregnant women or patients taking estrogen supplements. There are also several circulatory disorders that can make the blood more susceptible to clotting. None of these necessarily means you can’t fly; but you should be more careful if you do.

For years, doctors have warned passengers who travel long distances not to stay seated for the entire flight. A known risk factor for blood clots in the leg is remaining sedentary for long periods of time—three hours or more. One of the easiest ways to counteract this risk on an airplane is to get up occasionally for a couple of minutes and walk the length of the plane. If the flight attendants are in the middle of service, just stand next to your seat and do a series of toe raises—lift yourself up on your toes for a couple of seconds, relax, then do it again. Three sets of 10 or 15 are enough to generate forceful leg muscle contractions that will pump the blood up your veins and prevent it from pooling and possibly creating a clot.

练习

1. The family of the British woman who died of DVT filed a suit against the airline with which she had traveled.