食物过敏变得越来越普遍了吗？
Are food allergies more common now?
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Neil.
大家好，欢迎来到六分钟英语。我是尼尔。
And, hello, I'm Rob.
大家好，我是罗伯。
In 6 Minute English we often talk about food, don’t we, Rob?
在六分钟英语中，我们经常谈到食物，不是吗，罗伯？
Oh yes! And I love food. It’s a very important topic.
噢，是的。而且我喜欢食物。它是非常重要的话题。
We know that too much of the wrong kind of food can be bad for our health.
我们知道很多错误的食物对我们的健康有害。
But there is another way that food can be harmful for some people.
但是食物对一些人是有害还有另一种方式。
Yes, you’re right.
是的，你是对的。
Some people have food allergies.
有些人会食物过敏。
They can become very ill if they eat certain foods such as peanuts, shellfish, milk and so on.
如果他们吃一些特定的食物，如花生、贝类、牛奶等，他们会病的得很厉害。
So, Neil, do you have any food allergies?
所以尼尔，你对食物过敏吗?
Fortunately I don't, but my daughter is allergic to tree nuts,
幸运的是我不会食物过敏，但是我女儿对坚果过敏，
and so she gets very ill if she eats those.
所以如果她吃了坚果，她就会病得很重。
Oh dear!
天啊！
Well, it seems as if there are more food allergies these days, or more people have them. Or maybe it’s just in the news more.
好吧，似乎现在食物过敏的情况更多了，或者说更多的人会食物过敏。也可能只是新闻报道中食物过敏的例子太多了。
Well, that’s a very interesting point because that is the topic of this programme.
好的，这是一个非常有趣的观点，因为那是本期节目的主题。
Before we find out more though, here is our question.
然而在我们了解更多之前，这里是我们的问题。
One of the most common food allergies is to peanuts.
花生是最常见的过敏食物之一。
Now, what kind of food is a peanut?
花生是哪种食物？
Is it: A) a vegetable B) a nut or C) a legume?
是:A)蔬菜 B) 坚果 还是 C) 豆类？
Oh, come on! A peanut is a nut! There’s a clue in the name there, Neil!
得了吧！花生是坚果！名字里就有线索，尼尔！
But that would be too easy, wouldn't it?
但那简单了，不是吗?
So I’m going to say that I’ve got no idea what a legume is, so that’s my answer. C.
我不知道豆类是什么，所以那就是我的答案。C。
I’ll have the answer at the end of the programme.
我将在节目最后揭晓答案。
To help answer the question as to whether food allergies are more common now, here’s Dr Adam Fox, who was speaking on The Food Programme on BBC Radio 4.
为帮助回答“食物过敏现在是否更常见”这个问题，亚当·福克斯博士做客BBC广播4频道《食品》节目。
Does he think there has been an increase?
他认为食物过敏的例子增加了吗?
I think we can be very confident if you look back over, say, 30 or 40 years that there are much more allergic problems around now than there were.
如果你回顾过去，比如说30或40年，我们能非常确信现在的过敏问题比以前多得多。
So, for example, very robust studies that look at prevalence of things like eczema, food allergy do show really significant increases over 20, 30 years, for example.
所以，例如，关于湿疹，食物过敏等疾病普遍率的精确研究确实表明它们在过去20到30年间都有显著增加。
Has there been an increase?
有所增加吗？
Well, yes. He says there have been significant increases.
好吧，是的。他说有显著增加。
This means there has been a 'clear and obvious rise'.
这意味着有清楚明显的增加。
Why does he think that?
为什么他那样认为？
He said that there have been robust studies.
他说有精确研究。
A study is a piece of research and if you say a study is robust, it means that it was 'very detailed and conducted thoroughly to a high standard'.
研究是一项调查，而且如果你说一项研究robust，那就是说它非常详细，经过高标准的管理。
He said that these studies looked at the prevalence of a few things.
他说这些研究观察了一些事物的普遍程度。
Prevalence is a noun that refers to how common something is, how often it happens.
“prevalence”是一个名词，指某事有多常见，发生的频率有多高。
One of the things they looked at as well as food allergies was eczema.
他们观察的食物过敏症状之一就是湿疹。
This is a skin condition that usually happens in childhood.
这种皮肤病通常发生在孩童时期。
The skin can get, red, itchy and painful over different parts of the body.
身体不同部位的皮肤会发红、发痒和疼痛。
Here’s Dr Fox again.
再听福克斯博士说一遍。
I think we can be very confident, if you look back over, say, 30 or 40 years that there are much more allergic problems around now than there were.
如果你回顾过去，比如说30或40年，我们能非常确信现在的过敏问题比以前多得多。
So, for example, very robust studies that look at prevalence of things like eczema, food allergy do show really significant increases over 20, 30 years, for example.
所以，例如，关于湿疹，食物过敏等疾病普遍率的精确研究确实表明它们在20到30年间都有显著增加。
So what is the reason for the increase in food allergies? Is it genetics?
所以食物过敏增加的原因是什么？是遗传？
Dr Fox again.
再听一下福克斯博士是怎么说的。
We certainly can’t put it down to genetics.
我们当然不能把它归因于遗传。
And we now understand that there is a key role for eczema.
我们可以将其理解为湿疹发生的重要原因。
So, there’s a pretty direct relationship between whether you’ve got eczema during infancy and your likelihood of getting a food allergy.
所以，婴儿时期是否患有湿疹和食物过敏之间有直接关系。
Is it genetics?
是遗传吗？
No, he says 'you can’t put it down to genetics' which means 'you can’t explain it' by genetics.
不，他说你不能把它归因于遗传，那指的是你不能只用遗传解释它。
In fact, according to the research, if you have eczema as a child, you are more likely to develop food allergies.
事实上，根据调查研究，如果你在儿童时期患有湿疹，你更有可能患上食物过敏。
Here's Dr Fox one more time.
再来听一遍福克斯博士的解释。
We certainly can’t put it down to genetics.
我们当然不能把它归因于遗传。
And we now understand that there is a key role for eczema.
我们可以将其理解为湿疹发生的重要原因。
So, there’s a pretty direct relationship between whether you’ve got eczema during infancy and your likelihood of getting a food allergy.
所以，婴儿时期是否患有湿疹和食物过敏之间有直接关系。
OK! Now, time to review our vocabulary, but first, let’s have the answer to the quiz question.
好的！现在，是时候回顾词汇了，但首先，让我们来揭晓测试题的答案。
I asked: what kind of food is a peanut?
我问:花生是什么类型的食物?
Is it: A) a vegetable B) a nut C) a legume?
是A)蔬菜B)坚果C)豆类？
What did you say, Rob?
罗伯，你刚才说什么？
I said C) a legume, because that was only one I didn’t know,
我说是C)豆类，因为那是我唯一不知道的，
and it can’t be as simple as being a nut!
而且答案不可能像坚果那样简单！
An inspired guess!
只是一个来自直觉的猜测！
If you said C) legume, then congratulations.
如果你选的是C)豆类，那么恭喜你。
Despite the name, a peanut is not actually a nut.
尽管名字相似，但花生实际上并不是坚果。
Rather conveniently though, we don’t have time for me to explain exactly why it’s not a nut, but I’m sure you’re smart enough to look it up yourself.
虽然很方便，但是我们没有时间解释为什么它不是坚果，但是我相信你会聪明地自己查阅。
So, you’re not going to explain it?
所以，你不打算解释一下？
No, sorry, we don’t have the time.
不了，抱歉，我们没时间了。
Sounds to me like you’re allergic to hard work, Neil!
这在我听起来像是你对努力工作过敏，尼尔！
Nice link to today’s vocabulary.
来复习下今天的词汇。
We do have time for that.
我们有时间讲这个。
Today we’ve been looking at the topic of food allergies.
今天我们一直在谈食物过敏的话题。
This is when a particular food causes a medical problem.
讲的是一种特殊的食物引起的医学问题。
The problem could be minor or it could be very serious, even fatal and these are called allergic reactions.
这个问题可能很小，也可能很严重，甚至致命，而且这些被称为过敏反应。
The topic has been investigated with robust studies.
这一主题已经通过准确的研究进行调查。
This is research that has been done in a very detailed, accurate and thorough way.
这是一项非常详细、准确和彻底的研究。
The next word was the noun prevalence.
下一个词是名词“普遍”。
This is used to talk about how common or how frequent something is.
这个词被用来描述某事有多常见或多频繁。
In this research, they examined the prevalence of food allergies in certain age groups.
在这项研究中，他们对特定年龄组的食物过敏患病率进行检测。
Closely connected to food allergies is eczema.
湿疹与食物过敏密切相关。
This is a medical condition that makes your skin dry, painful and itchy over different parts of the body.
这是一种使你身体不同部位的皮肤干燥、疼痛和发痒的疾病。
It was reported that there had a been a significant increase in the number of people suffering from eczema and food allergies.
据报道，患有湿疹和食物过敏的人数显著增加。
A significant increase is a big and important increase.
显著增长是一个巨大而重要的增长。
And finally we had the phrase to put something down to something.
最后我们学了短语put something down to something。
This means 'to say one thing is the reason for another'.
这意味着“说一件事是另一件事的原因”。
In this case, you couldn’t put the increase in food allergies down to genetics.
在这种情况下，你不能把食物过敏的增加归因于遗传。
You know what I put the success of 6 Minute English down to?
你知道我把六分钟英语的成功归因于什么吗？
No, what's that, Rob?
不知道，是什么，罗伯？
Your great knowledge of different subjects and skill as a presenter and communicator.
你对不同主题的丰富知识以及作为演讲者和沟通者的技巧。
Well, that’s very kind of you…
嗯，你真是太好了……
but I still don’t have time to explain what a legume is!
但是我还是没有时间解释豆类是什么!
In fact now it’s time to wrap up this edition of 6 Minute English.
事实上，现在是时候结束这一期的《六分钟英语》了。
We look forward to your company again soon.
我们期待着您的再次参与。
In the meantime, check us out in all the usual places, online and on social media.
与此同时，在所有常见的地方查找我们，网上和社交媒体。
We are BBC Learning English.
我们是BBC学英语。
Bye for now!
再见了!
Goodbye!
再见！