THE SILENT KILLER 沉默的殺手

What you don’t know could kill you 你不知道的訊息可能會害你喪命

Do you know your blood pressure? If you don’t, you should. High blood pressure is the number one risk factor for premature death worldwide. High blood pressure, known as the “silent killer,” initially has no outward symptoms. Symptoms may not appear until severe complications have occurred. Blood pressure is the force of the blood pushing against the veins. As more force is exerted, damage may occur to the blood vessels and organs such as the heart, eyes and brain.

There are multiple factors that may increase blood pressure, including high salt intake, old age, smoking, alcohol, stress and obesity. Some preventive measures include:

◎   Quit smoking: Smoking can cause your blood vessels to constrict, increasing your blood pressure.

◎   Limit alcohol intake: Too much alcohol can increase your blood pressure.

◎   Exercise regularly: Thirty minutes of daily exercise can decrease blood pressure by four to nine points.

◎   Lose weight: Losing 10 kilograms has been shown to decrease blood pressure by five to 20 points.

◎   Eat a healthy diet: Don’t exceed 2,000 milligrams of salt each day. Fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains are beneficial.

◎   Reduce stress: Relax with your favorite book, music or movie. Of course, the most important measure of prevention is to know your own blood pressure and to check it yearly.

premature

exert

obesity  n.肥胖、過胖

preventive

【Chat room】

vein血管、靜脈 [jTn]

vain自負、虛榮的[jTn]

He is a vain person. 他是一個非常自負的人

in vain 徒勞無功的

All of his hard work was in vain when his computer crashed.

當他的電腦當機一切的努力都徒勞無功。

vainly徒勞無功地

He searched vainly for his lost keys.

vane 風車、螺旋漿的葉片[jTn]

weather vane風向儀

【Grammar on the go】

Losing 10 kilograms has been shown to decrease blood pressure……

has been shown

在此的show=>to prove

It’s been shown that reading can help students improve their writing.

It has been shown that one out of every eight deaths from smoking is as a result of secondhand smoking.

【Key word】

premature 在成熟之前的、過早的

premature death早逝

premature birth早產

Making a decision now on whether or not we will cooperate with this company would be premature.

現在就決定我們是否要跟這家公司合作還言之過早

exert  使出、用出

He exerted all his strength to open the jammed car door but failed.

他使盡全力想打開卡住的車門，但失敗了

The politician exerted his influence to pass the bill.

這個政治家使出他的影響力想讓這個法案通過

constrict 使縮緊、縮小

His stage fright made his throat constrict when he tried to speak.

他的舞台恐懼症讓得他一試著講話喉頭就緊縮

Due to the recession, the volume of the stock exchange has constricted over the past few months.

由於經濟的肅條，股市交易量在這幾個月都緊縮了。