時差N小時:洗手的重要性

D: Today, it's time once again foranother Gross Fact of the Month.

今天再來談下另一個令人厭煩的話題。

Y: Uh oh! I hope no one's eating!

我希望沒人在吃飯。

D: Okay, ready? In a recent study of people passing through major U.S. airports, it turned outthat about thirty percent weren't washing their hands after using the bathroom.

準(zhǔn)備好了嗎?最近對經(jīng)由美國主要機(jī)場的人群的調(diào)查顯示，大概百分之三十的人上廁所后不洗手。

Y: Phew! that wasn't nearly as gross as I thought it would be.

那沒有我想象中的那樣令人討厭。

D: Well, think of the consequences. These people who don't wash their hands don't just keepthem in their pockets. They walk around shaking other people's hands, holding babies, andhandling food and doorknobs.[qh] 想下結(jié)果吧。不洗手的人們不會只把手放在口袋里，他們四處走也會和別人握手，抱小孩，拿吃的，并接觸門把手。

Y: Okay, so that it a little gross.

喔，那有點(diǎn)惡心。

D: So basically, these folks are running around exposing the fastidious hand washers amongus to infections that can range from the pesky common cold to SARS, which can be fatal.After all, many infections are transmitted through hand-to-hand contact.

根本上來說，這些人使那些仔細(xì)洗手的人會接觸到各種疾病，從普通的流行感冒到致命的SARS。畢竟許多接觸是通過握手來傳播的。

Y: I see what you're getting at.

我明白你所說的了。

D: What's interesting is that people tend to exaggerate when they're asked about hand-washing. In surveys, ninety-five percent of people claim to wash their hands every time, whenthe actual observed percentage is much lower. So think about the fact that only aroundseventy-five percent of people claim to wash their hands after sneezing or coughing!

有意思的是人們傾向于夸大洗手的次數(shù)。在調(diào)查中，95%的人聲稱他們每次都洗手，而實際觀察到的比率要遠(yuǎn)低于這個百分比。想想打噴嚏和咳嗽后有75%的人聲稱會洗手的事實。

Y: The actual numbers there are much lower too, huh?

實際數(shù)字要比那低得多,對吧?

D: Probably. On the bright side, since the SARS outbreak in Toronto, hand-washing rates at theairport have been near to one hundred percent. So all it takes to get people scrubbingdiligently is a major epidemic.

很可能。好的方面是，自從SARS在Toronto爆發(fā)后，在機(jī)場洗手的比率接近百分百。所以所需要做的就是讓勤洗手成為一種習(xí)慣。

Y: You call that a bright side?

你將那稱為好的方面?

D: Well, the other alternative is education on the importance of washing hands. Now all weneed is a catchy slogan.

另一方面也要教育人們洗手的重要性，我們現(xiàn)在需要的就是容易記住的口號。

consequence n.結(jié)果 doorknob n. 門把 fastidious a.難取悅的，挑剔的 pesky adj. 討厭的epidemic n.盛行 catchy adj. 易記住的