文章大意:本文是说明文。文章讲述了科学家们发现由于一个未被注意到的威胁的结果:空气污染。我们的嗅觉正在下降,嗅觉缺失症正成为所有年龄段暴露在pm2.5环境中的人普遍存在的问题。
A strong sense of smell is a key component of a healthy and enjoyable life. Yet our sense of smell is in decline as a result of an unnoticed threat to our health: air pollution.
Scientists are finding that anosmia, a loss of the sense of smell, is becoming a widespread problem among people of all ages exposed to PM2. 5 pollutants constantly, which are tiny particles (微粒) that can enter our bodies with every breath we take.
The reason, they suggest, is that the olfactory bulbs (嗅球), which are located in our noses and packed with nerve endings, are affected by exposure to air pollution. The tiny particles cause illness either in the bulbs themselves or in the brain, impacting our sense of smell over time, “Our data show the risk of developing anosmia with constant particulate pollution is 1.6 to 1.7 times higher,” says Ramanathan, a doctor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, America.
Ramanathan is an author of a recent study of nearly 2,700 patients, a fifth of whom had anosmia despite many of them being non- smokers.’ When he and his colleagues looked into the backgrounds of the affected patients, they found most of them lived in neighborhoods with significantly higher levels of air pollution.
The findings prove other studies with similar findings. One of these studies, conducted in a town in Italy, found that more than 200 teenagers and young adults between the ages of 15 and 25 suffered olfactory damage as a result of exposure to NO2, a common component in traf-fic emissions. “This is alarming as olfactory loss affects patient safety, well-being, and it is a predictor of poor health,” says Ramanathan.
Yet the loss of a sense of smell is a condition that is often overlooked though it can bring about numerous health problems. A sense of smell is linked to memory as well and life is a lot less fun without it. “People don’t remember what the pastry that they ate in childhood looked like, but they remember what the shop smelled like,” says Ramanathan.
12. How air pollution negatively influences our sense of smell!?
A.It blocks the inside transport of information. |
B.It prevents the nerve system functioning normally. |
C.It leads to the brain requiring more time to respond. |
D.It results in diseases in the olfactory bulbs or the brain, |
13. What can we conclude from the two studies?
A.Air pollution can rob us of our sense of smell. |
B.Smokers are more likely to suffer from anosmia. |
C.Traffic emissions contribute a lot to air pollution. |
D.Exposure to PM2.5 pollutants occasionally is harmless. |
14. What does Ramanathan think of the loss of people’s sense of smell?
A.Confusing and astonishing. | B.Complicated but treatable. |
C.Critical and concerning. | D.Disturbing but temporary. |
15. From which is the text probably taken?
A.A travel brochure. | B.A science website. |
C.A biology textbook. | D.An art magazine. |