Exposure to polluted air is like smoking a pack a day

by Katie Hunt & Jen Christensen

Long-term exposure to air pollution, especially ground-level ozone, is like smoking about a pack of cigarettes a day for many years, a new study says, and like smoking, it can lead to emphysema（肺气肿）.

long-term 长期的
exposure /ɪkˈspəʊʒə(r)/ n. （无防护地）接触（有害物质）（由expose加后缀-ure变成名词）
level /ˈlev(ə)l/ n. 水平、高度、浓度
ozone /ˈəʊzəʊn/ n. 臭氧
lead to 造成、导致

The study, published in the medical journal JAMA, is the largest of its kind. It looked at more than 7,000 adults aged 45 to 84 for over a decade in six US metropolitan（大都市的） areas. They were all healthy when they started the study, and researchers controlled for factors that could compromise lung health, including age and whether the person was a smoker or was regularly exposed to second-hand smoke.

publish /ˈpʌblɪʃ/ v. 发表
medical /ˈmedɪk(ə)l/ adj. 医学的
journal /ˈdʒɜːn(ə)l/ n. 期刊
decade /ˈdekeɪd/ n. 十年
researcher /rɪˈsɜːtʃə(r)/ n. 研究者（由research加上表示人的后缀-er）
factor /ˈfæktə(r)/ n. 因素
compromise /ˈkɒmprəmaɪz/ v. 给…带来伤害
lung /lʌŋ/ n. 肺
smoker /ˈsməʊkə(r)/ n. 吸烟者（由smoke加上表示人的后缀-er）
regularly /ˈreɡjələli/ adv. 常常
expose /ɪkˈspəʊz/ v. 暴露、（无防护地）接触（有害物质）

The study looked at exposure to air pollution – specifically ground-level ozone, fine particulate（微粒） matter, nitrogen oxide and black carbon. Using a CT scan, researchers were able to see that exposure to each of the pollutants was associated with the development of emphysema, a lung condition that causes shortness of breath, and is usually associated with cigarette smoking.

specifically /spəˈsɪfɪk(ə)li/ adv. 具体说（由specific加后缀-ally变成副词）
fine /faɪn/ adj. 细小的、细微的
matter /ˈmætə(r)/ n. 物质
nitrogen /ˈnaɪtrədʒən/ oxide /ˈɒksaɪd/ 氮氧化物
carbon /ˈkɑːb(ə)n/ n. 碳
CT 计算机断层扫描
scan /skæn/ n. 扫描
pollutant /pəˈluːt(ə)nt/ n. 污染物
associate /əˈsəʊsieɪt/ v. 联系
condition /kənˈdɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 疾病
cause /kɔːz/ v. 造成
shortness /ˈʃɔːtnəs/ n. 短（由short加后缀-ness变成名词；shortness of breath就是呼吸短促）

The strongest association between a pollutant and emphysema was seen with exposure to ozone, which was the only pollutant associated with an additional decline in lung function. Exposure to ozone irritates and inflames the lining of our lungs when we breathe. It can leave us winded, cause asthma（哮喘） attacks, make us more susceptible（易受伤害的） to infection.

association /əˌsəʊsiˈeɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 联系（由associate加后缀-ion变成名词）
additional /əˈdɪʃ(ə)n(ə)l/ adj. 额外的
decline /dɪˈklaɪn/ n. 下降
function /ˈfʌŋkʃ(ə)n/ n. 功能
irritate /ˈɪrɪteɪt/ v. 刺激（身体部位）
inflame /ɪnˈfleɪm/ v. 使红肿、使发炎
lining /ˈlaɪnɪŋ/ n. （器官的）内壁、内膜
winded /ˈwɪndɪd/ adj. 呼吸困难的、喘不过气的
infection /ɪnˈfekʃ(ə)n/ n. 感染

Ground-level ozone is the part of smog that you can't see. It's colorless and it comes from the photochemical transformation that occurs when pollutants interact with sunlight.

smog /smɒɡ/ n. 雾霾
colorless /ˈkʌlələs/ adj. 没有颜色的（由color加上表示否定的后缀-less并变成形容词）
photochemical /ˌfəʊtəʊˈkemɪk(ə)l/ adj. 光化学的（由chemical加上表示光的前缀photo-）
transformation /ˌtrænsfəˈmeɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 转变、彻底改变（由transform加后缀-ation变成名词）
occur /əˈkɜː(r)/ v. 发生
interact /ˌɪntəˈrækt/ v. 相互作用

"The increase in emphysema we observed was relatively large, similar to the lung damage caused by 29 pack-years of smoking and 3 years of aging," said Dr. R. Graham Barr, a professor of medicine and epidemiology（流行病学） at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and a senior author of the paper. One pack-year means smoking a pack of cigarettes a day for a year.

increase /ˈɪnkriːs/ n. 增加、上升
observe /əbˈzɜːv/ v. 观察、观测
relatively /ˈrelətɪvli/ adv. 相对而言
age /eɪdʒ/ v. 变老（它加-ing时，在英式英语中写做ageing，在美式英语中写做aging）
senior /ˈsiːniə(r)/ adj. 资深的、高级别的
paper /ˈpeɪpə(r)/ n. 论文

"These findings matter since ground-level ozone levels are rising, and the amount of emphysema on CT scans predicts hospitalization from and deaths due to chronic lower respiratory（呼吸道的） disease," said Barr.★

matter /ˈmætə(r)/ v. 是重要的、有重大影响
hospitalization /ˌhɒspɪtəlaɪˈzeɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 住院治疗
chronic /ˈkrɒnɪk/ adj. （疾病）慢性的
★ 这句话的最后，hospitalization from和deaths due to是并列关系，后面跟的都是chronic lower respiratory disease

"Ground-level ozone is produced when UV light reacts with pollutants from fossil fuels," added Barr. "This process is accelerated by heatwaves, so ground-level ozone will likely continue to increase unless additional steps are taken to reduce fossil fuel emissions and curb climate change. But it's not clear what level of ozone, if any, is safe for human health."

UV 紫外线
react /rɪˈækt/ v. 起化学反应
fossil /ˈfɒs(ə)l/ n. 化石
process /ˈprəʊses/ n. 过程
accelerate /əkˈseləreɪt/ v. 加速、使加速
heatwave /ˈhiːtˌweɪv/ n. 热浪（由heat和wave组成）
increase /ɪnˈkriːs/ v. 上升（注意它做动词和做名词时发音不同）
step /step/ n. 步骤
emission /ɪˈmɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 排放
curb /kɜːb/ v. 抑制

英文原文节选自CNN
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/08/14/health/air-pollution-emphysema-study-climate-scn/index.html