必克四级拓展：VOA慢速

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语健康报道。

A debate has continued for years in the United States about sports-related brain injuries, or concussions. Conflicting studies add fuel to arguments on both sides.
美国关于体育相关脑损伤或脑震荡的争论已经持续多年。互相矛盾的研究为双方的论点提供了依据。

Now the U.S. President has stepped into the middle of the debate. Barack Obama held an informational meeting on the subject last month at the White House. He gathered representatives of professional sports groups, coaches, parents, young athletes and medical professionals to discuss the issue.
而现在美国总统也走进了争论的中心。奥巴马上月在白宫就此议题举行了一次信息会议。他将专业运动团体、教练、家长、年轻运动员和医疗专业人员的代表召集起来对这个问题进行了讨论。

American football is the sport often at the center of the concussion debate. But, a high school soccer player opened the meeting. Tori Bellucci is a skilled athlete. But she had to reject a college scholarship to play soccer after experiencing five concussions.
美式橄榄球是脑震荡辩论的焦点，但是宣布会议开始的却是一位高中英式足球运动员。托里•贝鲁奇（Tori Bellucci）是一位训练有素的运动员。但她在经历五次脑震荡后，不得不拒绝了一项大学奖学金。

"The reason we're here today though is, all across the country parents are also having a more troubling conversation and that's about the risks of concussions. There's a lot of concern but there's a lot of uncertainty. And as Tori's story suggests, concussions are not just a football issue. Every season you've got boys and girls who are getting concussions in lacrosse and soccer and wrestling and ice hockey as well as football." 
奥巴马说：“我们今天聚在这里，是因为全国各地的家长对脑震荡风险颇有微辞。目前有很多关注，也有很大不确定性。而托里的经历表明，脑震荡不仅仅是美式橄榄球面临的问题。每个赛季都有孩子在曲棍球、英式足球、摔跤、冰球以及美式橄榄球运动中发生脑震荡。”

Mr. Obama notes that sports-related head injuries are increasing each year among young people. He suggests that one reason for the rise could be that parents, teachers and coaches now better recognize the signs of a concussion. These signs include lack of balance, unclear thinking, head pain and problems with eyesight.
奥巴马指出，年轻人中间的体育相关脑损伤正逐年增加。他认为增加的原因之一可能是因为家长、老师和教练现在更好地认识到了脑震荡的症状。这些症状包括平衡感差、思路不清、头痛以及视力问题。

The president says he does not want young people to avoid sports. Instead he is calling for more research.
奥巴马表示，他不希望年轻人远离运动。相反他呼吁进行更多研究。

"We want our kids participating in sports. I'd be much more troubled if young people were shying away from sports. As parents though, we want to keep them safe and that means we have to have better information. The fact is, we don't have solid numbers. And that tells me that at every level we're still trying to fully grasp what's going on with this issue."
奥巴马说：“我们希望孩子们参加体育运动。如果年轻人远离运动我会更加困扰。虽然身为父母，我们希望保证他们的安全，而这意味着我们需要更多信息。但事实是，我们没有可靠的数据。这提醒我，我们还停留在试图弄清楚怎么回事的阶段。”

Mr. Obama says that there is one thing all sides can agree on -- the fact that sports are very important, or vital, to American culture, identity and economy. But, he warns that sports need to be as safe as possible for young people to play.
奥巴马表示，体育运动对美国文化、特性和经济非常重要，在这点上各方意见一致。但他警告说，体育运动必须尽可能保证年轻人的安全。

"The one thing we can agree on is that sports are vital to this country. And it's a responsibility for us to make sure that young, talented kids like Tori are able to participate as safely as possible. And that we are doing our job both as parents, school administrators, coaches ... to look after them."
奥巴马说：“我们一致认同，体育运动对美国非常关键。而确保像托里这样的青年才俊能够尽可能安全地参与体育运动是我们的责任。我们所做的像家长、校方以及教练一样，即照顾好他们。”

To help reach that goal, he announced a joint effort from the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Department of Defense. He said the $30 million project will carry out the widest study ever of concussions.
为了帮助实现这一目标，奥巴马宣布了全美大学生体育协会和国防部开展的一项联合举措。他说，这项耗资3000万美元的项目将对脑震荡进行最广泛的研究。

And that's the Health Report. I'm Anna Matteo.
以上就是本期健康报道的全部内容。我是安娜•马特奥（Anna Matteo）。

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