空气污染削弱智力

河北乐亭第一中学 胡金莹

随着工业的迅猛发展，空气污染已经成为我们生活中非常严重的问题。长时间呼吸被污染的空气不仅会给我们的身体带来很大的不良影响，而且也会导致我们的智力水平下降。因此，治理空气污染问题迫在眉睫。

题材文章词数环保348 难度 ★★★体裁建议用时说明文6′

Air pollution is a killer.The World Health Organization says it kills about seven million people around the world each year.Even if polluted air does not kill us，it can make us very sick.However，breathing dirty air may do more than hurt your body.It can also affect your brain and your ability to think.

A new study shows that air pollution can cause a “huge” reduction in our intelligence.Long-termexposureto air pollution can affect a person's mental abilities in two areas：language and mathematics.

The researchers studied about 25，000 people from across China.These Chinese men，women and children were given language and math tests.Then researchers compared the test results with measurements of pollution in the air.They found that breathing polluted air can reduce a person's education level by about one year.The effectgenerallyis worse for those over 64 years of age，for men and for those with little or no education.Besides，the effect of pollution on verbal（言语的）ability is even more serious as people age，especially among men and the less educated.

There are two main kinds of tissue（组织）in the brain：white matter and gray matter.White matter is more connected with a person's language skills，while gray matter is connected to our ability to solve math problems.Air pollutionhas a great effect onthe white matter in the brain，but not the gray matter.

The study wascarried outin a single country.But the findings may be important to people all over the world，especially those living in highly polluted areas.People who work outdoorsfall intoa high-risk group.However，that does not mean those who work inside buildings are safe from air pollution.The smallest pieces of air pollution，called PM2.5，can go directly into people's brain.So，no matter whether you stay outdoors or indoors， everyone isaffected.Therefore， the governmentpolicymakers need toengage incleaning up the skyin the long terminstead of investing in shortterm avoidance，such as the face masks or air filters （过滤器）.

Reading Check

Air pollution is a killer.It can not only hurt our 1______.__，but also reduce our 2._______.According to a study in 3._______，air pollution has a serious effect on our 4._______skills，especially for 5._______who are more than 64 and for those with little or no 6._______.For those who work 7.________，air pollution is more serious.However，those who work indoors can also be 8._______.Therefore，it is high time that our 9._______should take measures to 10._______up the sky.

Language Study

Ⅰ.Important vocabulary in the text

1.exposuren.暴露

2.generallyadv.通常；普遍地；一般地

3.be connected with与……有关

4.have a great effect on对……有很大的影响

5.carry out执行；完成

6.fall into陷入

7.engage in从事；参加

8.in the long term从长远来看

Ⅱ.Sentence for writing

while意为“然而”，表示对比。

大脑白质与一个人的语言技能联系更紧密，然而，大脑灰质与我们解决数学问题的能力相关。

White matter is more connected with a person's language skills，_________gray matter is connected to our ability to solve math problems.

【仿写】众所周知，在冬天，南方的天气温暖，然而北方的天气非常寒冷。