英國科學傢們表示，人類出生後幾個小時內接觸到的細菌可能有助於人體免受嚴重的感染。
We come out of the womb sterile, but that doesn’t last for long. All the nooks and crannies of the human body soon become home to microbial life. In this study, scientists took stool samples from 1,000 newborns. Those first colonised by Bifidobacterium longum were half as likely to end up in hospital with a lung infection than those with different starter bacteria.
我們從子宮裡出來時是無菌的，但這種狀態不會持續太久。人體的每個角落和縫隙很快就會成為微生物群落的傢園。在這項研究中，科學傢們采集瞭 1000 名新生兒的糞便樣本。他們發現那些體內最早被長雙歧桿菌占領建立菌群的嬰兒，其日後因肺部感染住院的幾率僅為攜帶其它初始菌群嬰兒的一半。
It’s the first time the way our microbial ecosystem forms has been shown to reduce infections. The researchers at UCL and the Sanger Institute said it was a phenomenal finding. Early life is a critical period for developing the immune system and these latest findings could lead to the development of new therapies similar to a probiotic yoghurt to give good bacteria to babies.
這是首次有研究顯示我們體內微生物生態系統的形成方式可以減少感染。來自倫敦大學學院和桑格研究所的研究人員們稱這一發現意義重大。生命早期是免疫系統發育的關鍵時期，這些最新研究成果可能會促進新療法的開發，類似於益生菌酸奶那樣，為嬰兒提供有益細菌。
詞匯表
sterile 無菌的
nooks and crannies 角落和縫隙
microbial 微生物的
stool samples 糞便樣本
newborns 新生兒
colonised 被…占領
starter bacteria 初始菌群，最早進入人體並建立菌群的細菌群
ecosystem 生態系統
immune system 免疫系統
findings 研究結果
probiotic 益生菌的
聽力練習
一、聽第一遍音頻，回答問題。
1. Is this article about how people catch infections, or how infection can be prevented?
二、用一分鐘閱讀下列問題，然後聽第二遍音頻並回答問題。
1. What starts to grow on our bodies as soon as we are born?
a. nooks and crannies
b. microbes
c. lung infections
2. Bifidobacterium longum could prevent babies being hospitalised.
a. True
b. False
c. Not given
3. The start of our lifetimes is a very important time for developing _______ ?
a. infections
b. our ability to fight infections
c. probiotic therapy
4. This research shows that newborns should be given yoghurt.
a. True
b. False
c. Not given
三、聽第三遍音頻，將句子補充完整。（提示：可以反復聽，直到聽清楚每一個詞）
1. Those first colonised by Bifidobacterium longum were half as likely to ________________ hospital with a lung infection than those with different starter bacteria.
2. The researchers at UCL and the Sanger Institute ________________ phenomenal finding.
答案
一、聽第一遍音頻，回答問題。
1. Is this article about how people catch infections, or how infection can be prevented?
The article is about how infection can be prevented. It mentions how certain bacteria lead to lower rates of lung infections and that treatments could be developed that use ‘good bacteria’.
二、用一分鐘閱讀下列問題，然後聽第二遍音頻並回答問題。
1. b. microbes. We come out of the womb sterile, but that doesn’t last for long. All the nooks and crannies of the human body soon become home to microbial life.
2. a. True. Those first colonised by Bifidobacterium longum were half as likely to end up in hospital with a lung infection than those with different starter bacteria.
3. b. Early life is a critical period for developing the immune system and these latest findings could lead to the development of new therapies similar to a probiotic yoghurt to give good bacteria to babies.
4. b. False. Early life is a critical period for developing the immune system and these latest findings could lead to the development of new therapies similar to a probiotic yoghurt to give good bacteria to babies.
三、聽第三遍音頻，將句子補充完整。（提示：可以反復聽，直到聽清楚每一個詞）
1. Those first colonised by Bifidobacterium longum were half as likely to end up in hospital with a lung infection than those with different starter bacteria.
2. The researchers at UCL and the Sanger Institute said it was a phenomenal finding.
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