英倫翻譯社/ Trsmaster

Years of training cause structural changes in a ballerina’s brain that help her stay balanced in the pirouette, said a report Friday that may aid the treatment of chronic dizziness.

週五一份報告指出，女芭蕾舞者的大腦因多年的訓練產生結構性改變，幫助她在急速旋轉時可以保持平衡，並稱這可以幫助慢性頭昏的治療。

Brain scans of professional ballerinas revealed differences from other people in two parts of the brain： one that processes input from the balancing organs in the inner ear, and another responsible for the perception of dizziness.

專業女芭蕾舞者的大腦掃描顯示，大腦有兩處與其他人不同：一處是處理來自內耳中平衡器官的輸入指令，另一處則是負責頭暈覺知。

Most people, after turning around rapidly, feel dizzy for a period thereafter.

大多數人，在迅速轉圈之後，會有一段時間感到頭暈。

This is because of the fluid-filled chambers of the ear’s balance organs, which sense the rotation of the head through tiny hairs that perceive the fluid swishing about. The fluid continues to move for a while after the spin -- which creates the perception that one is moving when still -- hence the dizziness.

這是因為耳朵平衡器官中充滿液體的腔室，透過細毛感知液體流動進而感覺到頭部旋轉。在旋轉過後液體會繼續流動一陣子—在人靜止時創造出持續移動的感覺—因此感到頭暈。

Ballet dancers can perform multiple pirouettes with little or no feeling of dizziness -- a feat that has long puzzled researchers.

芭蕾舞者可以表演多次豎趾旋轉且鮮少或根本不會覺得頭暈—這是個讓研究者一直困惑的技藝。

The British Dietetic Association’s （BDA’s） Dietitians in Obesity Management Specialist Group （DOM UK） and the Children’s Food Campaign have announced the launch of a new campaign to urge supermarkets to permanently remove unhealthy snacks from checkouts and queuing areas.

英國飲食協會（BDA）肥胖管理專家小組的營養師及兒童食品運動組織，宣布發起一項新運動，力促超市將不健康的零食自收銀台和結帳等候區撤除，不再陳列於該處。

The campaign called Junk Free Checkouts is being launched today and aims to force supermarkets to stop selling sweets near the tills, which exploits the “pester power” of children who nag their parents to buy the snacks.

這項稱為「無垃圾食物收銀台」的運動，旨在迫使超市停止將糖果甜點陳列在收銀台附近販售，這項銷售方式利用孩童一直吵著父母買糖果的「纏功」。

According to DOM UK’s recent nationwide survey, nearly eight in ten shoppers were unhappy with the sale of sugary or high calorie food and drink items at checkouts.

根據肥胖管理專家團體近期所做的全國性調查，10名購物者中有將近8人不滿超市結帳處販售含糖或高熱量食物飲品。

Almost all of the parents surveyed said they had been pestered by their children to buy junk food at the checkouts, and most found it difficult at that particular moment to say no.

幾乎所有接受調查的家長都說，他們曾被孩子糾纏著要買陳列在結帳櫃檯的垃圾食物，而且大多數人覺得在那個時間點難以拒絕。

78 per cent of the respondents said they found junk food at checkouts “annoying”. It also found that 83 per cent have been pestered by their children to buy junk food at the checkouts and 75 per cent have given in to their children and bought something because they were pestered.

78%的受訪者說，他們認為放在結帳區的垃圾食品「很惱人」。這份調查也發現，83%的父母曾在結帳區被孩子纏著要買垃圾食品，75%因此向孩子讓步買了東西。

Myanmar’s tallest man -- "Big Zaw" -- has returned from Singapore where doctors said he underwent successful brain surgery to remove a tumour responsible for his excessive growth.

緬甸最高的男人「大藻」從新加坡回家了，那裡的醫生說他經歷成功的腦部手術，移除一個讓他不斷長高的腫瘤。

Win Zaw Oo, who stands seven feet eight inches tall （233 centimetres） arrived in Yangon on Thursday from the city-state.

身高7呎8吋（233公分）的溫藻烏，週四從這個城市國家返抵仰光。

Media reports about "Big Zaw", who is believed to be the tallest man in the former junta-ruled nation, stirred global interest leading to offers to pay for the $55,000 surgery.

媒體有關「大藻」的報導，據信他是（緬甸）這個前軍事統治國家身高最高的男人，引起全世界注意，從而讓贊助者願意負擔這項5萬5000美元的手術。

Win Zaw Oo, who has spent much of his life barefoot because his family was unable to afford special shoes, is significantly taller than the 168cm average Myanmar man.

溫藻烏身高明顯高於平均身高168公分的緬甸男性，他大多數時候光著腳，因為家裡買不起特製的鞋子。

His case has cast light on the limitations of Myanmar’s threadbare healthcare system, which was neglected during decades of army rule.

他的案例凸顯緬甸陳腐醫療體系的限制，這套系統在軍事統治下被忽略了數十年。

From Chinese bloggers to European central bankers, the world is watching the US government shutdown with a mixture of bewilderment and growing nervousness that any debt default could hit struggling economies.

從中國部落客到歐洲各國央行總裁，全球正以結合了困惑與日益俱增的緊張心情，密切注意美國政府關門事件發展，擔心美國債務違約可能重創經濟陷入困境的其他國家。

In emerging superpower China, a one-party state where legislative deadlock holds little fear for the Communist rulers, the official Xinhua news agency said the situation had once again brought to the fore "the ugly side of partisan politics in Washington".

在新興超級強權中國，共黨統治者所掌控的一黨專制政府根本無需擔心立法程序面臨僵局，官方新華社報導說，這個情況再度凸顯出「華府黨派政治的醜陋面。」

"Though its immediate impact looks limited, the damage will multiply if the drama drags on for days or even weeks, arousing concerns over its spillover effect," it said in a commentary, referring to the US economy.

「儘管其立即性的影響似乎有限，假如這齣戲碼拖延數日或數週，引發外界擔憂其連帶效應，傷害就將擴大數倍，」新華社在一篇提及美國經濟的評論中表示。

While US visa and passport operations are unaffected, the crisis in Washington has forced hundreds of thousands of federal workers to stay at home, closed museums and national parks and put much scientific research on hold.

儘管美國簽證和護照服務不受影響，華府危機卻迫使數十萬名聯邦政府員工留在家中，博物館和國家公園關門，大部份的科學研究也得暫停。

One US researcher who travelled 30 hours to Perth in Australia for a science conference found himself barred from presenting his work on Parkinson’s disease. "It’s actually a federal offence if I do go ahead and give the talk or even continue attending the conference," Michael Lazarou told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

一位美國學者搭機飛了30小時來到澳洲伯斯參加一場科學會議，才發現無法上台發表他對帕金森氏症的研究內容。「假如我上台發表演說，或甚至只是繼續參加會議，事實上都算構成聯邦罪行，」拉札魯對澳洲廣播公司說。

Shortly after President Obama started his second term, a loose-knit coalition of conservative activists led by former Attorney General Edwin Meese III gathered in the capital to plot strategy.

總統歐巴馬展開他的第二任期後不久，由前司法部長愛德恩．梅瑟三世率領一個組織鬆散的保守派運動人士聯盟，在首都聚會出謀劃策。

Their push to repeal Mr. Obama’s health care law was going nowhere, and they desperately needed a new plan.

他們推動推翻歐巴馬醫療健保法的行動苦無進展，亟需一套新方案。

Out of that session, held one morning in a location the members insist on keeping secret, came a little-noticed “blueprint to defunding Obamacare,” signed by Mr. Meese and leaders of more than three dozen conservative groups.

那場某個早晨在一個與會成員堅持保密的地點舉行的聚會，提出一個不太受到注意的「抽掉歐巴馬健保資金藍圖」，由梅瑟和30多個保守派團體領袖簽署。

It articulated a take-no-prisoners legislative strategy that had long percolated in conservative circles： that Republicans could derail the health care overhaul if conservative lawmakers were willing to push fellow Republicans — including their cautious leaders — into cutting off financing for the entire federal government.

這份藍圖清楚明確地訂出一套毫不妥協的立法策略，而這招早已在保守派圈內流傳，就是若保守派議員願意力促同黨議員，包括他們謹慎小心的領袖，切斷整個聯邦政府的資金，共和黨就能破壞醫療健保改革。

To many Americans, the shutdown came out of nowhere. But interviews with a wide array of conservatives show that the confrontation that precipitated the crisis was the outgrowth of a long-running effort to undo the law, the Affordable Care Act, since its passage in 2010 — waged by a galaxy of conservative groups with more money, organized tactics and interconnections than is commonly known.

對許多美國人來說，這次政府關門發生得莫名其妙。但訪談多名保守派人士後顯示，導致這場危機的對峙，是自從「（病人保護暨）可負擔照護法」在2010年通過後，保守派團體長期努力推翻此法的結果，他們有更充沛資金、更多組織戰術，以及比一般所知更緊密的相互聯繫。