BBC 6 Minute English | BLOOD | English Subtitle

source: Daily Listening    2016年9月11日
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https://youtu.be/YZ9GASZzFH8

0:07 In this programme we're going to be talking about blood.
0:10 Yes.
0:11 Blood?
0:12 Did I ever tell you, Rob, that I really hate the sight of blood?
0:16 And I've even been known to faint – that's to lose consciousness - at the sight of a needle.
0:23 Come on, Finn.
0:24 I think you've got a lot to learn.
0:26 You wouldn't be here without it, you know!
0:27 It's a fascinating topic.
0:29 All sorts of discoveries are being made these days, which could change medical science for ever.
0:35 Yes.
0:36 Well, you are right, of course.
0:37 Blood was even thought to relate to human character.
0:40 People were hot-bloodied – quick to anger – or cold-bloodied – lacking in passion.
0:47 There were all the myths about vampires when young blood was thought to revitalise older people.
0:53 There's a dreadful story that a Hungarian countess had hundreds of young women killed
0:57 so she could bathe in their blood and stay youthful-looking.
1:01 Right.
1:02 OK.
1:03 And in Roman times, if a young gladiator died in battle, people used to drink his blood
1:10 because they thought it would keep them healthy.
1:12 For 3,000 years, people have been cut or given leeches to let out the blood because they
1:17 thought that would make people better.
1:20 Incredibly, it carried on until the 19th century.
1:23 But it actually made people worse, or even killed them.
1:26 So I won't be doing that today.
1:29 OK.
1:30 Instead, how about answering a question all about blood Finn?
1:32 Go on then.
1:33 If you laid out all the blood vessels in an adult body end to end how long would they be?
1:40 Would they be… a) 30,000 miles
1:42 b) 100,000 miles or c) 200,000 miles long?
1:47 Well, let's say 100,000 miles.
1:50 That's b).
1:51 OK.
1:52 Well, we'll see if you got the right answer at the end of the programme.
1:54 OK, well let's talk more about blood now.
1:58 We've heard about blood in history but Finn, did you know that today beauticians are running
2:02 businesses in which people pay to have their blood extracted, then injected into their face?
2:10 Yes I have heard about this.
2:12I t's thought to rejuvenate – that's to give new life to - their skin.
2:18 Michael Mosley has had just that done to his face as an experiment.
2:21 He's a doctor and presenter with the BBC.
2:25 Let's listen to him talking about it.
2:27 He uses an expression that means "go faster".
2:30 Can you tell me what it is?
2:33 Sometimes known as the Vampire Facelift, PRP – Platelet Rich Plasma therapy – claims
2:40 to accelerate healing and reverse the signs of ageing.
2:46 First my blood is treated to make a concentrated solution of platelets in plasma.
2:51 Next, this is injected directly into my face.
2:56 Ouch!
2:58 And the word he used was "accelerate".
3:00 Now that means to make faster.
3:03 And he said they "treated" his blood.
3:05 This means "changed or transformed" it.
3:08 Well, today, of course, controlled blood transfusion is a completely normal medical practice that
3:15 saves countless lives.
3:17 And blood donors – the people who give their blood – are an important part of healthcare.
3:21 Yes, Finn, but there's all sorts of other amazing things that blood can do.
3:26 If we are running at altitude – high up - the limbs get tired because there's not
3:31 enough oxygen.
3:32 The blood then starts creating new red cells and pours them into the system.
3:37 That's why athletes often train in the mountains.
3:40 Altitude training, isn't it?
3:42 And, apparently, the different types of food you eat have an immediate effect on your blood,
3:47 or rather the element of blood called plasma.
3:51 So, if you eat a cholesterol-high breakfast, for example, very soon after that you can
3:57 see the fat in the blood.
3:59 Nice.
4:01 Ideas about how blood moves around your body have changed a lot over the years too.
4:05 The Romans thought blood flowed one way and came out of our feet and hands and was then
4:10 burnt away.
4:12 But William Harvey in the 17th-century found that blood circulated viaveins and arteries
4:17 – these are the tubes in our body where blood is carried around.
4:21 And let's not forget clotting – that's when the blood hardens.
4:25 If our blood didn't clot when we cut ourselves we'd be dead within minutes.
4:30 It is really fascinating isn't it?
4:32 And we're just beginning to understand stem cells.
4:36 These are also in the blood and are used to repair various organs in the body
4:41 Modern science is really helping us to understand blood properly for the first time and showing
4:46 us the way forward.
4:47 Now Rob, before my blood boils, could you let me know the answer to the quiz question
4:53 Rob?
4:54 Yes.
4:55 So, I asked you if you laid out all the blood vessels in an adult body end to end how long
5:00 would they be: 30,000 miles, 100,000 miles or 200,000 miles?
5:05 Well, I said 100,000 miles.
5:08 Wow.
5:09 And you know your blood vessels, because you got that question right.
5:12 Well, I measured them earlier.
5:14 Good.
5:15 And how do you feel about blood now?
5:17 Well, I'm probably a bit scared of it still.
5:20 But now that I know all of these wonderful things that it does, I really get why it's
5:24 so important.
5:25 Great.
5:26 So, let's remind ourselves of some of the words we've said today, Finn.
5:31 Here we are: faint
5:33 rejuvenate, transfusion
5:37 cholesterol-high veins and arteries
5:43 clotting, accelerate
5:48 treated. Thank you.
5:50 Well, that's it for today.