VOA慢速英语：植物可能有助于女性长寿

Living among trees, plants and flowers can fill your life with beauty.And if you are a woman, it can also help you live longer.

居住在花草树木间，你的生活里会到处散发着美的气息。若你要是一名女性，还可以长寿。

Researchers found that women who live in homes surrounded by plants appear to have lower death rates than women who live in areas with less greenery.

研究者认为，女性若住在四处环绕植物的地方，死亡率较低，而那些住在绿化较少地方的女性，则死亡率较高。

Researchers at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health reported the finding.

哈佛大学陈曾熙公共卫生学院的研究者公布了此发现。

Peter James is a research associate in the school’s Department of Epidemiology.An epidemiologist is an expert in how disease spreads and how it can be controlled.

皮特·詹姆斯是该校流行病学系的助理研究员。流行病学家指专门研究疾病如何传播和控制的专家。

James and his team looked at information from one of the largest and oldest investigations of women’s health:the Nurse’s Health Study.The Nurse’s Health Study began 40 years ago and expanded in 1989.It now has information on nearly 200,000 women.

詹姆斯和他的团队查找信息，信息来源是有关女性健康问题的最大型、且年代最久的一项调查：护士健康研究。护士健康研究40年以前就开始了，1989年时调查全面展开。目前，护士健康研究已收集了近20万名女性的信息。

For the new study, the Harvard team looked at the mortality rates of more than 100,000 women between the years 2000 and 2008.Then the researchers compared the mortality rates of these women to the greenery around their homes.

哈佛团队为进行本次新研究，查看了2000年到2008年间10万多名女性的死亡率。随后，调查团队将这些女性的死亡率与她们居住地周围的绿化程度进行了对比。

To determine the amount of trees and other vegetation, researchers examined satellite images.The researchers considered other risk factors – things such as the age of the women, their economic status, race and ethnicity.They also looked at whether or not the women smoked.

研究者为确定树木和其它植物的数量，还调查了卫星图像。他们还考虑到了其它风险因素，比如女性年龄、她们的经济地位、民族与种族。他们还查看了这些女性是否吸烟。

The study found that the mortality rate among women who lived in the greenest spaces was 12 percent lower than those from the least green areas.

研究发现，居住在绿化率最高地区的女性要比绿化率最低地区的女性死亡率低百分之十二。

Peter James said he and his team were surprised to find such a strong link between high vegetation levels and low mortality rates.He added they were also surprised to find how high levels of plant life can affect a woman’s mental health.

皮特·詹姆斯称，能够发现高植被水平和低死亡率之间存在密切的联系，他和团队都表示惊讶。他补充道，他们同样还惊讶于发现植物寿命长可影响女性的心理健康。

The study suggests that living among vegetation — trees, flowers and other plants — lowered levels of depression.Researchers say women in greener areas spent more time with other people, exercised more and were less exposed to air pollution.

研究显示，女性生活在花草树木间，抑郁的可能性较低。调查者称，生活在绿化更好地区的女性会花很多时间与其他人接触，并且会进行更多的锻炼，较少接触空气污染。

One of the biggest effects of greenery appeared to be a lowered risk of respiratory disease and cancer.Here are some numbers.The study found that women living in areas with the most greenery had a 34 percent lower rate of dying from a respiratory disease and a 13 percent lower rate of dying from cancer.

患呼吸疾病和癌症风险较低是绿化最大的影响之一。一些数据可以证明这一点。研究发现，生活在绿化率最高地区的女性死于呼吸道疾病的风险，会比在绿化率低地区的女性低百分之三十四，而死于癌症的风险也会低百分之十三。

James says that it is common knowledge that vegetation helps the environment in many ways.But, he adds,the new findings suggest ways for city planners, landscape architects and policymakers to grow even healthier living areas.

詹姆斯称，大家都知道植物对环境有很多方面的利处。但他补充道，新的研究为城市规划师、造园技师和决策者提供了很多建议，帮助他们建造更健康的生活地区。

I’m Anna Matteo.

安娜·马特奥报道。