节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-12-08
难易度:High
关键字:screening, analyst, cater, engaged, body mass index [BMI]
Hi, everybody. Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
Thanks for joining us today.
My name is Steve.
Well, nobody disagrees that sitting for long periods is unhealthy.
Sitting for a long time increases the risk of diabetes.
It's linked with the development of cancer.
And it raises the risk of heart attack.
All of this basically means the more you sit, the sooner you'll die.
Hmm.
Many adults spend all day at work sitting behind a desk.
Add to this equation the fact that an average adult spends 90 percent of his or
her leisure time sitting, and you get what we call a deadly lifestyle disease.
Let's open our magazines and learn what can be done about this on page 19.
(Music).
Can Your Desk Help You Lose Weight?
The researchers began health screenings for the study in Mayo's "Obesity
Prevention Bus," a lab on wheels.
The bus will return to Caldrea every 30 days for three months to measure changes
in employees' behavior and fitness.
James Greenwood, a senior sales analyst and account manager for Caldrea,
said he jumped at the opportunity to participate in the study because for the
last 14 years, he spent about 35 hours per week sitting at a desk.
He found out that his body mass index (BMI) is 19, well within the range
considered healthy, but he would like to get it lower.
(Music).
Hi, friends.
Thank you so much for joining us.
My name is Ryan.
And my name is Kaylah.
And today we're back looking at: Can you be healthy while you sit at work?
All right.
Well, yesterday we saw that in one company they decided to test the theory of
being able to exercise just a little bit more at your office.
That's right.
They said that if you stand for two hours a day, it increases your health, helps
you work better and just puts you in a better mood.
You are more productive.
Yeah. You can save money too with health care costs, so.
They went to a company called Caldrea where they tested this theory with 30
employees there by giving them adjustable desks.
That's right.
Well, they decided to go in and do the research.
And the researchers then began health screenings for the study in Mayo's
"Obesity Prevention Bus," which is a lab on wheels.
All right.
Now they did screenings.
And the word "screening" means that you test or you exam it or look closely at
something in order to see if there's anything wrong with it.
Yeah. So they go in and they do this.
Actually they do it out of the Obesity Prevention Bus.
Now we learned yesterday that obese means extremely overweight.
So this is working to help prevent or stop you from gaining weight.
And it's in a bus, so it's a lab on wheels.
Exactly.
Now a lab here is a place where you do research.
Usually that's where scientists work with all their chemicals.
And we say it's on wheels because it's a bus.
You're in a bus going somewhere.
So it's able to go from place to place and do this research.
All right.
Now the bus will return to Caldrea every 30 days for three months to measure
changes in the employees' behavior and their fitness.
OK. So this is their goal is they want the people to be... to be gaining health
benefits out of it.
So they selected 30 people, and they're going to test them or go in and screen
their health every 30 days to see if it is actually helping.
And I think this is really cool, Kaylah.
They look at their fitness, which is how healthy and active they are, but they
also look for changes in their behavior.
Yeah. And behavior is how you interact.
What is your personality like?
What mood are you in?
Are you healthier?
You know if you're a healthier person, you tend to be a happier person.
So that's another way to figure out if they're being... having healthier lives.
Yeah. Remember that, friends, if you want to be in better moods, maybe you can
try some exercise.
Now we've heard from the researchers.
Let's hear from some of the workers at Caldrea.
OK. Well, James Greenwood is a senior sales analyst and account manager... and
an account manager for Caldrea.
So let's look at what is his job.
He's a sales analyst.
Exactly.
And we talked about analyzing things before.
An "analyst" is someone whose job it is to study or examine something very
closely.
So he's a senior sales analyst.
So when you're senior, that means you are the highest level or you're the oldest
or the longest lasting.
So he would be the one in charge.
He would have more of a manager-type position.
Now he jumps at the opportunity to participate in this study.
Does that mean he stood above his desk very quickly and start jumping up and
down?
Well, maybe that would give them a lot more exercise, but no.
This phrase, to jump at something, means that you are so excited that you agree
to do it very quickly.
Well, he jumped at the opportunity or the option to participate, to be a part of
the study for very specific reason.
That's right.
He said because for the last 14 years, he spent about 35 hours per week sitting
at a desk.
OK. So he's been working in an office-type setting for about 14 years.
And he said it's jsut a lot of hours - 35 hours a week.
You usually work... 35 is kind of more of a smaller number actually; 40 is
average, and over 40, just sitting there... Oh.
And true, Kaylah, think.
Many people they sit at a desk at work, and then they go home and sit on the
sofa.
That's right.
You go home, you're tired, you sit down.
You watch a movie.
You watch TV.
You sit down to eat your meals.
You're not active.
So he says he spent too much time doing this.
Well, he found out something about his body mass index.
Ryan, what is a BMI?
All right.
Well, that's a body mass index.
And a "body mass index" is a number that says how overweight or underweight you
are.
Now this is kind of a general idea.
People use it to base health off of.
But each person is individual.
So remember, even if you're working towards a healthy BMI,
make sure you're checking with the doctor to make sure that your working towards
the correct one for your health.
Don't let this be the determining factor.
OK. Now a healthy BMI is somewhere between 17 and about 22 or 23.
And his was 19, well within the range considered healthy, but he would like to
get it lower.
OK. This is kind of what we're talking about.
You can be in a healthy BMI, and maybe you still could lose some more weight or
get your BMI a little bit lower.
And that would be even a little healthier.
But just make sure you're not doing this obsessively, Ryan.
You know you need to make sure that you're checking with the doctor before you
consider going to a very low BMI.
That's right, friends. The lower your BMI is, then the less weight you have.
And it's unhealthy to be overweight, but it's just as unhealthy to be
underweight as well.
That's right.
Well, he wanted to be a little healthier.
He's considered healthy now, but he would like to get it lower, which means he'd
like to get his number down a little bit more.
And he thinks that he might have the opportunity with this new study.
OK. So he wants to stay within the range or the area that is healthy but he
still wants to get it lower.
And we'll see what he did after we visit the Chat Room.
Hey, Bryan.
Hi, Ken.
Anything interesting in the news?
Oh, I'm not reading the news.
I'm actually looking at the classified ads.
You see, my cousin is looking for work, and I'm... I'm helping him.
He's looking for work?
You mean he's looking to work.
Isn't work a verb?
Well, work can be either a noun or a verb.
So my cousin is looking for work, or a job.
So we can call a job a work?
No. A job is work; work is uncountable.
A person might be out of work or out of a job.
Oh, I see.
What about "get off work"?
I hear you say that sometimes.
Well, in that usage, work refers to the place where work is done.
Oh, you mean the workplace.
Yes.
So I get off work every day at six o'clock.
And that means I leave the library at six o'clock every day.
So work, as a noun, is always uncountable?
There's no such thing as "works"?
Oh, yes. There is, actually.
We might talk about Shakespeare's works, which make up the total output of
Shakespeare as a writer and a poet.
Oh, I see.
And there is still yet another place where we can use works with an S.
So here to tell us more about that one is Doris.
OK.
In the phrase, public works, "works" is used as a plural noun.
It refers to an area of activity carried out by the government.
Public works projects include the construction and repair of streets and
highways and bridges,
government buildings, etc., that are used for the use of the general public.
Oh, I see.
So I can't say I have a lot of works.
But what if I want to talk about the different aspects of the work I do?
Then you can choose a different word that's countable, like task, chore or
project.
You know, Ken, I completed five tasks before nine o'clock this morning.
Ah, tasks.
That's a good word to use.
It is.
Well, I should keep checking for work for my cousin so that he can have some
task to do and earn some money.
Good luck.