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Brain donation

 

英國威爾士法例規定，當地居民除非特別提出，否則一律自動登記在器官捐贈冊上。

不過，近日 Cardiff University 主動呼籲老人死後捐出腦袋，不為捐贈，而是作研究腦退化症之用。有腦，你捐唔捐？

 

Older people in Wales are being urged to think about donating their brains after they die to help scientists researching dementia. Researchers at Cardiff University are not actively recruiting at the moment but are still keen to hear from people aged over 85 without a diagnosis. While they also recruit donors with dementia as healthy brains are needed for comparisons.

英國威爾士Cardiff大學的醫學研究人員，呼吁老人家在死後捐出腦部作醫學研究，幫助科學家研究認知障礙症，研究人員也希望85歲以上又沒有有關病症的老人家能夠捐出腦部，因為需要健康腦部組織作比較。

 

dementia 痴呆 / 認知障礙 (noun 名詞)   

 

► Alzheimer's disease 阿茲海默症

 

例子：That patient suffers from dementia. 那位病人患上認知障礙症。

 

keen  (adjective 形容詞) 

 

1. 渴望

to look keen 顯出渴望的樣子

例子：He is keen [=eager] to learn more about biology. 他很渴望學習多些有關生物學的知識。

 

keen on sth 熱衷於某事物

例子：He is very keen on badminton. 他很熱衷於羽毛球。

 

mad keen on /sth 對某人／某事物極度著迷

例子：John's been very mad keen on Betty since they met at my house warming party.  

John在我的入伙派對上見過Betty後，對她非常著迷。

 

2. 敏銳，靈敏 very strong and sensitive 

 

例子：Dog usually has a keen sense of smell. (= The dog has a keen nose. )

狗的嗅覺通常都很靈敏。

例子：My mother had a keen awareness of what was happening. [=she knew exactly what was happening]

我的媽媽對過去發生的事瞭如指掌。

 

They need to study human brain tissue, as looking at the distribution of protein deposits on the brain is the only way to get a definitive diagnosis of the disease.

醫學人員研究人類腦部組織內的蛋白質沉澱的分佈，是搵出這個病症原因的唯一方法。

 

deposit 沉澱 (noun 名詞) 

► oil/coal deposits 油藏／煤藏

 

例子：This is a deposit of mud left by the flood happened last week. 這是上星期水浸後形成的泥沼。

 

deposit 存放 (verb 動詞)

 

to deposit sth. with sb . 把某物委託某人保管

to deposit money at a bank 把錢存入銀行

► bank deposit  (noun 名詞)

 

例子：My father carefully deposited [put, placed] the tools in the trunk of his car. 爸爸小心翼翼地把工具放在車尾箱裡。

 

definitive (adjective 形容詞)  /dɪˈfɪn.ɪ.tɪv/ 

 

1. 最終 / 權威 

例子：The court needs a definitive answer to this question. 法庭對這個問題需要一個終極答案。

 

2. 完整 / 最佳 / 最具代表性的

a definitive biography 完整的個人簡介
a definitive performance 最佳表演

 

definite 絕對的，肯定的 (adjective 形容詞)

 

例子：The boy asks for her mother’s permission but the answer is a definite no.

他向母親申請許可，但不獲批准。（得到的回應是「一定唔得」。）

例子：She is definite that we will win. 她好肯定我們會勝出。

 

Unlike regular organ donation - where people in Wales are presumed to have consented to giving their organs unless they have opted out - those wishing to donate their brain have to make a specific request to do so. Once they have been accepted, they are visited once a year to complete a cognitive assessment to test their memory.

 

opt out （決定不參加） (phrasal verb 片語動詞)

 

例子：I think I'll opt out of this competition . 我不想參加這場比賽。

例子：Some staff opted out of the pension scheme. 部分員工不選擇這個退休方案。

 

 

opt in （選擇參加）(phrasal verb 片語動詞)

 

例子：The government offered a new medial plan so that more people would opt in. 政府提供一個新的醫療方案，讓更多人可以選擇參與。

 

opt 選擇 (verb 動詞)

 

例子：They opted not to buy the travel insurance. 他們選擇不購買旅遊保險。

 

 

Listening test – What is dementia?

 

Q1: When something in your brain is damaged, the person can develop dementia. What is it?
Ans: Nerve cells in the brain (神經細胞)

 

Q2: If a person has troubles reading words or climbing stairs, which area of the brain is most likely to be damaged?
Ans: The (nerve cells in the) back of the brain. 腦後方(的神經細胞)。

 

The brain is the most complex structure in the known universe. Intricate networks of brain cells, bundles of nerve fibres, and hundreds of miles of blood vessels all work in careful unison to keep us ticking every day. Every second of our lives, nerve cells in the brain are firing, but when these cells become damaged, and the connections start to break down, the person can develop dementia. The area of the brain where this damage occurs determines the symptoms and personal experiences. If nerve cells in the back of the brain are damaged, the person’s visions may be affected and they may have troubles reading words or climbing stairs.

 

intricate 錯綜複雜的；複雜精細的；難理解的；難解決的　(adjective 形容詞)

 

例子：The watch mechanism is extremely intricate and very difficult to repair.
手錶的機械結構非常複雜精密，很難修理。

例子：Police officers uncovered an intricate web of deceit. 
警官揭開了一整套錯綜複雜的騙局。

 

A Song For You - "Memory" by Barbra Streisand

 

   
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