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Unit6HealthandFitnessAnalyticalListening1Announcer:Everyone,IjustwanttothankDr.WallaceagainforbeingthefirstguestspeakerinourHealthlineseries.Wehopethatthisisthefirstofmanyseminarsabouthealthylivingintoday’sworld.Dr.Wallace:Itwasmypleasuretobehere.Announcer:So,nowyou’veheardwhatDr.Wallacehastosayaboutpesticidesandhowtheyrelatetoourhealthandtheenvironment.Let’sopenthefloorupforquestions.Wewouldappreciatehearingfromyou.Ithinkwehaveourfirstquestion.Goahead,sir.MaleSpeaker1:OK.Here’smyquestion.Dr.Wallace,Iheardthatflame-retardantsarenowturningupinthehumanbody.Isthistrue,andifso,howdangerousarethosechemicals?Dr.Wallace:Allright.Well,flame-retardants—whicharechemicalsthatmakeproductsdifficulttoburn—areaddedtojustaboutanyproductthatcanburn,andtheysavehundredsoflivesayearintheUnitedStatesalone.Unfortunately,onefamilyofflame-retardantcompoundscalledPBDEshavebeenshowingupinthebloodofhumans,butlittleisknownabouttheirimpactonourhealth.Inhighamounts,theyhavecausedhealthproblemsinlaboratoryanimals.However,itlooksasthoughthesmallamountsofPBDEsthatnormallyaccumulateinthehumanbodyaren’tworthworryingabout.Announcer:Thankyou,Doctor.Wehaveanotherquestion.Thewomaninthethirdrow.Goahead.FemaleSpeaker1:Hi,Dr.Wallace.I’mamotheroftwoyoungchildren,andIrecentlymovedintoanewapartment.Ijustfoundoutthatthewallsarepaintedwithleadpaint.WhatshouldIdo?Dr.Wallace:Well,it’sknownthatevenverysmallamountsofleadcancausebraindamageinchildren.Ifthepaintischippingorflaking,callyourlandlord.It’shisorherresponsibilitytofixtheproblem.Anothergoodoptionistomove,butifyoucan’t,atleastmakesurethatyourchildrenaren’texposedtopaintchipsordust.Announcer:Thatsoundslikegoodadvice.Let’stakeanotherquestion.OK,goahead.MaleSpeaker2:Hello,Doctor.Ieatalotofseafood—especiallyswordfishandtuna.Isthereanydangertomefrommercuryinthosefish?Dr.Wallace:Mercuryisaverydangerouspollutantwhichpersistsforalongtimeintheenvironment.Itneedstobetakenseriouslybecausemercurypoisoningcanpermanentlydamagememoryandourabilitytolearn.Coal-burningpowerplantsareamajorsourceofmercury.Itgetsintothewaterandintothebodiesofthesmallestanimalsfirst.Thesesmallanimalsareeatenbylargerones,whicharetheneatenbyevenlargerones,andsoonupthefoodchain.Dr.Wallace:Largefishatthetopofthefoodchain,suchastunaandswordfish,accumulatehighamountsofmercury—andpassitontopeoplewhoeatseafood.Now,itdoesn’tappearthattracesofmercuryinthebloodareaseriousproblem,butIcouldbewrong.Eatingtoomuchofthosefishcouldraisetheamountofmercuryinyourbodytoadangerouslevel,soIwouldadviseyoutoeattheminmoderation—meaningareasonableamount.Announcer:Well,itlookslikewehavetimeforonemorequestion.Theladyintheredshirt.Goahead.FemaleSpeaker2:Helloandthanksfortakingmyquestion.WhatI’mconcernedaboutismyconstantcell-phoneuse.Couldithaveanegativeimpactonmyhealth?Dr.Wallace:That’saninterestingquestionandoneI’msuremanyareconcernedabout.Onecommonconcernisthedangerofdrivingandusingacellphoneatthesametime.Cellphonestakeourattentionofftheroad,andthatcanleadtoaccidents.Thesolutiontothatproblemissimple:turnoffyourcellphonewhiledriving,anddon’tevertextmessagewhiledriving.Anotherconcernhastodowithradiation.Forthoseofyouwhoaren’tfamiliarwiththis—radiationisenergythatcertainmachinesandsomesubstancesproduce.Largeamountsofradiationcanbedangerous.Cellphonessendinformationusingradiation,sonaturallywe’reexposedtothatradiationwhenweuseourphone.Dr.Wallace:Cell-phoneradiationhascausedbraincancerinrats,butitsdangertohumansisdifficulttoassess.Somestudieshaveindicatedthatcellphonesaresafe,butsomeotherstudiesseemtolinkcell-phoneradiationwithbraincancerinhumans,especiallyinpeoplewhohavebeenusingcellphonesforadecadeorlonger.I’mnotaltogethersurethatyoucaneliminateradiationexposurefromcellphones,butpeoplewhoareconcernedaboutitcanreducetheriskbyusingaheadset.Thiskeepsthephoneawayfromyourheadandexposesyoutolessradiation.Announcer:I’mafraidthat’sallthetimewehave.Thanksverymuch,Dr.Wallace,fortheinformationandadvice.We’llseeyouallatnextmonth’sseminaraboutorganicfoods.Listening2Jennifer:Hi,Stan.Howareyou?Howwasyourday?Stan:Hi,Jennifer.Itwasgreat.IspenttodayatYosemiteNationalPark.Iwasrockclimbing.Jennifer:Thatmusthavebeenfun.Howlonghaveyoubeenrockclimbing?Stan:Well,Istarteddoingitforexerciseafewyearsago.Ahalfhourofrockclimbingisequivalenttoaboutanhourofjogging,andIwasclimbingforthreehourstoday.Jennifer:Youmustbeexhausted.Stan:Oh,yes,it’sreallychallenging.Andit’sgreatstrengthtrainingtoo,forjustabouteverymuscleinthebody.Jennifer:Butisn’titalittledangerous?Stan:Well,thatreallydependsonwhichversionofclimbingyoudo.Indoorclimbingtakesplaceinaclimbinggym.Youcanusesafetyropesthatcatchyouifyoufall.Thewallsareprettyeasytoclimb—nottoohigh—andthefloorisusuallyprettysoft,soitdoesn’thurtsomuchifyoudofall.Jennifer:Itmustbeprettysafe,then,huh?Stan:Itis,andit’sbecomingreallypopular.Priorto1980,thereweren’tanyclimbinggymsintheU.S.Sincethenthere’sbeenabigexpansion,andtodaythereareclimbinggymsinall50states.Andit’snotjustinthiscountry.Theexpansionhasbeenglobal,too.Therearethousandsofclimbinggymsaroundtheworld.Jennife