Heating up in Iceland
Brett has just returned from a trip to Iceland. He，s filling his sister Helen in on the details.
Helen：So， Frosty， how was your trip to the frozen north？ Meet any other snowmen？
Brett：That shows what you know. Iceland may be chilly， but it，s one of the hottest places in Europe.
Helen：I have heard it，s become a popular tourist destination. Reykjavik is trendy with a lot of globetrotters nowadays.
Brett：I，m not talking about its popularity. I，m talking about the ground temperature there. Iceland，s full of hot springs.
Helen：Hot springs in Iceland？ What are they like？
Brett：They，re amazing！ The Blue Lagoon is a mineralrich seawater lake heated by lava. It，s near a power plant outside Reykjavik， and it，s absolutely spectacular.
Helen：It，s near a power plant？！ Thanks， but I，ll pass. I，d like to have children someday.
Brett：That，s what I thought at first， too. But it actually turns out that the water in the lake is considered healthy. It has a high content of salt and silica， and they say it can help cure skin problems like psoriasis and eczema4.
Helen：I think I，ll stick to my bathtub. Besides， Iceland，s a long way from here.
Brett：Suit yourself， but you，re missing out on the best bath in the world！
热力冰岛
布雷特刚从冰岛旅行回来，正详细地给妹妹海伦讲旅途情况。
海伦：那么，雪人，你的北方极地之行怎么样？碰到其他雪人了吗？
布雷特：一看你知道的就不多。冰岛是挺冷的，但它是欧洲最热的地区之一。
海伦：我听说冰岛已经成为观光胜地了。雷克雅未克现在是很多环游世界者的新宠。
布雷特：我不是说冰岛有多受欢迎，我是在讲那里地面的温度。冰岛到处都是温泉。
海伦：冰岛有温泉？什么样子的？
布雷特：棒极了！蓝泻湖是一个由火山熔岩形成的咸水湖，富含矿物质。就在雷克雅未克近郊的一个发电厂附近，真是太壮观了。
海伦：在发电厂附近？多谢，但我不去。我将来还要生孩子呢。
布瑞格：一开始我也这样想。但经过证实，湖水是有益健康的。它含有丰富的盐分和硅，可以治疗牛皮癣和湿疹之类的皮肤病。
海伦：我想我还是在我的浴缸里泡泡好了。何况冰岛离这儿也太远了。
布瑞格：随你便。只是你会错过全世界最棒的天然浴。
Planet of the Humans： Why Haven，t Apes Evolved into Humans？
Virginia and her guest， Johnson， have just watched Planet of the Apes on DVD：
Johnson： Hmm. Apes that evolve into something humanlike？ Pretty unlikely， methinks.
Virginina： Definitely. Evolution within a species or family of species does not have to increase in complexity.
Johnson： Right. If it did， every fish in the ocean would now have limbs and live on land.
Virginina： Exactly. Because countless ecological opportunities remained for fish underwater， plenty of them remained aquatic.
Johnson： Another thing： the most developed species， like humans and apes， are products of a very specific combination of selection pressures and genetic mutations over millions of years. There，s no reason why such a combination will repeat itself.
Virginina： Right. Planet of the Apes simply exploits the fallacy1 that presentday apes are traveling down the same evolutionary path as ourselves.
Johnson： When it，s widely accepted among scientists that at some point five to eight million years ago， humans and apes diverged2 to form the two separate species we know today.
Virginina： Yeah. As descendants of a common ancestor， apes are our evolutionary cousins.
Johnson： The main bone of contention3 remaining among the boffins4 is which species in the fossil record is the socalled“missing link.”
Virginina： What John say？ Virginia not understand.
地球疑问：为什么类人猿未变成为人
弗吉尼亚和客人约翰逊刚刚看完DVD影片《决战猩球》：
约翰逊：嗯，类人猿进化成和人类一样？我想不太可能。
弗吉尼亚：当然，某一物种或某一群物种的进化不一定增加其复杂性。
约翰逊：对，如果会增加复杂性，那海里的鱼现在就应该长了四肢，住在陆地上了。
弗吉尼亚：没错。因为海底的生态环境仍然为水族提供了无尽的生存机会，所以很多鱼仍然是水栖动物。
约翰逊：还有，最先进的物种，比如人类和类人猿，是数百万年前物竞天择的压力和基因突变两者结合作用下的产物。这种结合未必会再次发生。
弗吉尼亚：对，《决战猩球》采用了另类推论，认为当今类人猿的演化途径和人类是相同的。
约翰逊：科学家们已经广泛地接受了以下观点：约在500万到800万年以前，人类和类人猿分别进化成为目前我们所知道的这两个物种。
弗吉尼亚：是啊，类人猿和我们来自同一祖先，他们可以算是我们的表兄弟姐妹呢！
约翰逊：科学家们目前主要争论的焦点是，化石纪录中的哪个物种才是所谓的“失去的一环”。
弗吉尼亚：约翰逊说什么？弗吉尼亚不懂。
A Diet High in Whole Grains
Diane and her dad， Pete， are at a bakery， choosing some bread for lunch：
Pete：Ah！ That，s what I want - nice， crusty white loaf.
Diane：But Dad， a man of your age should be eating healthier bread.
Pete： Hey， I，m not that old！ Anyway， I don，t believe all that stuff and nonsense about white bread versus brown， brown rice versus white， and what have you.
Diane：Dad， I，m not a med student for nothing！ There was a Harvard report published in a nutrition journal all about this. I think you should hear me out.
Pete：OK， OK. But no lectures. I know I，m overweight with high blood pressure， and I don，t see how eating wholegrain bread is gonna make much difference.
Diane：Well， it does. Research has shown that a diet high in whole grains helps in staving off diabetes in older men， even obese ones.
Pete：Hey， lay off on the “obese” bit； I，m cuddly OK. So， white bread increases the risk - is that what you，re saying？
Diane：Actually， no. Eating white bread and rice doesn，t increase the natural chance of developing diabetes per se， but eating whole grains instead will reduce it.
Pete：So I，m right！ This white bread won，t do me any harm！
Diane：Yes， but it won，t do you any good， either.
多食全麦食品
黛安和她的父亲皮特在面包店选午餐吃的面包。
皮特：啊！这就是我要的——美味的硬皮白面包。
黛安：但是，爸爸，你这种年纪的人应该吃更健康的食物。
皮特：嗨，我还没那么老！不管怎样，我才不相信那些白面包跟黑面包相比，糙米跟白米相比之类的废话。
黛安：爸，我这个医学院学生可不是白当的！有一篇发表在营养学期刊上的哈佛大学报告都在谈论这件事。我觉得你应该听我说完。
皮特：好，好。但是不要长篇大论。我知道我太胖又有高血压，但我不认为吃全麦面包会有什么改善。
黛安：嗯，有差别的。研究已显示多吃全麦食物能帮助老人预防糖尿病，甚至对肥胖的老人也有用。
皮特：嗨，不要说我肥；我胖得很可爱，好吧。那么，吃白面包会增加患病的风险，是你说的吗？
黛安：事实上，不对。吃白面包和白米饭本身不会增加患糖尿病的自然机率，而吃全麦面包可以减少这种可能性。
皮特：所以我是对的！这种白面包不会对我有什么坏处！
黛安：没错，但也不会对你有什么好处。
Cut Back on Sodium Rich Foods to Lower Blood Pressure
Two colleagues， Bill and Mary， are havinge lunch in their office cafeteria.
Mary： I can，t believe my eyes， Bill. Are you having salad for lunch？ No burger？
Bill：Get used to it， Mary. I，m off burgers for good. Most fast food is loaded with sodium.
Mary： I know. But why your sudden interest in lessening your salt intake？
Bill：My doctor says I should cut back on sodiumrich foods to lower my blood pressure.
Mary： Do you have hypertension？ I would have thought you were too young.
Bill：Actually， my blood pressure isn，t that high yet， but they say it increases with age.
Mary： Well， I，m glad you，re starting to pay more attention to your diet.
Bill：I want to lower my risk of heart attack and stroke， too.
Mary： So do I. That，s why I，ve been trying to lower my cholesterol level.
Bill：I，ve noticed you，ve been munching4 away on lots of fruits and vegetables recently.
Mary： That，s right. I could stand to lose a few pounds， too.
Bill：In that case， you should come to my health club with me.