衛生類A級：閱讀理解Multivitamins Urged

　　A recent study in Tanzania found that when pregnant women

　　took vitamins every day， fewer babies were born too small.

　　Babies that weigh less than two and one-half kilograms at birth

　　have a greater risk of dying. Those that survive are more likely

　　to experience problems with their development. And experts say

　　that as adults they have a higher risk of diseases including

　　heart disease and diabetes. The World Health Organization1

　　estimates that every year twenty million babies are born with

　　low birth weight. Nine out of ten of them are born in developing

　　countries.

　　The new study took place in Dares Salaam. 4， 200 pregnant

　　women received multivitamins. The pills contained all of the

　　vitamins in the B group along with2 vitamins C and E. They also

　　contained several times more iron and folate than the levels

　　advised for women in developed nations. Pregnant women

　　especially in poor countries may find it difficult to get enough

　　vitamins and minerals from the foods in their diet.

　　The scientists compared the findings with results from a

　　group of 4，000 women who did not receive the vitamins. A report

　　by the scientists， from the United States and Tanzania， appeared

　　in the New England Journal of Medicine. 3 Wafaie Fawzi of the

　　Harvard University School of Public Health4 led the study. None

　　of the women in the study had HIV， the virus that causes AIDS.

　　The scientists reported earlier that daily multivitamins were a

　　low-cost way to reduce fetal deaths in pregnant women infected

　　with5 HIV. The earlier work in Tanzania also found improvement

　　in the mothers in their number of blood cells known as

　　lymphocytes. Lymphocytes increase the body’s immunity against

　　infection.

　　The new study in pregnant women who were not infected with

　　the AIDS virus found that multivitamins reduced the risk of low

　　birth weight. Just under eight percent of the babies born to

　　women who took the multivitamins weighed less than 2，500 grams.

　　The rate was almost nine and one-half percent in the group of

　　women who received a placebo， an inactive pill， instead of the

　　vitamins. But the vitamins did not do much to reduce the rates

　　of babies being born too early or dying while still a fetus.

　　Still， the researchers say multivitamins should be considered

　　for all pregnant women in developing countries.

　　詞匯：

　　multivitamin/7mQlti5vaitEmin/adj.多種維生素的 urge/E:dV/v.

　　促進/v.極力主張；強烈要求；敦促 pregnant/5pre^nEnt/adj.懷孕的

　　，妊娠的

　　Tanzania/7tAnzE5ni:E/n.坦桑尼亞(非洲國家)

　　diabetes/7daiE5bi:ti:z， -ti:s/n.糖尿病，多尿癥 Dar es

　　Salaam/5dB:r es sE5lB:m/n.達累斯薩拉姆(坦桑尼亞首都)

　　folate/5fEuleit/n.葉酸鹽 mineral/5minErEl/n.礦物質；無機鹽adj.

　　礦物質的；無機的 fetal/5fi:tl/adj.胎兒的， 胎的

　　lymphocyte/5limfEsait/n.淋巴球， 淋巴細胞

　　immunity/i5mju:niti/n..免疫力；免疫性 infection/in5fekFEn/n.傳

　　染，感染；傳染病 placebo/plE5si:bEu/n.安慰劑；安慰劑治療

　　inactive/in5Aktiv/adj.無作用的 pill/pil/n.藥丸，丸劑

　　fetus/5fi:tEs/n.胎，胎兒