多言善感

Talk Too Much, More Likely to Catch Flu

Hong Kong people are more likely to catch the flu because they talk too much and are too loud, a university professor said. "When you talk too much and too loudly, you are traumatizing your throat,"said Thomas Chan, a professor at the department of medicine and therapeutics at Hong Kong's Chinese University. Since the noise level in tiny, crowded Hong Kong is relatively high, people tend to shout in order to be heard, he said. Chan also said people who keep their mouths open longer increase the chance of the flu virus attacking the throat and airways. Air pollution and a hectic social life are also risk factors for the flu. "If you work long hours, you are likely to spend the rest of your waking hours socializing as it helps you to relax and that means you are unlikely to have enough sleep. This will reduce your immunity,"said Chan. Flu and colds cost Hong Kong HK$31 billion (US$4 billion) a year in lost productivity, according to a study conducted by the university.

一位大学教授说，香港人说得太多，也太大声了，所以更容易得流感。“如果你说话太多太大声，就会伤到喉咙，”香港中文大学医疗系教授托马斯·陈（音）说。他说，由于狭小拥挤的香港噪音量相对较高，人们往往大喊大叫好让别人听见。陈教授还说，长时间张嘴会增加流感病毒袭击咽喉和气管的机会。空气污染和繁忙的社交生活也是易得流感的因素。陈教授说：“如果你长时间工作，就很可能把业余时间用于社交活动以求放松。这意味着你可能睡眠不足，导致免疫力下降。”根据该大学进行的研究，流感和感冒给香港造成的生产力损失高达每年310亿港元（40亿美元）。

Remarks：怪不得《沉默是金》这首歌那么受港人欢迎——知道什么叫“多言贾祸”了吧？