熟悉四六級閱讀理解題型的同學應該都了解，英語四六級考試閱讀理解材料大多選自《時代》《衛報》《科學美國人》等外刊。要想閱讀理解這部分拿到高分，必須在平常多閱讀，掌握新詞匯，鍛煉閱讀速度。

本篇閱讀材料“女性比男性更容易心碎”選自《時代》（原文標題：Why Are Women More Vulnerable to Broken Hearts? 2011.11.21），如果大家覺得比較簡單，就當作泛讀材料了解了解，認識幾個新單詞或新表達方式也不錯。如果大家覺得這些材料理解上有難度，不妨當做挑戰自己的拔高訓練，希望大家都有進步^^

Women are a lot more likely to suffer a broken heart than men, researchers say. The good news is that it probably won't kill you.

In the first national study of its kind, researchers at the University of Arkansas looked at rates of "broken heart syndrome" — when a sudden shock or prolonged stress causes heart attack-like symptoms or heart failure — and found that it overwhelmingly affects women.

syndrome n. 1. 并發癥狀，綜合癥，同時存在的事物 2. 典型意見，典型表現

overwhelmingly ad. 壓倒性地；不可抵抗地；（感情）極其強烈地

Women are at least seven times more likely than men to suffer the syndrome, and older women are at greater risk than younger ones, according to data presented Wednesday at the American Heart Association conference in Orlando.

"It's the only cardiac condition where there's such a female preponderance," Dr. Abhiram Prasad, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist who was not associated with the study, told the AP. Heart attack and heart disease, of course, strike men more often and earlier in life than women.

cardiac a. 1. 心臟的；心臟病的 n. 強心劑；心臟病患者

preponderance n. 重量的優勢；優勢；優越

Broken heart syndrome can happen in response to shocking or suddenly emotional events — both positive ones like winning the lottery, or negative ones like a car accident or the unexpected death of a loved one. A flood of stress hormones and adrenaline causes part of the heart to enlarge temporarily and triggers symptoms that can look like heart attack: chest pain, shortness of breath, irregular heart rhythm. The difference is that the factors that would normally cause heart attack, such as a blocked artery, aren't present.

Most sufferers usually recover within a week or two, but in rare cases — about 1% — people die of the condition.

Doctors have long known about broken heart syndrome — first described by Japanese researchers two decades ago — and that it seemed to occur mostly in women. So, Dr. Abhishek Deshmukh, a cardiologist at the University of Arkansas who has treated women with broken heart syndrome, became curious about just how gender-specific the condition was.

gender-specific 和性別有多大關系

Using a federal database that included data from roughly 1,000 hospitals, Deshmukh found 6,229 cases of broken heart syndrome in 2007. Of those, only 671 — just under 11% — were in men. He found that, overall, women had about 7.5 times the risk of broken heart syndrome as men; in people under 55, women were at 9.5 times greater risk than men. Women over 55 were also three times more likely to suffer broken heart syndrome than younger women.

Researchers don't know what causes the gender disparity, but they have some ideas. Reported the AP:

One theory is that hormones play a role. Another is that men have more adrenaline receptors on cells in their hearts than women do, "so maybe men are able to handle stress better" and the chemical surge it releases, Deshmukh said.

surge n. 大浪；洶涌澎湃；巨涌 vi. 激增；洶涌 vt. 使顛簸

About 10% of sufferers will have a second episode at some point, but most return to full heart function without permanent damage or need for follow-up treatment. So, it looks like the way to mend a broken heart is what Mom always said: just give it time.

follow-up 后續

Question time:

1. What is called broken heart syndrome?

2. What's the difference between broken heart syndrome and heart attack ?

3. Why are women more vulnerable to broken hearts ?

【答案】

1. when a sudden shock or prolonged stress causes heart attack-like symptoms or heart failure, it is called broken heart syndrome.

2. The difference is that the factors that would normally cause heart attack, such as a blocked artery, aren't present.

3. One theory is that hormones play a role. Another is that men have more adrenaline receptors on cells in their hearts than women do.