编辑提示：华灯初上的夜晚，疲倦的你我也许都喜欢到一个温馨的地方，点上朦胧的点点烛光，尽情地享受那一刻的浪漫与放松……可是，你有没有想到，这使我们正倍受蜡烛的毒害呢？！（其实我也是最近才得知此事，失落中又有一份心有余悸！）
不要不相信，这一期的“听吧”将带你走近事实真相。不过……嘻嘻，这一期听起来可没前几期那样轻松了，因为语速稍有提高，不过还好啦，也不是很快，提起你的精神，竖起你的耳朵，听听看吧！
It may be better to curse the dark- ness than light a candle if the candle that's burning is one that emits lead particles or large amounts of carbon． According to the American Lung Association，candles are becom- ing one of the most“common，un- recognized caus es of poor indoor air quality，”said a spokeswoman for the association's Healthy House Project．
＊curse：动词，指“诅咒，咒骂”。比如：She cursed terribly．她大肆咒骂。有个“be cursed with sth．”的词组，义为“遭受……的痛苦”，如：He was cursed with a violent temper．（他饱受暴躁脾气之害。）curse也可作名词，比方说你运气不佳，可以说：Acurse is on me！（我倒霉透了！）cursed则作形容词，释为“应受诅咒的，讨厌的”。当天气很冷时，你可以说：This cursed cold！
＊emit：发出，射出，散发（光，热，电波，声音，液体，气味等）。如烟囱冒出一片烟雾，就说：The chimney emitted a cloud of smoke．发出一声尖叫，也可以说：emit a shriek。
＊lead particles：铅微粒。蜡烛在燃烧时会产生微小的铅粒子。
＊carbon：碳。燃烧着的蜡烛还会释放出碳，与铅微粒一起，正是引起室内空气质量差的原因之一。
Candles made in China and in the United States contain the highest levels of lead，she added．Candles designed to burn for a long period of time or to produce scents often have wicks with metallic cores made of lead or a lead alloy．
＊scent：香味，气味。有的蜡烛在燃烧时会散发出特有的香味。Scent也可解释为“香水”，如a bottle of scent。另外，这个词也作动词。你每天用的香皂就叫“scented soap”。
＊wick：蜡烛芯。
＊metallic cores made of lead or a lead alloy：由铅或铅合金制成的金属芯。这里的metallic指“金属（性）的”，core指“核心”，alloy指“合金”。蜡烛能长时间燃烧或散发香味，一般蜡芯里都含这种金属芯。
In addition to releasing lead and mercury into the air ，can- dles also emit dangerously toxic chemicals such as benzene and acetone．Studies at the University of Michigan School of Public Health also showthat slow-burning，scented candles produce large quantities of soot，which can damage a home's ventilation system．
＊mercury：水银。
＊toxic chemicals：有毒的化学物质。除了铅和水银，蜡烛还会产生一些有毒的化学物质，如后文提到的“benzene”（苯）和“acetone”（丙酮）。
＊soot：煤烟。
＊ventilation system：通风系统。蜡烛燃烧产生的大量煤烟对屋里的空气流通坏处可不小。
