Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. infant (n.) [in-fuhnt] – a baby or a very young child
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. infant (n.) [in-fuhnt] – a baby or a very young child
Example: The infant in the photo was my sister when
she was two months old.
2. wheeze (v.) [hweez, weez] – to produce a loud noise while breathing
Example: She started to wheeze after climbing the stairs to
reach the tenth floor.
3. contract (v.) [kuhn-trakt] – to catch a disease or to get sick with a virus
Example: They clean the baby’s
bed frequently so the baby will not contract
any disease.
4. susceptible (adj.) [suh-sep-tuh-buhl] – likely to get sick
Example: Children who do not eat
fruits and vegetables are susceptible to
illnesses.
5. respiratory (adj.) [res-per-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee,ri-spahyuhr-uh-] – involving the nose, lungs or other parts of the body used when breathing
Example: Common respiratory illnesses are cough, colds
and asthma.
Article
Read the text below.
A study published in the Pediatrics journal suggests that having pet dogs around might help protect children from illnesses.
Researchers in
Kuopio University Hospital in Finland studied 397 infants born in the facility between September 2002 and May 2005.
Researchers asked parents to start writing a weekly diary of their babies’ health
and contact with cats and dogs when the babies turn nine weeks old.
The data revealed
that 35% of the families had a dog and 24% had a cat. In addition, the report
found that before the age of one, 335 babies had a cough, 285 got sick with
fever, 284 had colds, 189 needed to take antibiotics, and 128 of them wheezed.
Children in families
with dogs experienced fewer weeks of sickness than those whose families had
cats. The study also showed that babies not exposed to dogs were healthy 65%
of the time, while those who were often near dogs were healthy for 72% to 76%
of the time.
Furthermore,
infants in contact with dogs had a 44% less chance of contracting inner ear infections and were 29% less likely to need
antibiotics. Overall, infants who spent one to six hours each day with dogs
had less chances of being sick.
Eija Bergroth, the study’s
main author, says babies who spend their first year of life near dogs become
less susceptible to respiratory illnesses. The
researchers believe dogs bring dirt and germs from outside, which strengthen babies’
immune systems.
However, Bergroth admitted
children in dog-owning families may be healthier because of other reasons and
not just because of pets.
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Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
·
What do you think is the significance of this
study?
·
Do you believe parents should introduce their
child to animals early in the child’s life? Why or why not?
Discussion B
·
Why do you think some people keep animals as pets?
·
What do you think are some risks or dangers in
having animals at home?