最新发现——蜡烛的危害
New study shows candles may cause more harm than good

It may be better to curse the darkness 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 becoming one of the most "common, unrecognized causes 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 is 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：A curse 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 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 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, candles also emit dangerously toxic chemicals such as benzene and acetone. Studies at the University of Michigan School of Public Health also show that 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。

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