A
Vitamin D pills can help speed up the time taken for burns to heal, and prevent scarring, a new study suggests.
The vitamin, produced naturally in the body when the skin comes into contact with sunshine, is believed to help protect against burning.
Previous studies have shown that vitamin D pills help decrease inflammation, redness and swelling after sunburn, and may be one of the reasons the body produces the chemical.
Now new research from Birmingham University has found it may also help combat (斗争) other types of burn. Researchers monitored 38 patients who had suffered serious burns for a year and recorded their levels of vitamin D. They found that those with the highest levels of vitamin D had better wound healing and less scarring.
Vitamin D has been found to help sunburn but decreases rapidly in the body when people have serious burns.
Professor Janet Lord of the Institute of Inflammation & Aging in Birmingham, at Birmingham University, said: “Low vitamin D levels were associated with worse outcomes in burn patients including life threatening infections, and delayed wound healing. Major burn injury severely reduces vitamin D levels and adding this vitamin back may be a simple, safe and costeffective way to improve outcomes for burn patients.”
Patients with severe burns are at high risk of infection. That may lead to lifethreatening sepsis (脓毒症). Vitamin D is known to have antibacterial actions that may help combat infection and therefore aid in wound healing of burn patients.
The researchers say clinicians often overlook levels of vitamin D in burns victims. Prof Lord and her team now focus on finding out why there is a rapid loss of vitamin D in patients immediately following burn injury and hope that they may be able to prevent this in future. The amount of reduction in patients' vitamin D levels was not related to the severity of the burn, so levels may also be decreased in more minor burn injuries.
Public Health England now recommends that all Britons take vitamin D pills in the winter because it is impossible to make sufficient quantities in the darker months.
篇章导读：本文是一篇说明文，主要介绍了维生素D药片可以帮助人们治疗烧伤而且不容易留下疤痕。
1．How is vitamin D naturally gained in the body according to the passage?
A．By preventing scarring.
B．By producing the chemical.
C．By helping protect against burning.
D．By being exposed to enough sunshine.
答案：D 细节理解题。由第二段中的“The vitamin, produced naturally in the body when the skin comes into contact with sunshine”可知，维生素D的自然获取是通过与阳光接触，即晒太阳。
2．What does the underlined word “That” in Paragraph 7 refer to?
A．Severe burns. B．Burned patients.
C．Possible infection. D．Antibacterial actions.
答案：C 指代判断题。由本段第一句“Patients with severe burns are at high risk of infection.”可知，严重烧伤的病人会有感染的风险。故第二句意为感染会导致致命的脓毒症。
3．What can we infer about Professor Janet Lord's findings?
A．High vitamin D levels can speed wound healing.
B．Adding vitamin D back is really simple and secure.
C．They can prevent the rapid loss of vitamin D in patients.
D．The worse the burns are, the lower the patients' vitamin D level is.
答案：A 推理判断题。由第六段最后一句可推知，如果维生素D较高的情况下，烧伤应该愈合较快。
4．Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A．The Cause and Effect of Vitamin D Pills
B．Exploring the Function of Vitamin D Pills
C．The Research of Vitamin D Pills for Burns
D．Vitamin D Pills: Heal Burns & Prevent Scarring
答案：D 标题判断题。文章主要介绍了维生素D药片可以帮助人们治疗烧伤而且不容易留下疤痕。
previous adj. 以前的，先前的 monitor vt. 监测，检测；监督 heal v. 长好，愈合；治愈
第八段第二句：Prof Lord and her team now focus on finding out why there is a rapid loss of vitamin D in patients immediately following burn injury and hope that they may be able to prevent this in future.
译文：Lord教授和他的团队现在集中研究为什么病人烧伤后维生素D会迅速下降，希望他们将来能防止这种情况的发生。
分析：这是一个并列复合句，and连接两个并列分句。第一个分句中，why引导宾语从句，作find out的宾语；第二个分句中，that引导宾语从句，作动词hope的宾语。
