C
The world record for fastest text message typing is held by a 21-year-old college student from Utah, but his flexible fingers could mean serious injury later on. Most adults aged 18-21 prefer texting over e-mail or phone calls, and ergonomics(人体工程学) researchers are starting to wonder whether it’s putting the younger generation at risk for some overuse injuries – once reserved for older adults who have spent years in front of a computer. Judith Gold, an assistant professor of Epidemiology at the College of Health Professions and Social Work, thinks this might be the case. At this year’s annual meeting of the American Public Health Association, she presented previous research which suggested that among college students, the more they texted, the more pain they had in their neck and shoulders.
“What we’ve seen so far is very similar to what we see with office workers who’ve spent most of their time at a computer,” said Gold, who directs the Ergonomics and Work Physiology Laboratory. “The way the body is positioned for texting – stationary（不动的）shoulders and back with rapidly moving fingers – is similar to the position for typing on a computer.”
Text messaging is a fairly new technology, Gold says, so this is a new area of research among ergonomists. “But given the similarities in body position, findings from research on overuse injuries from computers could be applied here,” she said.
Current studies on computer use show office workers have the tendency to get involved in such diseases as tunnel syndrome, bursitis, and tendonitis.
In Gold’s lab, she and her team use tools like special cameras, motion analysis and heart rate monitors to study the body’s position in several job-related situations. But given the popularity of text messaging among young adults, Gold wants to explore further into the physiological effects of this latest form of communication.
“Looking around our campus, you see every student on their cell phones, typing away,” she said. “It’s the age group that texts the most, so it’s important to know what the health effects may be in order to learn whether it will cause long term damage.”
64. Which of the following are ergonomics researchers not sure about?
A. A 21-year-old college student holds the world record for fastest text message typing.
B. Most adults aged 18-21 prefer texting over e-mail or phone calls.
C. Overuse of computer will cause injuries to health.
D. Over text message will cause long term damage to health.
65. Current studies on computer use will lead people to believe that ______.
A. office workers are good at texting messages
B. office workers tend to suffer from some kinds of physical problems
C. texting messages seriously damage people’s health
D. e-mails and phone calls will be forbidden
66. When texting messages, college students will ______.
A. keep moving shoulders and back
B. move fingers very fast with shoulders and back still
C. spend most of their time at a computer
D. look around their campus
67. The most suitable title of this passage may be ______.
A. Over text messaging could cause shoulder and neck pain
B. Overuse of computers could cause diseases
C. A new world record for fastest text message typing
D. A new scientific discovery by ergonomics researchers
