第1450期:Topping the charts

It seems that these days it's the European nations who have the tallest men and women. 

似乎现在是欧洲国家拥有最高的男人和女人。

Research carried out by over 800 scientists measuring height trends for different nationalities since 1914 has found that Dutch men and Latvian women now top the height charts.

自 1914 年以来，由 800 多名科学家测量不同国籍的身高趋势进行的研究发现，荷兰男性和拉脱维亚女性现在位居身高榜首。 

However, according to the study, it's Iranian men and South Korean women who have shot up the most – they have gained on average more than 16cm and 20cm respectively.

然而，根据这项研究，伊朗男性和韩国女性的身高增长最多——他们的平均身高分别超过了 16 厘米和 20 厘米。

In the UK, the rate of growth for men and women has been the same – 11 cm – with the average male now standing at 178cm and the average female at 164cm , both 5cm shorter than the average Dutchman and Latvian female.

在英国，男性和女性的增长速度相同——11 厘米——现在男性的平均身高为 178 厘米，女性的平均身高为 164 厘米，均比荷兰人和拉脱维亚女性的平均身高矮 5 厘米。

Surprisingly, US men and women have sunk right down in the rankings. 

令人惊讶的是，美国男性和女性的排名下降了。

While in 1914, they were ranked third tallest for men and fourth tallest for women, nowadays they are down to 27th and 42nd,and today it's Estonia who has the third tallest men and women. 

而在 1914 年，他们在男性中排名第三，在女性中排名第四，如今已降至第 27 位和第 42 位，而如今爱沙尼亚的男性和女性排名第三。

East Asia has seen the most gain in height – with people in China, Japan and South Korea much taller than they were 100 years ago. 

东亚的身高增长幅度最大——中国、日本和韩国的人比 100 年前要高得多。

The survey found that the world's smallest men are in East Timor, 160cm, and smallest women, 150cm, are from Guatemala, 20cm smaller than Latvian women.

调查发现，世界上最小的男性在东帝汶，160cm，最小的女性，150cm，来自危地马拉，比拉脱维亚女性小20cm。

According to the authors of the study, based at Imperial College in London, genetics are not the sole factor in determining height variation among different nations, as Majid Ezzati, lead scientist of the project explained: "Genes don't change that fast and they don't vary that much across the world. 

伦敦帝国理工学院的研究作者表示，基因并不是决定不同国家身高差异的唯一因素，正如该项目的首席科学家 Majid Ezzati 所解释的那样：“基因不会变化得那么快，而且它们世界各地的差别不大。

So changes over time and variations across the world are largely environmental."

 因此，随着时间的推移和世界各地的变化在很大程度上是环境变化的。”

Of critical importance were sanitation, healthcare and nutrition, he said, as well as the mother's health and diet during pregnancy.

他说，至关重要的是卫生、医疗保健和营养，以及母亲在怀孕期间的健康和饮食。

Other surprising findings, relating to how height impacts on people's health and income, have been revealed.

其他令人惊讶的发现，关于身高如何影响人们的健康和收入，已经被披露。

 For example, tall people can expect enhanced longevity and they are less likely to suffer from heart disease. 

例如，高个子的人可以预期长寿，他们患心脏病的可能性较小。

Tall people are also likely to earn more! According to research by Exeter University, a British man who is 7.5 cm shorter than his counterpart will earn £1,500 less!It might be time to invest in a pair of shoes with heels!

高个子也可能赚更多！根据埃克塞特大学的研究，一个比同龄人矮 7.5 厘米的英国男人会少赚 1500 英镑！也许是时候投资一双带高跟鞋的鞋子了！

词汇表

to measure 测量
trend 趋势，趋向
to shoot up 迅速长高
respectively 分别地
growth 生长
to sink 降低
ranking 排名
gain 增长，提高
genetics 遗传学
sole 唯一的，单独的
to determine 决定
height variation 身高的变化
critical 关键性的
sanitation 卫生设备
healthcare 医疗保健
nutrition 营养
diet 日常饮食
enhanced 提高的，增加的
longevity 长寿
counterpart （与组织的人或物）相对应者