Near-sightedness, or myopia, means nearby objects appear clearly, but those farther away look blurry.
近视是指可以看清近处的物体而远处的物体则一片模糊的症状。
The rates of myopia have doubled, even tripled, in most of East Asia over the last 40 years, researchers say.And it’s a global issue -- rates of myopia are also rising in Western nations like Germany and the United States.
研究人员表示，在过去40年中，东亚大部分地区的近视率翻了一番，甚至上升了三倍。同时，近视业已成为一个国际性问题，像德国美国这样的西方国家的近视率也在上升。
But researchers say reducing risk of myopia is easy, free and readily-available: Get some sunlight.
不过，研究人员表示，减少近视率的方法很简单，每个人都能接触到，并且不用花钱，那就是：多晒太阳。
The epidemic of myopia amongst East Asians has triggered cultural questions about why so many young people develop vision problems.Many have long believed that reading, studying or staring at your phone caused short-sightedness. And there’s the usual grumblings that young people spend way too much time glued to their screens.
东亚地区近视多发，让大家不禁去思考为什么这么多年轻人都有视力问题。一直以来很多人认为读书，学习或看手机时间过长会导致近视。并且年轻人手机总不离手，社会上已多有批判之声。
But researchers are focusing on a different cause.
但是，研究人员却认为另有其他原因。
"If children get outside enough, it doesn’t matter how much they study they do. They don’t become myopic," said Ian Morgan, researcher at Australian National University.
澳大利亚国立大学的研究人员兰恩？摩根表示，“如果儿童在室外的时间够长，他们就不会近视，这与他们学习多长时间并没有多大关系。”
Researchers say kids and teens need to get sunlight during the critical years of their development while their eyeballs are still growing.
研究人员称儿童和青少年的眼球仍在生长的时候是关键时期，此时他们需要获得足够的太阳光。
The solution is simple. Have kids "spend more time outside, have less demands (from) the schools and relax a bit," said Seang Mei Saw, professor of epidemiology at the National University of Singapore.
解决方法其实很简单。新加坡国立大学流行病教授Seang Mei Saw表示让孩子们“多在室外呆，学校少点压力，学生再放松一点点，”就可以。
To negotiate the expectations of parents and classes, researchers are experimenting ways to help students get increased exposure to sunlight。
为了满足家长[微博]和学校的需要，研究人员正在进行各种试验，以帮助学生们在学习的同时增加太阳光照射。
One of the studies underway is the "bright light classroom" where the school’s walls and ceilings are made of see-through plastic that allows in light. Hundreds of students attend this unusual elementary school in Guangdong province.
目前正在进行的研究就是“亮光教室”，学校的墙壁和天花板都是用透明的塑料制成的，光亮可以照进来。广东省有数百名学生加入了这个特殊的小学。
"It’s a potential way to increase the amount of light, in hopes of preventing myopia and allow kids to continue (their) education without inconvenience for them," Morgan said.
摩根表示，“想要在预防近视的同时让孩子们继续学习，这的确是增加太阳照射的可行方法。”
Researchers want to measure the rates of myopia among students in these "bright light classrooms" compared with those in traditional classes.
研究人员希望可以检测“亮光教室”学生的近视率并和普通学校的学生相比较。
Building schools costs money -- especially experimental see-through schools. But researchers say there are low-cost solutions.
建学校需要资金——这种试验性透明学校更是如此。但研究人员表示，这个办法的成本已经很低了。
（来源：大耳朵英语）
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