https://www.optimistdaily.com/2026/08/londons-clean-air-zone-is-linked-to-faster-lung-growth-in-children-a-new-study-finds/
For years, researchers knew that air pollution (1)______ (harm) lung development in children. (2)______ they had not been able to show was whether cleaning up the air could actually change that direction.
A study published in The Lancet Public Health suggests it can. Scientists at Queen Mary University of London followed more than 3,400 children aged 6 to 9 over several years, (3)______ (track) their lung development as London's Ultra Low Emission Zone, or ULEZ, took effect.
The zone charges drivers of more polluting vehicles to encourage cleaner transport, handing researchers something they rarely get: a natural experiment. By (4)______ (compare) children in central London with a similar group in Luton, they could isolate what the policy actually did. In Luton, (5)______ no clean-air zone existed, the air improved far more slowly.
Nitrogen dioxide levels, closely linked to vehicle exhaust, fell roughly twice as fast in central London as in Luton. Lung function moved (6)______ it. Before the ULEZ, London children had (7)______ (slow) lung growth than those in Luton.
As pollution fell, London children's lung function grew by an average of 233 millilitres per year, versus 223 in Luton. After four years, the gap was gone. The share of children with weakened lung function fell from 14 percent to 9 percent over the same period.
Lungs are not fully developed at birth; they keep growing through childhood, and what happens during those years shapes a person's health for life. Children whose lungs fail to develop fully face higher risks of asthma(哮喘) and other breathing problems later in life. This is the first study (8)______ (connect) a clean-air zone directly to faster lung growth.
The ULEZ has not been without opposition. Its cameras have been (9)______ (damage) or stolen. (10)______ the 2023 expansion was challenged in court, the High Court let it proceed. The science is now adding some weight to one side of that fight. For the first time, scientists could link a cleaner-air policy directly to measurable changes in growing bodies.
词汇短语精讲
1. a natural experiment 天然实验（自然形成的对照情境）
例句：The zone charges drivers of more polluting vehicles to encourage cleaner transport, handing researchers something they rarely get: a natural experiment.
提示：科学写作术语：自然条件下形成的实验对照，无需人为设计，研究类文章高频
2. add some weight to one side 给某一方增加了分量（支持）
例句：The science is now adding some weight to one side of that fight.
提示：add weight to 表“给……增添分量/支持”，weight 引申为“重要性、影响力”，议论文可迁移表达
3. vehicle exhaust 车辆尾气
例句：Nitrogen dioxide levels, closely linked to vehicle exhaust, fell roughly twice as fast in central London as in Luton.
提示：exhaust 熟词生义：本义“耗尽、使疲惫”，作名词表“尾气、废气”；vehicle exhaust 环保话题核心词
4. move with 随……而变化（与……同步变化）
例句：Lung function moved with it.
提示：move with 表“随……而变化、与……同步”，with 表“伴随”；此处指肺功能随二氧化氮水平下降而同步改善
5. the share of ……的份额；……的比例
例句：The share of children with weakened lung function fell from 14 percent to 9 percent over the same period.
提示：the share of 表“……的份额/比例”，用于描述数据占比，写作中可替换 the percentage of
句子精讲
1. By comparing children in central London with a similar group in Luton, they could isolate what the policy actually did.
翻译：通过将伦敦市中心的儿童与卢顿的一组相似儿童作比较，他们得以单独分离出这项政策实际起的作用。
结构：句首 By comparing... 为“介词 By + 动名词”结构作方式状语；主句 they could isolate；what the policy actually did 为 what 引导的宾语从句，作 isolate 的宾语。
语法：By + 动名词作方式状语 + what 宾语从句
仿写：可用句式：By ___ing A with B, sb. could ___.（例：By comparing one class with another, we could see the real effect of the method.）
2. The ULEZ has not been without opposition.
翻译：ULEZ（超低排放区）并非没有遭到反对。
结构：主干为 The ULEZ has not been without opposition，采用 not ... without 双重否定结构表强调肯定。
语法：not ... without 双重否定，表“并非没有……”，语气强于直接肯定；has been 为现在完成时。
仿写：可用句式：not ... without 双重否定，如 This success was not achieved without years of hard work.
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