February 26, 2017　=========

☆  vulnerable  傷つきやすい

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When you say that someone is vulnerable, it means that you think they are weak and without protection, so they can be easily hurt physically or emotionally. We often talk about the fact that children and the elderly are the most vulnerable members. For example, for the elderly, in Australia, even though it gets hot in summer, many elderly people don’t want to spend money on air conditioning, so they are vulnerable to heatstroke.

Of course, it’s easy to see how children are more vulnerable emotionally and physically than adults, because of their size and emotional development, but I also found this interesting fact: WHO (World Health Organization) believes that children are more vulnerable to environmental risks than adults. Because they are still growing, they breathe more air, eat more food, and drink more water than adults do (in proportion to their size and weight) they are more likely to be exposed to environmental toxins! I had never thought about this, but it makes sense, doesn’t it?

Bye,

Chris