美国有线新闻 CNN 2012-09-14

 　　We begin tonight with breaking news on the eve of the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, a hard-fought win for first responders, those men and women who were exposed to deadly toxins¹ at Ground Zero. They will now finally have health cover for 58 different types of cancer. Federal health officer just hours ago announced they were expanding the law. You’re looking at a live shot of Lower Manhattan and the newly rising World Trade Center, the twin beams of light a reminder² of the missing towers. Tomorrow morning, of course, the nation will pause to remember those who died at Ground Zero, the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

　　The new One World Trade Center now stands nearly 1,400 feet high and each year the site has moved a step closer to repair and rebuilding but of course the pain never goes away. Nearly 3,000 lives were lost on that morning. The unspeakable unfolding as millions watched. But the toll³ did not end there. The toxic⁴ pile of rubble⁵ on those 16 acres smoldered⁶ for three months. Many first responders and others who worked there around the clock got sick, some have already died. Well, today’s decision to expand the law, something former New York firefighter Kenny Specht has been fighting for he worked on the pile at Ground Zero for months and developed a number of health problems. He was diagnosed and treated for thyroid cancer several years ago. He joins me now along with CNN chief medical correspondent Doctor Sanjay Cupta who’s done a lot of report on the issue.

　　Kenny, I find it stunning⁷ that it took this long for this decision to be made. When you heard that these cancers would be included. How did you feel?

　　Well, listen, Anderson, myself, I’m happy to be here today. It took us 11 years to get at this point. It was much too long for those that’d passed away, for the families they’ve left behind. I’m glad that we’re here. Let’s move forward. Let’s get studies going. Let’s get those who need treatment, treatment that they desperately⁸ need and let’s not forget those that’d passed away and unfortunately what happened today comes much too late for them.

　　Sanjay, obviously this news brings relief to a lot of workers suffering with cancer after 9/11. What prompted the change in coverage⁹?

　　Well, you know,the best we could put it together, you know, remember back in July of last year, this exact issue was addressed at that point by the organization that oversees¹⁰ this. At that time they said cancers would not going to be on the list. So, this is news. And I think what prompted it was a study that we reported here first around that same time that looked specifically at firefighters. And this is important, Anderson, because you have very good health records for firefighters. They could determine what the health of firefighters were before 9/11 and they could determine what the health records were like in the immediate¹¹ aftermath and so forth¹². And when they looked at that data very carefully and back in 2011, which was 10 years later, they found there was an increase likelihood of developing cancer, about 19% increased likelihood. And if you accounted for all cancers, even caners that may have been brewing¹³ shortly after 9/11, 2001, you found the increase was 32%. So, I think it was that particular study more than anything else that created this change, Anderson.

　　Sanjay, it is kind of remarkable¹⁴ that, you know,given all of the money that was raised and donated and set aside by the government for this that they would not include these first responders, I mean, who risked their lives and at great toll to themselves and were early on saying, you know what, I’m pretty sure this has had an impact on my health. What do you think it took for them to make the decision to cover health care costs?

　　Well, you know, and specifically cancer, because that was the big sort of difficult thing and the source of a lot of controversy¹⁵. Obviously some of the other health conditions such as some respiratory conditions were more easily covered, although Kenny would say and said before it was difficult in all sorts of health conditions. But I think with regard to cancer specifically, you know, it’s hard to establish what scientists would love to have, which is a cause and effect. You see all that toxic dust. You see the conditions after 9/11 and you say, did that cause cancer? Did that set up these cancers in people’s bodies? And I think if you talk to some of the scientists, they will still say look, it’s hard to absolutely prove that, but they have enough data now showing that in fact the numbers did go up. There was no precedent¹⁶ for this. And I think that’s part of why it took so long.

1 toxins   

n.毒素( toxin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The seas have been used as a receptacle for a range of industrial toxins. 海洋成了各种有毒工业废料的大容器。
• Most toxins are naturally excreted from the body. 大部分毒素被自然排出体外。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

3 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

4 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

5 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

6 smoldered   

v.用文火焖烧，熏烧，慢燃( smolder的过去式 )

参考例句：

• The conflict that smoldered between Aunt Addie and me flared openly. 艾迪小姨和我之间闷在心里的冲突突然公开化了。 来自辞典例句
• After the surrender, an ever-present feud over the horse smoldered between Scarlett and Suellen. 投降以后，思嘉和苏伦之间一直存在的关于那骑马的急论眼看就要爆发了。 来自飘（部分）

7 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

8 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

9 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

10 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

11 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

12 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

13 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

14 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

15 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

16 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。