时差N小时 孤儿药法案

The Orphan¹ Drug Act is not about children without parents. The term “orphan drugs” refers to medical products that would not be adopted by major pharmaceutical² companies because they serve only a very small portion of the population—people with rare diseases.

这个孤儿药法案与失去父母的孩子无关。孤儿药品这个术语是指非主要制药公司生产的药品。因为那些主要的制药公司只为小众——即患有罕见疾病的人群提供服务。

A rare disease is defined by the Orphan Drug Act as one that affects fewer than 200,000 people —some only affect 100. Prior to the act, large drug companies had little incentive³ to research and develop new drugs for such patient groups. The people who suffered from these disorders⁴ were often just out-of-luck.

孤儿药法将罕见疾病定义为在世界范围内患病人数小于20万的疾病，某些罕见疾病的患病人数只有100人。在这条法案形成之前，大型的制药公司缺少为这样的病人群体研发新药品的动力。那些患病的人们只能认倒霉了。

In 1980, Representative Henry Waxman from California, began to hold hearings in Congress to look into the problem of those suffering from rare diseases. But his efforts sparked little interest, until actor Jack⁵ Klugman heard about it, and thought “orphan drugs” would be a good topic to highlight on his TV show Quincy.

1980年，来自加利福利亚的议会代表亨利·韦克斯曼开始在国会开庭审理案件，调查这些罕见疾病患者的情况。但他的工作并没有引起多少人的兴趣，直到男演员杰克·克卢格曼听说此事。他觉得“孤儿药法”可以作为自己主持的电视节目“昆西”的主题，肯定能引发广泛的关注。

His programs caught the attention of millions of Americans who wanted to help, and were a major factor in helping⁶ to move the bill through Congress. on January 4, 1983, the Orphan Drug Act became law, providing tax credits and marketing⁷ protections to pharmaceutical companies developing “orphan drugs”. Since then, this law has helped the lives of millions of Americans, whose fate looked bleak⁸ because of their affliction with a rare disease.

他的节目一经上映便引起上百万热心美国人的关注，他们在促使国会通过这条法案上起了重要作用。孤儿药法案于1983年1月4日生效，该法案为采纳“孤儿药法案”的制药公司提供税收抵免和营销保护等优惠政策。自此，这条法律挽救了上百万美国人的生活，使他们的命运不再因为罕见疾病的折磨而继续惨淡下去。

1 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

2 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

3 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

4 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

8 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。