VOA慢速英语2021 美国将捐出5亿剂疫苗并督促其它国家效仿

President Joe Biden announced plans Thursday for the United States to donate 500 million vaccine¹ doses around the world. The doses will be given over the next year.

拜登总统周四宣布美国计划向全球捐赠5亿剂疫苗。这些疫苗将在明年捐出。

"This is about our responsibility," Biden said before the meeting of the Group of Seven, or G-7, leaders in Britain. The G-7 is a group of seven of the world's wealthiest democracies.

拜登在英国七国集团领导人会议前表示：“这是我们的责任。”七国集团是世界上最富有的7个民主国家组成的组织。

"We're doing this to save lives, to end this pandemic, and that's it," Biden said as he asked the rest of the G-7 to join the U.S. effort.

拜登在要求七国集团其它成员国加入美国的努力时表示：“我们这样做是为了拯救生命，结束疫情，仅此而已。”

The donation comes on top of another 80 million doses that Biden had already promised to other countries.

这次捐赠是在拜登已经承诺向其它国家提供另外8000万剂疫苗的基础上做出的。

Johns Hopkins University estimates about 2.2 billion people have been vaccinated³ out of a world population of nearly 8 billion. Most of them are in wealthy countries in Europe, Israel, Bahrain and the U.S.

约翰霍普金斯大学估计全球80亿人口当中，大约已经有22亿人口接种了疫苗。他们大多数位于欧洲、以色列、巴林和美国等发达国家。

Demand for the shots has fallen in the U.S. recently, leading to calls for the country to share its vaccine with others.

最近美国对疫苗的需求下降，导致有人呼吁该国与其它国家分享疫苗。

The U.S. will buy and donate 500 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine through the United Nations-backed COVAX partnership⁴. They will be sent to 92 poorer countries and the African Union.

美国将通过联合国支持的新冠肺炎疫苗实施计划购买和捐赠5亿剂辉瑞疫苗。它们将被送往92个贫困国家和非盟。

A U.S. official told Reuters the vaccines⁵ will cost $3.5 billion, in addition to the $4 billion the U.S. has donated to COVAX so far.

一位美国官员对路透社表示，除了迄今为止美国已经向新冠肺炎疫苗实施计划捐赠的40亿美元之外，这些疫苗还将耗资35亿美元。

White House officials said the vaccines will be shipped starting in August. The goal is to donate 200 million by the end of the year. The remaining 300 million doses will be shipped in the first half of 2022.

白宫官员表示，这些疫苗将从8月份开始发货。目标是在年底年捐出2亿剂。剩余的3亿剂将在2022年上半年发货。

Jen Psaki is a White House spokesperson. She told CBS News on Thursday that the U.S. "is in this position because we've had so much success at home vaccinating⁶ Americans."

珍·普萨基是白宫发言人。她周四对哥伦比亚广播公司新闻节目表示，美国走到今天，是因为我们在国内给美国人民接种疫苗方面取得了很大成功。”

The U.S. led the world in new cases of COVID-19 and deaths over much of the last year. But the country is on its way to a strong recovery after a successful vaccination⁷ program. The average numbers of new cases and deaths are now at their lowest point since the beginning of the pandemic.

在去年大部分时间里，美国在新冠肺炎新增病例和死亡人数方面冠绝全球。但是，在成功实施疫苗接种计划之后，美国正在走向强劲复苏。美国新增病例和死亡的平均人数现在正处于大流行开始以来的最低点。

U.S. officials hope the meeting will end with a promise from the G-7 countries to do more to vaccinate² the world.

美国官员希望在会议结束时，七国集团能够承诺为全球接种疫苗做出更多努力。

China and Russia have also shared their own vaccines with poorer countries with mixed success. But, the mRNA vaccines, produced by American drug companies Pfizer and Moderna, have shown to be more effective against the coronavirus and its variants⁸.

中国和俄罗斯也向贫困国家分享了他们自己的疫苗。但是，由美国制药公司辉瑞和莫德纳生产的mRNA疫苗已被证实对新冠病毒及其变种更为有效。

Biden's plans drew strong praise from Tom Hart. He is head of The ONE Campaign, an organization that seeks to end poverty. He said Biden's announcement was "the kind of bold leadership that is needed to end this global pandemic."

拜登的计划得到了汤姆·哈特的高度赞扬。哈特是旨在消除贫困的“统一行动”组织的负责人。他称拜登的声明是结束这场全球大流行所需的那种英勇领导力。

But others think the G-7 nations need to do more and share vaccines with the world.

但是其他人认为七国集团需要做更多事情，并与世界分享疫苗。

Niko Lusiani is with the anti-poverty group Oxfam.

尼可·卢夏尼就职于反贫困组织乐施会。

"At the current rate of vaccinations⁹, it would take low-income countries 57 years to reach the same level of protection as those in G-7 countries," he said.

他表示：“按照目前的接种速度，低收入国家需要57年时间才能达到与七国集团成员国相同的保护水平。”

"That's not only morally wrong, it's self-defeating given the risk posed by coronavirus mutations."

“考虑到新冠病毒突变带来的风险，这不仅不道德，而且会适得其反。”

1 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

2 vaccinate   

vt.给…接种疫苗；种牛痘

参考例句：

• Local health officials then can plan the best times to vaccinate people.这样，当地的卫生官员就可以安排最佳时间给人们接种疫苗。
• Doctors vaccinate us so that we do not catch smallpox.医生给我们打预防针使我们不会得天花。

3 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

4 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

5 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

6 vaccinating   

给…接种疫苗( vaccinate的现在分词 )； 注射疫苗，接种疫苗

参考例句：

• At first blush, vaccinating the wolves against rabies seems a simple solution. 乍一看来，为狼群注射防狂犬病疫苗是一种简单的办法。
• Also vaccinating children against misers (measles) has saved many lives. 还有，给儿童进行疫苗接种防止麻疹也挽救了许多生命。

7 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

8 variants   

n.变体( variant的名词复数 )；变种；变型；（词等的）变体

参考例句：

• Those variants will be preserved in the'struggle for existence". 这些变异将在“生存竞争”中被保留下来。 来自辞典例句
• Like organisms, viruses have variants, generally called strains. 与其他生物一样，病毒也有变种，一般称之为株系。 来自辞典例句

9 vaccinations   

n.种痘，接种( vaccination的名词复数 )；牛痘疤

参考例句：

• Vaccinations ensure one against diseases. 接种疫苗可以预防疾病。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I read some publicity about vaccinations while waiting my turn at the doctor's. 在医生那儿候诊时，我读了一些关于接种疫苗的宣传。 来自《简明英汉词典》