VOA新闻杂志2023 巴黎奥运将近 臭虫困扰法国

Officials in France are worried about the spread of an insect called the bedbug as Paris prepares to hold the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.

在巴黎准备举办2024年夏季奥运会之际，法国官员担心一种名为臭虫的昆虫的传播。

Prime Minister Elizabeth Borne called a meeting of ministers to deal with the bedbug crisis. The country's transportation minister, Clé ment Beaune, recently met with transportation companies to make a plan for monitoring and disinfecting.

法国总理伊丽莎白·博尔内召开了一次部长会议以应对臭虫危机。法国交通部长克莱门特·伯恩最近会见了交通公司，制定了监测和消毒计划。

Beaune also spoke¹ about reducing worry caused by reports on social media. He told reporters there is no increase in bedbug cases. He added that 37 cases reported in the bus and Metro² train system and many other reports from trains have proved false.

博恩还谈到了减少社交媒体报道引起的担忧。他告诉记者，臭虫案例没有增加。他补充说，公共汽车和地铁系统报告的37起案例以及火车上的其它许多报告都被证明是虚假的。

The National Agency for Health and Food Safety reported that 11 percent of households had a bedbug problem between 2017 and 2022. Because many people might not want to say in public that they have a bedbug problem, the agency used a poll by the company Ipsos to collect the information.

法国国家卫生和食品安全局报告称，2017年至2022年间，该国11%的家庭发生过臭虫问题。由于许多人可能不想在公开场合说他们遇到臭虫问题，该机构利用益普索公司的一项民意调查来收集信息。

The insects are about the size of an apple seed. They neither jump nor fly. However, they have become more resistant³ to chemicals used to kill insects. And they can stay alive for up to a year with no food.

这些昆虫大约有苹果籽那么大。它们既不跳也不飞。然而，它们对用来杀死昆虫的化学物质具有更强的抵抗力。而且它们可以在没有食物的情况下存活长达一年。

The carbon dioxide humans give off makes the insects become active and try to bite, explained Jean-Michel Berenger. He is a scientist who studies insects. He raises bedbugs in his laboratory in the infectious diseases division of the Méditerranée University Hospital in the city of Marseille.

让-米歇尔·贝林格解释说，人类释放的二氧化碳使这种昆虫变得活跃并试图叮咬。他是一位研究昆虫的科学家。他在马赛市地中海大学附属医院传染病科的实验室里饲养臭虫。

For now, Berenger said, this much is clear: "Bedbugs have infested⁵ the media."

贝林格说，就目前而言，这一点很清楚：“媒体都在说臭虫。”

Experts say it makes no difference if a home is clean or dirty. The insects simply want to bite people to get blood, explained Berenger.

专家说，家里脏与不脏没什么区别。贝伦格解释说，这些昆虫只是想咬人吸血。

"Whether you live in a dump or a palace, it's the same thing to them," he said.

他说：“无论你住在垃圾场还是宫殿里，对他们来说都是一样的。”

Worry about bedbugs has increased business for insect control companies in France. They use dogs to smell the special odor that bedbugs make. Then, they use hot steam to kill the bugs⁴.

对臭虫的担忧让法国昆虫防治公司的业务增加。他们用狗来闻臭虫产生的特殊气味。然后，他们用热蒸汽杀死虫子。

Kevin Le Mestre is director of Lutte Antinuisible, a company that removes unwanted insects and animals such as rats. He said that in the past, people would not call his company even if they had been bitten by a bedbug. But now he said his company is getting many calls from people worried about the insects.

凯文·勒·梅斯特雷是病虫害防治公司的董事，该公司负责消灭老鼠之类不受欢迎的昆虫和动物。他说，过去即使被臭虫叮咬，人们也不会给他的公司打电话。但现在他说，他的公司接到了许多担心昆虫的人打来的电话。

The increase in public worry began about a month ago after reports of bedbugs at a Paris movie theater. Videos began popping up on social media, showing the little insects on trains and buses.

大约一个月前，巴黎一家电影院传出臭虫的报道后，公众的担忧开始加剧。社交媒体上开始出现视频，显示这些小昆虫在火车和公共汽车上。

Some government officials want to create new rules to fight against bedbugs.

一些政府官员希望制定新的规则来对抗臭虫。

Lawmaker Mathilde Panot recently brought a glass container of bedbugs to the Parliament to criticize the government, claiming it had let the insects spread quickly.

议员玛蒂尔德·帕诺最近带着一个装有臭虫的玻璃容器来到议会，批评政府，声称政府让臭虫迅速传播。

Because bedbugs travel easily on clothing or in luggage, they are a cause of worry for officials ahead of the 2024 Olympic games.

由于臭虫在衣服或行李上很容易传播，因此它们是官员们在2024年奥运会之前担心的一个原因。

"All human population movements are profitable for bedbugs because they go with us, to hotels, in transport," said Berenger.

贝林格说：“所有的人口流动都对臭虫有利，因为它们会和我们一起去酒店、乘坐交通工具。”

Beaune, the transport minister, is hopeful that steps can be taken to reduce the public's fear. But, he added, "It's hell, these bedbugs."

交通部长博恩希望能够采取措施来减少公众的恐惧。但是，他补充道，“这些臭虫糟糕透了。”

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

3 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

4 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 infested   

adj.为患的，大批滋生的（常与with搭配）v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 )；遍布于

参考例句：

• The kitchen was infested with ants. 厨房里到处是蚂蚁。
• The apartments were infested with rats and roaches. 公寓里面到处都是老鼠和蟑螂。