2006年VOA标准英语-UNAIDS Czar Warns Efforts Falling Short

By Peter Heinlein
United Nations
31 May 2006

A high-level U.N. conference on AIDS opens Wednesday with a report showing progress in fighting the epidemic¹, tempered by statistics showing that the virus is spreading. Dozens of heads of state and government are gathering² at U.N. headquarters for the three-day event.

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Dr. Peter Piot   
  

Eight hundred organizations have been accredited³ for the annual gathering to assess progress in fighting HIV/AIDS. On the eve of the conference, UNAIDS Executive Director Dr. Peter Piot said despite decades of concerted effort, prevention and treatment programs are still falling short.

"Unfortunately I cannot tell you that we are on the way to reversing this epidemic," said Dr. Piot. "The truth is that we're still running behind, the crisis continues, and that's why we need this high-level meeting this week, because it gives us an excellent opportunity to begin the next phase of work where we're looking in terms of decades, in terms of generations, to stop this epidemic."

Dr. Piot noted⁴, however, that important progress has been made in several countries in the fight against HIV. He says it is about time to begin receiving a return on the massive investment of the past years.

"The AIDS response has reached a critical mass in many countries," he said. "We have informed data and results, and now we must move from the current phase of crisis management to a long-term sustainable response."

Secretary-General Kofi Annan will address the opening session of the AIDS conference. Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Mr. Annan said he would tell delegates that the war on HIV/AIDS must be won at the local level.

"We also need to work with the local communities to organize themselves and provide the leadership - the leadership from the political level to the community level," he said. "We are, unfortunately, nowhere near getting on top of the epidemic. And I hope that the discussion this week will re-energize the international community, and communities dealing⁵ with the epidemic, to go back to the grass roots and continue the fight."

The latest U.N. report shows that 65 million people have been infected with HIV since it was first identified 25 years ago. Twenty-five million people have died of AIDS.

This year's U.N. conference will for the first time feature an address by a person living with the HIV virus.

More than a dozen heads of state and 100 ministers are due to attend. First Lady Laura Bush will head the U.S. delegation⁶ at Friday's session.

1 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

2 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

3 accredited   

adj.可接受的；可信任的；公认的；质量合格的v.相信( accredit的过去式和过去分词 )；委托；委任；把…归结于

参考例句：

• The discovery of distillation is usually accredited to the Arabs of the 11th century. 通常认为，蒸馏法是阿拉伯人在11世纪发明的。
• Only accredited journalists were allowed entry. 只有正式认可的记者才获准入内。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

6 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。