VOA标准英语2010年-Former US President Clinton Doing Well

Dr. Allan Schwartz, Bill Clinton's cardiologist speaks to the media outside the Milstein Building at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York, 11 Feb 2010

Former President Bill Clinton's cardiologist says Mr. Clinton has been up and walking around following a procedure to improve blood flow to his heart. The former president underwent the procedure Thursday after feeling discomfort¹ in his chest for several days.

The head of cardiology at New York Presbyterian Hospital, Dr. Alan Schwartz, said President Clinton did not have a heart attack or suffer any damage to his heart.

But tests showed that Mr. Clinton did have a complete blockage² in one of the arteries³ that had been cleared in a 2004 quadruple by-pass operation. On Thursday, he underwent a one-hour procedure in which two stents were inserted into the artery⁴ to open it.

 

A stent is a tube that is inserted into a blood vessel⁵ to keep it open and improve blood flow to the heart.  They are commonly used to relieve symptoms such as chest pain. Dr. Schwartz said the procedure went well.

"The procedure went very smoothly⁶. President Clinton has since been up and walking around and visiting with his family, and we hope to have him go home tomorrow," he said.

Dr. Schwartz said the the blockage was not the result of anything Mr. Clinton had done wrong in terms of his diet or lifestyle. In fact, he said, the former president, who was well known for his love of fast-food while in office, has been a good patient in terms of altering his lifestyle to control his heart disease.

"This is a chronic⁷ condition, we don't have a cure for this condition. However we have excellent treatments that involve lifestyle modification⁸, medications and occassionally, when necessary, procedures," he said.

Mr. Clinton's wife, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and their daughter, Chelsea, were with him at the hospital where he was reported to be in "good spirits".

Dr. Schwartz said Mr. Clinton could return to work on Monday.

Mr. Clinton is very active through his Clinton Foundation as well as in his role as U.N. Special Envoy⁹ for Haiti. In the wake of that country's  devastating¹⁰ earthquake, Mr. Clinton is playing a key role in the international relief and recovery effort and just returned from Haiti few days ago. 

 

1 discomfort   

n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便

参考例句：

• One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
• She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。

2 blockage   

n.障碍物；封锁

参考例句：

• The logical treatment is to remove this blockage.合理的治疗方法就是清除堵塞物。
• If the blockage worked,they could retreat with dignity.如果封锁发生作用，他们可以体面地撤退。

3 arteries   

n.动脉( artery的名词复数 )；干线，要道

参考例句：

• Even grafting new blood vessels in place of the diseased coronary arteries has been tried. 甚至移植新血管代替不健康的冠状动脉的方法都已经试过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This is the place where the three main arteries of West London traffic met. 这就是伦敦西部三条主要交通干线的交汇处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 artery   

n.干线，要道；动脉

参考例句：

• We couldn't feel the changes in the blood pressure within the artery.我们无法感觉到动脉血管内血压的变化。
• The aorta is the largest artery in the body.主动脉是人体中的最大动脉。

5 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

6 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

7 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

8 modification   

n.修改，改进，缓和，减轻

参考例句：

• The law,in its present form,is unjust;it needs modification.现行的法律是不公正的，它需要修改。
• The design requires considerable modification.这个设计需要作大的修改。

9 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

10 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。