VOA常速英语2016--美国自由邦波多黎各现首例寨卡病毒死亡病例

美国自由邦波多黎各现首例寨卡病毒死亡病例

The death of an elderly man in Puerto Rico marked an ominous¹ milestone² for the Zika virus in the United States.

美国自由邦波多黎各一名老人因感染寨卡病毒死亡对这个国家的病毒防控而言不是个好兆头。

A Zika infection is usually not life threatening, but it may spread from a pregnant woman to the baby.

感染寨卡病毒后通常不会造成生命威胁，但病毒有可能通过孕妇传染给婴儿。

This may resulting microcephaly and other severe brain problems.

这会使得新生儿患小头畸形症及其它脑部严重疾病。

“This is a public health emergency.

"公共健康正面临危机。

That is what our public health experts have told us.”

这是我们的公共健康专家告诉我们的。"

The White House has requested nearly 2 billion in emergency funding to target the mosquito that carries Zika and promote the development of a vaccine³.

白宫已经要求20亿美元紧急资金用于追踪携带寨卡病毒的蚊子并促进疫苗的研发。

The Republican-led Congress has yet to act.

而共和党领导的国会还未采取行动。

“We should at least have a plan from the administration for how the money is going to be spent.

"我们至少应该从政府那里获得这笔钱如何开销的计划。

There is no plan; it is a blank check.”

现在没有计划，还是张空头支票。

Democrats⁴ note Congress approved larger sums with relative speed to fight Ebola and the H1N1 flu.

民主党表示国会面对埃博拉及H1N1病毒时就曾很快批准了更大数额的资金。

“If they will not give the experts the resources they need to combat Zika, what do they propose?”

如果他们不为专家提供对抗寨卡病毒的相应资源，那他们提议什么呢？

We could ask the Zika mosquitos–the Zika-carrying mosquitos, we could ask them: Do not breed this year.”

我们可以去要求寨卡蚊子，那些携带寨卡病毒的蚊子，我们可以要求它们今年不要繁殖了。

“There is a public health menace. There is a crisis.

“现在公共健康受到威胁。我们正面临危机。

We have a responsibility to protect the people from it. Do your job, Congress.”

我们有义务保护民众。履行你们应尽的义务，国会。”

With no new funds on the immediate⁵ horizon, the Obama administration is transferring unspent money intended for Ebola to the fight against Zika virus.

由于目前还没有资金，奥巴马政府正将本应用于对抗埃博拉的资金挪用到寨卡病毒疫苗研发上。

Republicans say the maneuver⁶ buys time for a better understanding of how future funds will be spent.

共和党称这样的措施更好的理解如何使用这笔资金赢得了时间。

“So we are going to stay on top of this.

因此我们将会时刻关注。

We need to find a vaccine. About 600 million is out the door.

我们要找到疫苗。大约是6亿美元。

We still need answers to questions about where it is going.”

我们需要对这笔钱的流向提出疑问。

The White House insists the transferred Ebola money is insufficient⁷ and time is of the essence.

白宫方面则坚持认为这笔用于埃博亚疫苗研发的资金不够，而且时间是关键因素。

“We cannot fund the fight against Zika a few months at a time.

我们不可能很短时间内就能筹到对抗寨卡病毒的资金。

In order to effectively, for example, develop and test and manufacture a vaccine that can be used to protect more than 300 million American citizens, that is a multiyear effort that we are talking about.”

为了能够有效研发试验及制造可以保护美国3亿人民的疫苗，这是需要多年的努力才能办到的事情。

 

U.S. officials believe the Zika-carrying mosquito could spread to at least 30 U.S. states.

美国官员认为携带寨卡病毒的蚊子可能会在至少30个州传播。

1 ominous   

adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的

参考例句：

• Those black clouds look ominous for our picnic.那些乌云对我们的野餐来说是个不祥之兆。
• There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.电话那头出现了不祥的沉默。

2 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

3 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。

4 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 maneuver   

n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略

参考例句：

• All the fighters landed safely on the airport after the military maneuver.在军事演习后，所有战斗机都安全降落在机场上。
• I did get her attention with this maneuver.我用这个策略确实引起了她的注意。

7 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。