VOA常速英语2021--日增20万确诊病例,印度疫情失控

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the death toll¹ in the United States has increased significantly in the past year. AP's Jackie Quinn reports. New government data quantifies the increase in deaths in the U.S. over a 13-month span ending February 27th of this year. It shows the country saw about 600,000 more deaths than usual, with COVID-19 being the major cause of the increase. While COVID-related deaths were about 75 percent of the total, the CDC also noted² a record high spike³ in overdose deaths as well - 87,000 deaths reported aver⁴ a 12-month period ending in September of last year. That's a 29 percent increase in overdoses compared to the prior year. I'm Jackie Quinn.

美国疾病控制和预防中心表示，美国的死亡人数在过去一年里显著增加。请听美联社记者杰基·奎恩带来报道。新的政府数据量化了截至今年2月27日的13个月内美国死亡人数的增长。报告显示，美国死亡人数比常年增加了约60万人，其中新冠是死亡人数增加的主要原因。与新冠感染相关的死亡人数约占总死亡人数的75%，美国疾病控制与预防中心也注意到，截至去年9月的12个月内，服药过量的死亡人数也创下了历史新高，达到8.7万人。与上一年相比，过量用药增加了29%。我是杰基·奎恩。

Daily infections of COVID-19 crossed 200,000 in India Thursday, making it the highest anywhere in the world. Reuters Soraya Ali reports. At Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, one of India's largest COVID-only facilities with more than 1,500 beds, a stream of ambulances ferried patients to the overflowing⁵ casualty ward⁶. After imposing⁷ one of the world's strictest lockdowns for nearly three months last year, India's government relaxed almost all curbs⁸ by the beginning of 2021. Now many regions, including Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra state, are introducing localized restrictions⁹. The government has blamed a widespread failure to practice social distancing and wear face masks. Experts have blamed everything from official complacency to aggressive variants¹⁰. That's Reuters Soraya Ali.

印度星期四的单日新冠感染人数超过20万，使之成为世界上日增感染人数最多的国家。请听路透社记者索拉亚·阿里带来报道。Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan医院是印度最大的新冠定点医院之一，该医院只配备了1500多张床位，而救护车还在源源不断地将病人运送到人满为患的急诊室。在去年实施了一次世界上最严格的为期近三个月的封锁措施之后，印度政府在2021年初放宽了几乎所有的限制措施。现在许多地区，包括孟买和马哈拉施特拉邦的其他地区，都在实行局部限制。印度政府指责大量民众未能进行社交距离和戴口罩。专家们把一切归咎于官员对攻击性变种病毒的自满。我是路透社记者索拉亚·阿里。

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell sharply last week. We get more from AP's Ben Thomas. The Labor¹¹ Department's weekly report shows first-time claims for jobless aid plummeted¹² by 193,000 to 576,000. That's a new low since the coronavirus pandemic first struck and a hopeful sign that layoffs¹³ are easing as the economy recovers from the recession it brought on. While still high in historical terms, jobless claims are now well below their peak of 900,000 in early January. Ben Thomas, Washington.

上周申请失业救济的美国人数量急剧下降。请听美联社记者本·托马斯带来详细报道。美国劳工部的每周报告显示，首次申请失业救济人数锐减19.3万人，达到57.6万人。这是自冠状病毒大流行来袭以来的新低，也是一个充满希望的迹象，表明美国经济从衰退中复苏，裁员正在缓解。尽管与历史数据比较仍处于高位，但申请失业救济人数目前远低于1月初90万人的峰值。本·托马斯，华盛顿报道。

The Dow Jones Industrials dosed above 34,000 for the first time on Thursday as the Blue Chip benchmark and the S&P posted fresh record highs. The Dow rose nine tenths of a percent, the S&P gained 1.11 percent, the NASDAQ also gained, adding 1.31 percent. Reporting by remote, I'm David Byrd, VOA News. Visit voanews.com for more.

道琼斯工业指数周四首次突破34000点，蓝筹股和标准普尔指数均创下新高。道琼斯指数上涨0.9%，标准普尔指数上涨1.11%，纳斯达克指数也上涨1.31%。我是大卫·伯德，为您远程报道美国之音新闻。您可访问voanews.com获取更多内容。

1 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

2 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。

3 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

4 aver   

v.极力声明；断言；确证

参考例句：

• I aver it will not rain tomorrow.我断言明天不会下雨。
• In spite of all you say,I still aver that his report is true.不管你怎么说，我还是断言他的报告是真实的。

5 overflowing   

n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The stands were overflowing with farm and sideline products. 集市上农副产品非常丰富。
• The milk is overflowing. 牛奶溢出来了。

6 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

7 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

8 curbs   

v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• In executing his functions he is not bound by any legal curbs on his power. 在他履行职务时，他的权力是不受任何法律约束的。 来自辞典例句
• Curbs on air travel were being worked out and would shortly be announced. 限制航空旅行的有关规定正在拟定中，不久即将公布。 来自辞典例句

9 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

10 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

11 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

12 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 layoffs   

临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 )； 停工，停止活动

参考例句：

• Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
• Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时，股票价格便大跌