国家地理:为了结束这场流行病 我们必须相信科学(3)

Make no mistake: The challenge is huge and unprecedented¹. If a typical virus is a riddle² wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma³, the coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2 is all that and more. It combines contagiousness⁵ and lethality⁶ in a ferocious⁷ mixture that Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy⁸ and Infectious Diseases, has called his "worst nightmare." For one thing, when it appeared, no one on Earth had immunity⁹. Second, it's airborne and infects the upper respiratory tract¹⁰, which means it's readily spewed back into the air where it can drift from person to person. Third, and arguably worst, the virus is most contagious⁴ before it causes symptoms, meaning that carriers feel well enough to be up and about precisely¹¹ when they're most likely to infect us.

毫无疑问，这项挑战既艰巨又史无前例。如果说一种典型的病毒是包裹在谜团中的一个谜，那么这个被称为SARS-CoV-2的冠状病毒更是如此。它结合了传染性和致死性，美国国家过敏症与传染病研究所所长安东尼·福奇称这个凶猛的组合为“最糟的恶梦”。首先，它出现时，世界上没有人具有免疫力。其次，它通过空气传播感染上呼吸道，这表示它很容易再被喷回到空气中，在人与人之间漂移。第三，也可以说是最糟的，这个病毒在引发症状前的传染力最强，意思是携带病毒者感觉身体健康时，恰好是他们最有可能感染我们的时候。

The tricks this virus uses to foil the body's counterattack are diabolically¹² effective. Once it gets inside via the nose or mouth, the coronavirus eludes¹³ the first line of immune defense¹⁴, slides easily into cells, churns out copies of itself by hijacking¹⁵ the cell's machinery¹⁶, and makes sure those copies work by using a proofreading¹⁷ mechanism¹⁸ that many other viruses don't even have. Its effect is relentless¹⁹: It can turn a person's lung cells into useless material that looks like ground glass; blow open blood vessels²⁰ or destroy them with microscopic²¹ clots²²; and gunk up the workings of a kidney, heart, or liver, rendering²³ them too stiff to repair. It can defang the cells that attack invading viruses and then provoke a secondary immune reaction that goes badly haywire, paradoxically causing its own catastrophe²⁴. And anyone who comes in close contact with a person already infected is likely -- though no one is sure how likely -- to get infected too.

这种病毒用来阻挡人体反击的招数很有效。新冠病毒一旦经由口鼻进入体内，就会躲过免疫系统的第一道防线，轻易地进入细胞，进行复制，并且利用其他许多病毒都没有的校正机制来确保复制的病毒功能正常。它会将人的肺部细胞转变成毛玻璃状的无用物质，让血管爆开或以微小血块破坏血管，以及造成肾脏、心脏或肝脏功能受损，使它们变得过于硬化而无法修复。它可以削弱攻击入侵病毒的细胞，能引发严重失控的次级免疫反应，矛盾地造成自身体内的灾难。此外，任何与已感染者近距离接触的人也很有可能遭受感染――尽管没人确定可能性有多高。

1 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

2 riddle   

n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜

参考例句：

• The riddle couldn't be solved by the child.这个谜语孩子猜不出来。
• Her disappearance is a complete riddle.她的失踪完全是一个谜。

3 enigma   

n.谜，谜一样的人或事

参考例句：

• I've known him for many years,but he remains something of an enigma to me.我与他相识多年，他仍然难以捉摸。
• Even after all the testimonies,the murder remained a enigma.即使听完了所有的证词，这件谋杀案仍然是一个谜。

4 contagious   

adj.传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
• He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。

5 contagiousness   

[医] （接）触（传）染性

参考例句：

• They are trying to breed contagiousness into H5N1 to see if it is likely to happen. 他们试图培育的H5N1传染性来验证它是否会产生。

6 lethality   

n.致命性，毁坏性

参考例句：

• Modern weapons have greater range, accuracy, speed, and lethality than anything ever dreamed of before. 现代的武器比从前所梦想的任何武器射得更远，射得更准，速度更快，而且更具有杀伤力。 来自辞典例句
• The Mk 46 provides long-range lethality while engaging small, high-speed, surface targets. 该系统在舰船遭遇小型高速水面目标时将提供远距离的致命杀伤力。 来自互联网

7 ferocious   

adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的

参考例句：

• The ferocious winds seemed about to tear the ship to pieces.狂风仿佛要把船撕成碎片似的。
• The ferocious panther is chasing a rabbit.那只凶猛的豹子正追赶一只兔子。

8 allergy   

n.(因食物、药物等而引起的)过敏症

参考例句：

• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。
• The patient had an allergy to penicillin.该患者对青霉素过敏。

9 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

10 tract   

n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林)

参考例句：

• He owns a large tract of forest.他拥有一大片森林。
• He wrote a tract on this subject.他曾对此写了一篇短文。

11 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

12 diabolically   

参考例句：

• His writing could be diabolically satiric. 他的作品极具讽刺性。 来自互联网

13 eludes   

v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的第三人称单数 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到

参考例句：

• His name eludes me for the moment. 他的名字我一时想不起来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• But philosophers seek a special sort of knowledge that eludes exact definition. 但是，哲学家所追求的是一种难以精确定义的特殊知识。 来自哲学部分

14 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

15 hijacking   

n. 劫持, 抢劫 动词hijack的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• I have been told about the hijacking . 我已听说了那次劫机事件。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语
• They are taking measures to guarantee against the occurrence of hijacking. 他们正采取措施防止劫机事件的发生。

16 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

17 proofreading   

校对，校勘( proofread的现在分词 )； 做校对工作； 校读

参考例句：

• Martha, when can you finish proofreading the script? 玛莎，你什么时候可以校对完剧本？ 来自轻松英语会话---联想3000词(上)
• Attention, an important factor in editing and proofreading, affects editing quality directly. 注意力是编校过程中重要的心理因素，直接影响编辑质量。

18 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

19 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

20 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

21 microscopic   

adj.微小的，细微的，极小的，显微的

参考例句：

• It's impossible to read his microscopic handwriting.不可能看清他那极小的书写字迹。
• A plant's lungs are the microscopic pores in its leaves.植物的肺就是其叶片上微细的气孔。

22 clots   

n.凝块( clot的名词复数 )；血块；蠢人；傻瓜v.凝固( clot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• When you cut yourself, blood clots and forms a scab. 你割破了，血会凝固、结痂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Milk clots when it turns sour. 奶变酸就凝块。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

23 rendering   

n.表现，描写

参考例句：

• She gave a splendid rendering of Beethoven's piano sonata.她精彩地演奏了贝多芬的钢琴奏鸣曲。
• His narrative is a super rendering of dialect speech and idiom.他的叙述是方言和土语最成功的运用。

24 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。