环球英语 — 328：World Malaria Day

　　Voice 1
Hello, I’m Marina Santee.
Voice 2
And I’m Mike Procter. Welcome to Spotlight¹. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
The well-known sound of a mosquito². These insects cause more human death than any other living creature - because they carry diseases⁴. Mosquitoes⁵ can cause yellow fever, dengue fever, West Nile virus⁶, elephantiasis, encephalitis... but the most famous mosquito-borne disease³ is malaria⁷. And it caused the most deaths.
Voice 2
Malaria is caused by a parasite⁸. A parasite is an organism⁹ that lives in another organism. The malaria parasite lives in the blood of mosquitoes and of humans.
People cannot catch malaria from other people. It needs the mosquito to carry it from person to person. There are hundreds of different kinds of mosquito, but only one kind carries malaria to humans. Malaria is common only in places where this mosquito lives - for example in Africa and much of Asia.
Voice 1
Almost forty [40] percent of the world’s population is at risk from malaria. Over a million [1,000,000] people die from it every year. Most are children. Many others are pregnant¹⁰ women.
Voice 2
Malaria affects pregnant women more than other women. In some places, malaria kills ten percent of women in pregnancy¹¹ and childbirth.
Voice 1
And yet malaria can be cured, and it can be prevented. One way to prevent malaria is to use mosquito nets. Mosquitoes bite mainly at night. A mosquito net is a thin layer of material that hangs over the bed. The material is treated with chemicals that kill mosquitoes. Mosquitoes cannot get through this material.
Voice 2
In the year 2000, leaders of forty-four [44] African states met together. Their countries were badly affected¹² by malaria. The leaders set targets aimed at reducing the spread and effect of malaria. And, they decided¹³ on a special day to remember their promises. They chose the twenty fifth [25th] of April. And they called it, “Africa Malaria Day”.
Voice 1
The last Africa Malaria Day was in 2007. This year it becomes World Malaria Day. Why? Well, in May 2007, health experts from one hundred and ninety two [192] countries met together. They heard reports about the state of malaria in the world. And they found that people’s knowledge about the disease was still very poor. So, they thought they should turn the African centred event into a worldwide event. This would encourage people everywhere to become involved in the fight against malaria.
Voice 2
The fight against malaria continues all year. But having a special day helps in several ways. It brings malaria into the news, and so helps people everywhere to better understand it. It provides a time when health organisations meet together, learn from one another and find ways to work together. And they learn about new developments in science that can help the fight against malaria.
Voice 1
World Malaria Day is April the twenty-fifth [25th]. It is a worldwide event.
Voice 3
In Uganda, many people will be swimming against malaria! The swimmers will raise money and knowledge to help fight malaria.
Voice 2
In the USA, a special radio programme will be broadcast to help Americans learn more about malaria.
Voice 3
A conference¹⁵ in Germany will be making plans for the next seven years in the world-wide fight against malaria.
Voice 1
In Zambia, health officials from southern Africa will meet. And a group of health workers are travelling all the way down the Zambesi River, teaching¹⁶ people how to prevent malaria.
Voice 2
So far, the fight against malaria has concentrated¹⁷ on control and prevention¹⁸. Controlling malaria means¹⁹ helping²⁰ people and communities who are already affected by it. Preventing the disease means helping people to avoid getting it.
Voice 1
However, some people believe that the fight against malaria should not stop there. They have the dream that one day, malaria will completely²¹ disappear! Bill Gates is one such person. He is the man who started the Microsoft computer company. And he is one of the richest men in the world. Bill Gates is using some of his money to invest²² in research and development against malaria. In October 2007, he and his wife organised a Malaria Forum²³ - a meeting of malaria experts. There, Bill Gates invited people to aim high - to destroy malaria completely! After the meeting he wrote:
Voice 4
“This week an amazing group of people...came together...to discuss what they can do to stop malaria. My wife Melinda and I presented an idea to them. We asked them to begin designing a programme to end malaria. Not just to control or reduce it. But to work toward²⁴ a time when no one on earth is infected with malaria - and no mosquitoes carry the disease.”
Voice 1
Margaret Chan is the head of the World Health Organisation¹⁴. She attended Bill Gates’ Malaria Forum. She welcomed Bill Gates’ ideas, and promised that WHO would support them.
Voice 2
In 2007, The United²⁵ Nations Children’s organisation, UNICEF, published an encouraging report. It stated that many countries were experiencing great success in preventing the spread of malaria. This progress has changed the question in some people’s minds. It is no longer - can we stop malaria? Now they ask, when will we stop malaria?
Voice 1
We have heard lots of information about malaria. But it is easy to forget that - in the end - malaria is a tragedy²⁶ for individual humans. Here is Ruby²⁷ to talk about one of her friends, Heather.
Voice 5
“Heather was from Britain, but she went to live in Mozambique. She was manager of a farm store. People from many villages came to her store to buy grain. Heather loved her life in Africa. She caught malaria a few times. It made her very sick. But each time she recovered. She returned to the United Kingdom to visit her family. During that time, she had another health problem. So, she spent some time in hospital. Heather recovered well. She was preparing to return home. But suddenly, Heather became sick. Something inside her had gone very wrong. Whatever it was, her body’s defence²⁸ system could not deal with it. Malaria had left it weak and less effective. And very suddenly, Heather died. Doctors were shocked. I was very sad. And it made me think about how malaria destroys so many lives around the world. Melinda Gates said: “The only way to end death from malaria is to end malaria”. I will be remembering World Malaria Day on the twenty-fifth of April - and I hope you will be too.”
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 mosquito   

n.蚊子

参考例句：

• I slapped at the mosquito but missed.我打蚊子，但没打中。
• I was bitten in the leg by a mosquito.我腿上被蚊子叮了一口。

3 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

4 diseases   

n.疾病( disease的名词复数 )；弊端；恶疾；痼疾

参考例句：

• Smoking is a causative factor in several major diseases. 抽烟是引起几种严重疾病的病因。
• The illness frequently coexists with other chronic diseases. 这种病往往与其他慢性病同时存在。

5 mosquitoes   

n.蚊子( mosquito的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Mosquitoes are extremely abundant in this dark wet place. 这个阴暗潮湿的地方蚊子非常多。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In the swamp the army was beset by mosquitoes. 在沼泽地，该军受到蚊子的困扰。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 virus   

n.病毒，滤过性微生物，毒害，恶毒；（一个能够复制、感染其他程序或破坏操作系统的程序）

参考例句：

• He is suffering from a virus infection.他受到病毒感染。
• There is a virus going round the world.世界上流行着一种病毒性疾病。

7 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

8 parasite   

n.寄生虫；寄生菌；食客

参考例句：

• The lazy man was a parasite on his family.那懒汉是家里的寄生虫。
• I don't want to be a parasite.I must earn my own way in life.我不想做寄生虫，我要自己养活自己。

9 organism   

n.生物，有机体；(如生物的)机体、有机组织

参考例句：

• The economy is not a mechanical device but a living organism.经济不是一套机械装置,而是活的有机体。
• Selection will root out such organism.自然选择将把这些物种消灭掉。

10 pregnant   

adj.怀孕的，怀胎的

参考例句：

• She is a pregnant woman.她是一名孕妇。
• She is pregnant with her first child.她怀了第一胎。

11 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

12 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

13 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

14 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

15 conference   

n.（正式的）会议；讨论

参考例句：

• We're having a conference and we'd like you to sit in.我们将举行一次会议，希望你来旁听。
• The conference will come to a close this afternoon.今天下午会议闭幕。

16 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

17 concentrated   

adj.集中的；全神贯注的；浓缩的；汰选出来的v.集中(concentrate的过去分词)；聚集，集结；凝缩，浓缩；[矿]汰选

参考例句：

• He made a concentrated effort to finish the work on time. 他全力以赴以按时完成这项工作。
• He was calm and concentrated in judging how to defeat his opponent. 他冷静沉着，聚精会神地判断如何打败对手。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 prevention   

n.阻止，妨碍，预防

参考例句：

• They have begun to do the prevention of crime.他们已经开始防止犯罪行为。
• Prevention of forest fires is up to you.森林防火是你们的责任。

19 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

20 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

21 completely   

adv.完全地，十分地，全然

参考例句：

• She never completely gave up hope.她从不完全放弃希望。
• I feel completely in the dark on this question.这件事使我感到茫然。

22 invest   

v.投资；投入(时间等)；授予，赋予

参考例句：

• I have decided to invest in a new car.我已经决定买一辆新汽车。
• The best time to invest is now.现在是投资的最佳时机。

23 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

24 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

25 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

26 tragedy   

n.悲剧；惨事，惨案，灾难

参考例句：

• The news of the tragedy really knocked us out.关于这一惨案的消息确实使我们感到震惊。
• The play was a tragedy,but the acting was laughable.戏是悲剧，可是演得却令人发笑。

27 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

28 defence   

n.保卫，防御，辩护

参考例句：

• The lawyer produced a clever defence of his client.律师机智地为委托人辩护。
• We must see that there is no gap in our defence.我们必须确保我们的防御没有漏洞。