万物简史 第458期:小生物的世界(29)

 In 1969, a doctor at a Yale University lab in New Haven¹, Connecticut, who was studying Lassa fever came down with it. 1969年，设在康涅狄格州纽黑文的耶鲁大学实验室里的一名医生在研究拉沙热的过程中倒下了，然而他活了下来。

He survived, but, more alarmingly, a technician in a nearby lab, with no direct exposure, also contracted the disease and died. 但更加令人吃惊的是，附近有个实验室的一名技术人员虽然没有直接接触病毒，但也感染上了那种疾病，他死了。

Happily the outbreak stopped there, but we can't count on such good fortune always. 幸亏这次爆发就到此为止，但我们不能指望老是那么运气。

Our lifestyles invite epidemics². 我们的生活方式招致传染病。

Air travel makes it possible to spread infectious agents across the planet with amazing ease. 空中旅行使传染病病原体轻而易举地在全球传播成为可能。

An ebola virus could begin the day in, say, Benin, and finish it in New York or Hamburg or Nairobi, or all three. 比如说一个伊波拉病毒传染病病原体可以在一天内从非洲贝宁启程，最后抵达纽约，或汉堡，或肯尼亚内罗华，或同时三个地方。

It means also that medical authorities increasingly need to be acquainted with pretty much every malady³ that exists everywhere, but of course they are not. 这还意味着，医疗当局需要非常熟悉存在于每个地方的每一种疾病，但这当然是不可能的。

In 1990, a Nigerian living in Chicago was exposed to Lassa fever on a visit to his homeland, 1990年，一个家住芝加哥的尼日利亚人在访问故乡的过程中接触了拉沙热，

but didn't develop symptoms until he had returned to the United States. 但是回到美国以后才出现症状。

He died in a Chicago hospital without diagnosis⁴ and without anyone taking any special precautions in treating him, 他未经诊断就死在一家芝加哥的医院里。在治疗他的过程中，谁也没有采取防预性措施，

unaware⁵ that he had one of the most lethal⁶ and infectious diseases on the planet. 因为谁也不知道他患的是世界上最致命、最容易传染的一种疾病。

Miraculously⁷, no one else was infected. 令人称奇的是，别人都没有感染。

We may not be so lucky next time. 下一次我们也许不会那样去运了。

And on that sobering note, it's time to return to the world of the visibly living. 说到这里，我们的话题该回到可见生物的世界来了。

1 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

2 epidemics   

n．流行病

参考例句：

• Reliance upon natural epidemics may be both time-consuming and misleading. 依靠天然的流行既浪费时间，又会引入歧途。
• The antibiotic epidemics usually start stop when the summer rainy season begins. 传染病通常会在夏天的雨季停止传播。

3 malady   

n.病，疾病(通常做比喻)

参考例句：

• There is no specific remedy for the malady.没有医治这种病的特效药。
• They are managing to control the malady into a small range.他们设法将疾病控制在小范围之内。

4 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

5 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

6 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

7 miraculously   

ad.奇迹般地

参考例句：

• He had been miraculously saved from almost certain death. 他奇迹般地从死亡线上获救。
• A schoolboy miraculously survived a 25 000-volt electric shock. 一名男学生在遭受2.5 万伏的电击后奇迹般地活了下来。