VOA慢速英语2019 世卫组织担心中国可能出现新的冠状病毒（在线收听）

WHO Concerned about Possible New Coronavirus in China

Chinese officials and the World Health Organization (WHO) are trying to contain an outbreak of pneumonia in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

中国官员和世界卫生组织（WHO）试图遏制在中国中部城市武汉爆发的肺炎。

Health experts suspect that the pneumonia cases could be linked to a new form of coronavirus. The virus is blamed for at least one death.

卫生专家怀疑，肺炎病例可能与一种新形式的冠状病毒有关。该病毒被指责导致至少一人死亡。

The WHO has said there may have been limited human-to-human transmission of the virus within families.

世界卫生组织表示，在家庭内部这种病毒在人与人之间的传播可能受到限制。

Chinese officials say a seafood market in Wuhan is thought to be at the center of the outbreak. Officials said one woman may have gotten the virus from her husband, who worked at the market. The two are among 41 people shown to have pneumonia thought to be caused by the virus.

中国官员说，武汉的海鲜市场被认为是爆发的中心。官员说，一名妇女可能是从在市场上工作的丈夫那里感染了这种病毒。这两人中有41人被认为是由病毒引起的肺炎。

Officials said some of the sick have denied visiting the market.

官员说，有些病人拒绝访问市场。

The outbreak comes two weeks before the start of the Lunar New Year holiday, when many of China's 1.4 billion people will be traveling to their hometowns or overseas.

暴发发生在农历新年假期开始前的两周，届时中国14亿人口中的许多人将前往家乡或海外旅行。

WHO and Chinese officials are taking steps to ensure the disease does not spread.

世卫组织和中国官员正在采取步骤，以确保这种疾病不会传播。

The officials in Wuhan confirmed that Thailand has quarantined a Chinese woman. It is the first case of the mystery strain of coronavirus to be found outside of China. The woman is said to have come from Wuhan.

武汉官员证实，泰国已隔离了一名中国妇女。这是在中国以外发现的首例冠状病毒神秘株。据说这名女子来自武汉。

The coronavirus is from a family of viruses that can cause both the common cold and more serious diseases.

冠状病毒来自可能导致普通感冒和更严重疾病的病毒家族。

On Wednesday, a Hong Kong health official told reporters that the threat of human-to-human transmission remains low. Chuang Shuk-kwan said that doctors and hundreds of other people have been in close contact with infected individuals and have not been infected themselves. She spoke to reporters after returning from a visit to Wuhan.

周三，香港卫生官员告诉记者，人与人之间传播的威胁仍然很小。庄书宽说，医生和其他数百人与被感染者保持着密切联系，而自己并未被感染。她从武汉回国后向记者讲话。

With the Lunar New Year set to begin on January 25, the WHO called on Thai officials and the public to be on guard against the virus. Thai health officials announced Wednesday they were increasing security at airports.

随着农历新年定于1月25日开始，世界卫生组织呼吁泰国官员和公众保持警惕。泰国卫生官员周三宣布，他们正在提高机场的安全性。

The outbreak in Wuhan has made some in China think of SARS, short for severe acute respiratory syndrome. SARS is a coronavirus that first struck southern China in late 2002. It then spread to more than 24 countries, killing nearly 800 people.

武汉的暴发使中国有些人想到了SARS，SARS是严重急性呼吸道综合症的简称。 SARS是一种冠状病毒，最早于2002年底袭击中国南部，然后蔓延至24多个国家，造成近800人死亡。

The United States released a warning about the latest outbreak for American citizens in China.

美国发布了有关中国公民最近爆发疫情的警告。

重点词汇：

Words in This Story：

outbreak – n. a sudden rise in the number of cases of a disease; a sudden or violent increase in activity

transmission – n. the act or process by which something is spread or passed from one person or thing to another

quarantine – n. a period of time during which a person or animal that has a disease or that might have a disease is kept away from others to prevent the disease from spreading

respiratory – adj. of or relating to breathing or the organs of the body that are used in breathing

syndrome – n. a group of conditions which often are found at the same time