VOA慢速英语2014 埃博拉病毒将造成毁灭性的经济影响

 

Economics Report - Ebola: Economic Impact Could Be Devastating 埃博拉病毒将造成毁灭性的经济影响

From VOA Learning English, this is the Economics Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语经济报道。

The World Bank is warning that the West Africa Ebola crisis could severely¹ harm the economies of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone unless action is taken quickly. World Bank President Jim Yong Kim spoke² to reporters recently to discuss the effects of the Ebola spread.

世界银行警告称，西非埃博拉危机可能会严重损害几内亚、利比里亚和塞拉利昂的经济，除非我们立即采取行动。世界银行行长金墉（Jim Yong Kim）最近向记者发表讲话讨论了埃博拉病毒传播的影响。

"Our findings indicate that if the virus continues to spread the economic cost to these countries could grow eight-fold by 2015. This would deal a potentially catastrophic blow to their already fragile economies," said Kim.

他说，“我们的研究结果表明，如果埃博拉病毒继续传播，到2018年给这几个国家造成的经济损失可能会增长8倍。这将会他们原本脆弱的经济造成潜在的灾难性打击。”

Mr. Kim says, "saving lives and preventing new infections" is most important. The bank has released $117-million for an "immediate³ humanitarian⁴ response." The World Bank President says the SARS outbreak between 2002 and 2004 showed how a disease could damage economies. 800 people died from SARS and the economic losses were estimated to be $40-billion.

金行长表示，“挽救生命和防止新的感染”是最重要的。世界银行已经释放了1.17亿美元用于“紧急人道主义反应”。世界银行的金行长表示，2002年到2004年期间爆发的非典疫情展示了疾病可以如何破坏经济。800人死于非典，经济损失预计为400亿美元。

Mr. Kim says SARS and the H1N1 outbreak of 2009 taught that fear and avoidance resulted in about 90-percent of the economic losses. That means the disease is causing two levels of economic damage.

金行长表示，非典和2009年甲型H1N1流感爆发教育我们，恐慌和躲避导致了大约90%的经济损失。这意味着这种疾病会造成两个层面的经济损失。

"There are two kinds of contagion⁵. One is related to the virus itself and the second is related to the spread of fear about the virus," said Kim.

金行长说，“有两种东西在传播。其一是病毒本身在传播，其二是对病毒的恐惧在传播。”

The World Bank predicts the losses to the economies of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea will be a combined $360-million. Mr. Kim says losses could be limited to about $97-million next year with quick action to contain the virus. However, if there is not what he calls an "immediate massive effort," losses could reach $800-million in 2015.

世界银行预计利比里亚、塞拉利昂和几内亚的经济损失加起来将达到3.6亿美元。金行长表示，如果能迅速采取行动遏止住该病毒，明年的经济损失将可以被控制在大约9700万美元。然而，如果没有他所谓的“立即付出巨大努力”，2015年的经济损失将会达到8亿美元。

The World Bank's research includes only Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. But early estimates show that losses could reach billions of dollars if the Ebola virus spreads widely to other African nations.

世界银行的研究仅包括利比里亚、几内亚和塞拉利昂这三个国家。但初步估计表明如果埃博拉病毒广泛传播到其他非洲国家，经济损失会达到数十亿美元。

Mr. Kim says fast action is necessary. He says getting the disease under control is still far away. That is because there are not enough health care workers in the affected⁶ areas. The World Bank President says the most important issue is to act quickly in order to limit economic losses.

金行长表示有必要立即采取行动。他说，控制住该疾病尚为时过早。这是因为疫区没有足够多的医护人员。世界银行的金行长表示，最重要是需要采取行动以控制经济损失。

"However many cases there are right now, if we get an effective response on the ground in the next few months, we can really blunt the vast majority – 80 to 90-percent – of the economic impact," said Kim.

他说，“然而现在有许多病例，如果我们未来数月在当地有效应对，我们才能真正减少80%到90%的经济影响。”

There is no cure or vaccine⁷ for Ebola. However, Mr. Kim says an effective effort could also sharply reduce the high death rate of about 53-percent for Ebola infections. He says the effort only needs more people, more money, more attention and more commitment.

目前对埃博拉病毒尚没有治疗办法或疫苗。然而金行长表示，一项有效努力也能大幅降低埃博拉感染约为53%的高死亡率。他说，这项努力只需要更多人力，更多资金，更多关注和承诺。

And that's the VOA Learning English Economics Report. I'm Mario Ritter.

1 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

4 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

5 contagion   

n.(通过接触的疾病)传染；蔓延

参考例句：

• A contagion of fear swept through the crowd.一种恐惧感在人群中迅速蔓延开。
• The product contagion effect has numerous implications for marketing managers and retailers.产品传染效应对市场营销管理者和零售商都有很多的启示。

6 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。

7 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。