VOA慢速英语2014 红十字会负责人称,埃博拉病毒可以被打败

 

AS IT IS 2014-08-21 Red Cross Chief Says Ebola Can Be Defeated 红十字会负责人称,埃博拉病毒可以被打败

The head of the International Federation¹ of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is hopeful that the spread of the deadly Ebola virus can be defeated. But he says quick action is essential to make that happen.

More than 1,500 Red Cross volunteers are working in communities in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, countries where people have been infected with the virus.

Elhady as Sy is the new Secretary-General of the International Red Cross federation. He recently visited Red Cross volunteers in Guinea and Sierra Leone. He says he wanted to show these brave women and men that they were not alone in their fight against Ebola.

“I, I don’t know how I would look like if six months after Ebola then I, then I come to say ‘thank you,’ and while during that time when they were on the field, you know, risking their lives and doing the best they could and I sit in Geneva all the time.” 

Mr. Sy says national Red Cross societies throughout the world are helping² to stop the spread of Ebola. He says almost 130 Red Cross employees are working in places affected³ by Ebola. And he says volunteers are coming from 17 different countries around the world, including neighboring Ivory⁴ Coast and Rwanda. Volunteers have also come from Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ebola has infected people in those countries in the past so workers there know a lot about the virus.

“And I think that showed a, you know, very strong sense of, you know, solidarity⁵ -- that all resources are required. Expertise⁶ is a resource. Experience of having worked in an Ebola setting is a resource. You know, bringing your own knowledge of the environment and the cultural setting is a resource. And, of course, we badly need the financial resources and the infrastructure⁷ and the equipments, you know, that will allow us, you know, to cope and then continue to support the response.” 

More than 1,000 people have already died in the most-recent spread of the disease in West Africa. Mr. Sy says it will take many months before the spread is stopped. He says many more people will die.

“While we are very happy with what is being done, we are always asking ourself if it is enough -- probably not. It’s not enough because we need to keep on going to scale to reach almost everybody. There is nothing like a half solution in this kind of crisis⁸.  So, 50 percent or 70 percent or even 80 will not be satisfactory. We will only make a difference if we walk the whole last mile to the hundred percent.”   

Secretary-General Sy says it is important to continue the fight against the disease, especially when the number of cases starts to drop. He says, in the past, efforts against the disease have slowed as the number of infections slowed. He says it would be a disaster if that happened again. He says the fight against Ebola must continue until the spread of the disease is completely stopped.

1 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

2 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。

3 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。

4 ivory   

n.象牙，乳白色；adj.象牙制的，乳白色的

参考例句：

• My grandmother has some jewelry made of ivory.我祖母有一些象牙首饰。
• It is carved from ivory.它是用象牙雕成的。

5 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

6 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

7 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

8 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。