VOA慢速英语2021 世卫专家称新冠病毒可能是从动物传播给人类

The coronavirus most likely first infected humans after jumping from an animal, a team of international and Chinese scientists said Tuesday.

国际和中国科学家团队周二表示，新冠病毒很可能最初是通过某种动物感染人类。

A team of World Health Organization (WHO) experts recently completed their closely watched visit to Wuhan. Peter Ben Embarek led the WHO investigation¹. He said the team's four-week visit did not result in major changes to the current understanding of the early days of the pandemic.

世卫组织的一支专家组最近完成了他们对武汉最引人注目的访问。彼得·本·恩布雷克领导了这项世卫组织的调查。他说，该小组为期4周的访问并未造成目前对大流行初期的理解发生重大变化。

But the visit did "add details to that story," Embarek noted². It also led the joint³ Chinese-WHO team to dismiss the theory that the virus escaped from a laboratory.

恩布雷克指出，但是这次访问为这段往事添加了细节。它也导致中国和世卫组织的联合专家组驳斥了该病毒是从实验室泄露的说法。

The Wuhan Institute of Virology has collected many virus samples. This led to claims that the institute may have been the place where the outbreak started. Experts now consider the possibility extremely unlikely. Embarek said the team would not even suggest the theory as a path of future study. China had already strongly rejected that possibility and has publicly supported other theories.

武汉病毒研究所收集了许多病毒样本。这导致人们声称该研究所可能是疫情爆发的源头。现在，专家们认为这种可能性极为不可能。恩布雷克表示，专家组甚至不建议将该说法作为未来研究的一个方向。中国已经强烈否认了这种可能性，并公开支持其它说法。

The Chinese and foreign experts considered several possibilities for how the disease first appeared in humans. Embarek said the early findings suggest the most likely pathway the virus followed was from a bat to another animal and then to humans.

中外专家考虑了这种疾病在人类当中首次出现的几种可能性。恩布雷克表示，早期研究结果表明，该病毒最可能的传播途径是从蝙蝠传播到另一种动物，再到人类。

"The findings suggest that the laboratory incidents hypothesis is extremely unlikely to explain the introduction of the virus to the human population," Embarek said.

恩布雷克表示：“研究结果表明，实验室事故假说完全不可能解释这种病毒如何传播到人类。”

The investigation was a first step in the process of understanding the beginnings of the virus. Scientists have suggested it may have passed to humans through a wild animal, such as a pangolin or bamboo rat. It is also possible that the virus spread directly from bats to humans, or through the trade in frozen food products.

这次调查是了解病毒起源过程中的第一步。科学家认为，它可能是通过穿山甲或竹鼠等野生动物传播给人类。但是也可能是直接从蝙蝠传播到人类，或是通过冷冻食品贸易而传播。

The team of WHO experts arrived in Wuhan on January 14. Among other places, the experts visited the Huanan Seafood⁴ Market. That is where an early group of cases was reported in late 2019.

这支世卫组织专家组于1月14日抵达武汉。除了其它地方，专家们还参观了华南海鲜市场。该市场报告了2019年底的一批早期病例。

Marion Koopmans is a Dutch virologist on the WHO team. She said that some animals at the market were from farms in areas that are home to bats that carry the closest related virus to the one that causes COVID-19. Koopmans said the next step would be to look more closely at farms.

玛丽恩·库普曼斯是世卫组织专家组的一名荷兰病毒学家。她说，该市场销售的一些动物来自于蝙蝠聚居地区的农场，蝙蝠携带的一种病毒最接近导致新冠肺炎的病毒。库普曼斯表示，下一步将会更深入研究农场。

Liang Wannian is the head of the Chinese side of the team of experts. He said the virus also appeared to have been spreading in other parts of Wuhan. So, it remains⁵ possible that the virus came from somewhere else.

梁万年是这支专家组的中方负责人。他说，这种病毒似乎也在武汉其它地区传播。因此，病毒仍然有可能来自于其它地方。

Another member of the WHO team, zoologist⁶ Peter Daszak, told The Associated Press late last week that the experts experienced a greater level of openness than they had expected. He said team members were permitted to visit all areas they requested.

世卫组织专家组另一位成员、动物学家彼得·达萨克上周晚些时候告诉美联社，专家们享有了比他们预期更大的开放度。他说，专家组成员获准访问了他们要求的所有场所。

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 zoologist   

n.动物学家

参考例句：

• Charles darwin was a famous zoologist.查尔斯达尔文是一位著名的动物学家。
• The zoologist had spent a long time living with monkeys.这位动物学家与猴子一起生活了很长时间。