2007年VOA标准英语-US Helping Fight Malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa

By Margaret Besheer
Washington
15 February 2007

Malaria¹ afflicts² as many as 500 million people each year around the world. More than 1 million die, most of them children under the age of five living in sub-Saharan Africa.  Last June, President Bush launched an initiative committing $1.2 billion over the next five years to combating the disease in 15 of Africa's hardest-hit countries. Part of that plan includes working with faith-based organizations in reaching out to affected³ communities. In Washington Thursday, First Lady Laura Bush spoke⁴ at a conference about the project.  VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.

 
Emelia Jorge tends to one of her eight-month-old twins, both of whom are suffering from malaria in Mozambique
Malaria, a mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite⁵, is highly preventable and treatable, yet it remains⁶ one of the most pressing crises in the global community.

The President's Malaria Initiative hopes to cut the death rate in half by 2008. Aid from the American people has already reached more than six million Africans. This year, 30 million more will receive medicines, mosquito repellant and bed nets treated with insecticide as the program expands. Speaking at a White House-sponsored conference on the issue Thursday, Mrs. Bush said one of the program's goals is to utilize⁷ faith-based groups in its efforts to fight this disease.

"In many African villages, churches are the only formal institutions that can manage malaria control and prevention. In malaria-prone regions, people look first to their churches, mosques⁸ or synagogues for help," she said.  "They trust their pastors⁹ to provide it."

Robert Tortora is with the Gallup organization, which does international polls and surveys. His research shows that religious organizations are good way to reach the African population.

"And if you look at institutions and you ask sub-Saharan Africans about confidence in institutions, the number one institution that they have confidence in is religious organizations," he noted¹⁰.

One of the simplest and most effective ways of preventing malaria infection is through the use of inexpensive netting that is treated with insecticides and draped over a bed.  Tortora says because Africans have confidence in their religious leaders, they can be very effective in educating people on how to use these nets properly, getting nets out to the population, especially those in vulnerable rural areas, and thereby¹¹ reduce infection rates.

 
First Lady Laura Bush (file photo)
Mrs. Bush says this type of partnership¹² has already been effective in parts of Africa.

"Religious groups add to the anti-malaria resources committed by the United States and our partner governments," she added.  "And they heal the sick and suffering with the faith, hope and love that governments cannot provide."

On Wednesday, the U.S. Congress approved funding for malaria, allocating¹³ an additional $25 million over what the White House asked for. Organizations working against the disease say that extra money will help benefit an additional 10 million people this year.

1 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

2 afflicts   

使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Level 3-Afflicts a target with the Curse of the Silent. 三级-用静默诅咒折磨一个目标。
• Level 1-Afflicts a target with the Curse of the Silent. 一级-用静默诅咒折磨一个目标。

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 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。

5 parasite   

n.寄生虫；寄生菌；食客

参考例句：

• The lazy man was a parasite on his family.那懒汉是家里的寄生虫。
• I don't want to be a parasite.I must earn my own way in life.我不想做寄生虫，我要自己养活自己。

6 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。

7 utilize   

vt.使用，利用

参考例句：

• The cook will utilize the leftover ham bone to make soup.厨师要用吃剩的猪腿骨做汤。
• You must utilize all available resources.你必须利用一切可以得到的资源。

8 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

9 pastors   

n.（基督教的）牧师( pastor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Do we show respect to our pastors, missionaries, Sunday school teachers? 我们有没有尊敬牧师、宣教士，以及主日学的老师？ 来自互联网
• Should pastors or elders be paid, or serve as a volunteer? 牧师或长老需要付给酬劳，还是志愿的事奉呢？ 来自互联网

10 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。

11 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

12 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

13 allocating   

分配，分派( allocate的现在分词 )； 把…拨给

参考例句：

• Administrative practice generally follows the judicial model in allocating burdens of proof. 在分配举证责任方面，行政实践通常遵循司法模式。
• A cyclical multiplexing technique, allocating resources in fixed-time slices. 以固定的时间片分配资源的循环复用技术。