VOA标准英语2008年-Bush Signs Bill Pledging Billions for AIDS, Oth

President Bush has signed a bill committing $48 billion to the global fight against AIDS, malaria¹ and tuberculosis². VOA's Michael Bowman reports from the White House, the bill vastly expands a U.S. program that already treats millions in Africa, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere.

Launched in 2003, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR, is America's largest-ever global health initiative. The five-year, $15 billion program will soon expire, but already the Democratically-controlled Congress has renewed and expanded it, committing an unprecedented³ $48 billion to battle AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

President Bush, who has made U.S. outreach to Africa a cornerstone of his foreign policy, says the continuation of PEPFAR shows that America remains⁴ a compassionate⁵ nation.

"Just a few years ago, HIV/AIDS raged out of control. An entire continent was caught in the pandemic's merciless grip. In countries like Botswana, AIDS had cut the average life expectancy⁶ by 15 years. One newspaper wrote, 'the AIDS pandemic is destined⁷ to rival the Black Death of the Middle Ages as a global horror.' Well, today the outlook is really different. HIV/AIDS is still one of the world's greatest humanitarian⁸ challenges, no question about it. But it is a challenge we are meeting," he said.

The president was speaking in the East Room of the White House, moments before signing the bill.

Although HIV transmission rates have been reduced for infants of HIV-positive mothers, thousands of people around the world are diagnosed with the HIV virus every day. Mr. Bush had a message for those who receive the devastating⁹ news.

"A positive diagnosis¹⁰ does not have to be a reason for shame. So do not let shame keep you from getting tested to treated. Your life is treasured by the people who love you. It is precious in the eyes of God. It matters to the people of the United States," he said.

United Nations AIDS officials say the global AIDS epidemic¹¹ has stabilized¹², with fewer people dying as life-saving medication has become more available in developing nations ravaged¹³ by HIV. But they warn against any easing in the battle against AIDS, saying recent gains could easily be reversed.

The bill Mr. Bush signed into law constitutes a pledge to continue and expand the PEPFAR program. But Congress must still appropriate the actual funding, which is done on a year-by-year basis.

 

 

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 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

3 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

4 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。

5 compassionate   

adj.有同情心的，表示同情的

参考例句：

• She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。
• The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。

6 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

7 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

8 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。

9 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

10 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

11 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

12 stabilized   

v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The patient's condition stabilized. 患者的病情稳定下来。
• His blood pressure has stabilized. 他的血压已经稳定下来了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

13 ravaged   

毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• a country ravaged by civil war 遭受内战重创的国家
• The whole area was ravaged by forest fires. 森林火灾使整个地区荒废了。