VOA常速英语--埃博拉促医疗改革

埃博拉促医疗改革 

More than 11,000 people died as the Ebola virus spread across Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone with minor¹ outbreaks in a handful of other African countries. The investigation² into the global response describes ‘immense human suffering, fear and chaos’and criticizes a lack of political leadership.

利比里亚、几内亚、塞拉利昂以及其它少数非洲国家爆发埃博拉疫情，死亡人数已超1.1万人。根据调查，人们将其描述为“巨大苦难，恐惧与骚乱”，还因缺乏政治领导而饱受指责。

Professor Peter Piot was part of the team that discovered the Ebola virus in what was then Zaire in 1976. He chaired the report into the latest outbreak.

1976年，彼德·皮奥特教授调查小组在刚果发现埃博拉病毒。皮奥特教授主要负责此次埃博拉疫情的报告。

We need to support those countries that are most vulnerable to epidemics³ to build their capacity, so that they can diagnose locally and promptly⁴, and also organize the response through health education and whatever measures have to be put in place.

我们需要对那些没有能力抗击疫情的国家提供帮助，这样病患就能够在当地迅速确诊，并通过医疗教育等一系列措施进行应对。

The report says the biggest single failure was the World Health Organization's delay in sounding the alarm about the outbreak.

报告中称，此次疫情爆发的最大失误是世卫组织没有能够及时作出预警。

We were simply far too slow to respond the Ebola crisis and as a result many people died unnecessarily that could have been prevented.

我们应对埃博拉的速度太慢了，许多本可以得到救助的病患白白牺牲。

That means a better-equipped and more-efficient and more-responsive WHO, World Health Organization. And also a system that brings more accountability.

这就意味着我们需要建立一个设备完善、反应速度快，更加有效的世卫组织。以及一个能够肩负起责任的组织。

Since the outbreak, promising⁵ vaccines⁶ have been developed against Ebola. Piot says thousands of lives could have been saved with earlier investment.

疫情爆发以来，埃博拉疫苗诞生。皮奥特认为早期投资或将挽救数千条生命。

Last month the three worst affected⁷ countries celebrated⁸ the first week none of them experienced any new infections. But in recent days there have been several new cases in Liberia.

上个月，遭受疫情最严重的三个国家欢欣鼓舞，连续一周未出现新增病例。但最近几天，利比里亚出现了几例新增病例。

We have discovered now, which is something we didn’t know, that people men can excrete the virus in their seminal⁹ fluid for six or seven months. That there may be persistence¹⁰ of the virus in the body. So all that is very new.

以前，我们从未发现埃博拉能够在男性体外精液中存活6-7个月。体内病毒或也同样顽强。这些都是我们的最新发现。

 

Piot says those new developments make the reforms even more urgent, to prevent a future pandemic.

皮奥特认为，这些发现让我们的预防改革变得更加迫在眉睫。

1 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

2 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。

3 epidemics   

n．流行病

参考例句：

• Reliance upon natural epidemics may be both time-consuming and misleading. 依靠天然的流行既浪费时间，又会引入歧途。
• The antibiotic epidemics usually start stop when the summer rainy season begins. 传染病通常会在夏天的雨季停止传播。

4 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

5 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

6 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

7 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。

8 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

9 seminal   

adj.影响深远的；种子的

参考例句：

• The reforms have been a seminal event in the history of the NHS.这些改革已成为英国国民保健制度史上影响深远的一件大事。
• The emperor's importance as a seminal figure of history won't be diminished.做为一个开创性历史人物的重要性是不会减弱的。

10 persistence   

n.坚持，持续，存留

参考例句：

• The persistence of a cough in his daughter puzzled him.他女儿持续的咳嗽把他难住了。
• He achieved success through dogged persistence.他靠着坚持不懈取得了成功。