VOA常速英语2020--2020年世界脊髓灰质炎日

Next, an editorial reflecting the views of the United States government.

以下是一篇反映美国政府政策立场的社论。

Poliomyelitis, or polio, is a paralyzing and potentially fatal infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Poliovirus invades the central nervous system and can cause total paralysis¹ in hours. It can affect people of any age, but children under five are especially at risk. Polio can be prevented by vaccines², but it is not curable once someone is infected. In 1988, the World Health Assembly vowed³ to eradicate⁴ polio, a disease responsible for more than 350,000 cases of childhood paralysis a year across 125 countries. USAID’s contributions helped secure the eradication⁵ of wild polio in the Americas in 1994, the Western Pacific in 2000, Europe in 2002, South East Asia in 2014, and—most recently this year—Africa. In mid-August Africa was certified⁶ wild polio-free after 4 years of no new cases. Nigeria was the last country to meet the rigorous standards of certification, joining 46 countries in the region to celebrate this historic public health milestone⁷. Today polio cases have been reduced by 99.9 percent, and only Afghanistan and Pakistan continue to experience endemic cases of polio.

脊髓灰质炎（又叫小儿麻痹症）是一种由脊髓灰质炎病毒引起的传染病，这种疾病能够使人瘫痪，甚至可能致死。脊髓灰质炎病毒入侵人体的中枢神经系统，有可能在几小时内就导致瘫痪。任何年龄段的人都可能染病，而五岁以下的儿童患病风险尤其大。可通过注射疫苗对脊髓灰质炎进行预防，但是患者一旦染病，就无法治愈。1988年，世界卫生大会誓言要根除脊髓灰质炎，每年在全球125个国家有超过35万儿童染病瘫痪。美国国际开发署的贡献帮助1994年在美洲、2000年在西太平洋、2002年在欧洲、2014年在东南亚以及今年在非洲先后实现了根除野生脊髓灰质炎病毒。在四年没有新增病例的情况下，非洲在8月中旬被认证已无野生脊灰病毒。尼日利亚是最后一个满足严格认证标准的国家，与该地区其它46个国家一起庆祝这一具有历史意义的公共卫生里程碑。如今，脊髓灰质炎病例已被减少了99.9%，只有阿富汗和巴基斯坦仍然存在脊髓灰质炎流行病例。

In many countries, the road to polio eradication has not been easy. Protracted⁸ conflict, misinformation, displaced populations, remote communities, and other challenges have stalled—and continue to stall—the efforts of countries trying to combat the virus. Nonetheless, if residual⁹ transmission of the virus is to be stopped, a sustained and evolving response must continue. Only through the unwavering dedication¹⁰, creative problem solving, and incredible hard work of local communities, national governments, and global partners alike has a polio-free world moved within reach. In partnership¹¹ with these countless¹² health workers, community leaders, and volunteers who have never lost sight of reaching every last child, USAID’s support towards global polio eradication has helped ensure over 400 million children are vaccinated¹³ against polio each year. Today, nearly 19 million people are walking who would have otherwise been paralyzed and more than 1.5 million people are alive who would otherwise have died from polio. This year, 2020, is a notable one to celebrate World Polio Day, with the Africa region certified wild polio-free even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt essential health care worldwide, including routine immunization programs. Moving forward, USAID and its partners plan to use the lessons learned and infrastructure¹⁴ built on the road to polio eradication to inform our response to the current pandemic and future infectious disease outbreaks.

在很多国家，通往根除脊髓灰质炎的道路并非一帆风顺。旷日持久的冲突、不实信息、流离失所的人口、地域偏远的社区和其它挑战曾经和继续阻碍着各国抗击脊髓灰质炎病毒的努力。然而，要想阻止残余病毒的传播，就必须要继续坚持持续不断发展的响应措施。只有通过当地社区、国家政府和全球合作伙伴坚定不移的献身精神、创造性的解决问题和艰苦卓绝的努力，才能够实现一个没有脊髓灰质炎的世界。美国国际开发署与无数的医疗卫生工作者、社区领袖和志愿者建立起了合作伙伴关系，他们从未忘记要为每一个儿童提供帮助。美国国际开发署对全球根除脊髓灰质炎病毒的支持帮助每年让超过4亿的儿童接种脊髓灰质炎疫苗。如今，有将近1900万原本会瘫痪的人正在健步而行，有超过150万人摆脱了死于脊髓灰质炎的厄运。今年，也就是2020年的“世界脊髓灰质炎日”是值得庆祝的一天。虽然新冠病毒疫情仍在继续扰乱世界各地界的基本医疗保健，包括例行的免疫项目，但是非洲地区获得了没有野生脊灰病毒的认证。今后，美国国际开发署及其合作伙伴计划利用在根除脊髓灰质炎病毒的道路上汲取的经验教训和建立的基础设施，为我们应对当前的疫情以及未来传染病暴发提供信息。

That was an editorial reflecting the views of the United States government.

这是一篇反映美国政府政策立场的社论。

1 paralysis   

n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症)

参考例句：

• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。
• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。

2 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。

3 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

4 eradicate   

v.根除，消灭，杜绝

参考例句：

• These insects are very difficult to eradicate.这些昆虫很难根除。
• They are already battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus.他们已经在努力消灭疟疾、破伤风等疾病。

5 eradication   

n.根除

参考例句：

• The eradication of an established infestation is not easy. 根除昆虫蔓延是不容易的。
• This is often required for intelligent control and eradication. 这经常需要灵巧的控制与消除。

6 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

7 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

8 protracted   

adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The war was protracted for four years. 战争拖延了四年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We won victory through protracted struggle. 经过长期的斗争，我们取得了胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 residual   

adj.复播复映追加时间；存留下来的，剩余的

参考例句：

• There are still a few residual problems with the computer program.电脑程序还有一些残留问题。
• The resulting residual chromatism is known as secondary spectrum.所得到的剩余色差叫做二次光谱。

10 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

11 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。

12 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

13 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

14 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。