英语博客(A cup of English):H1N1

Beginners.

Have you had the flu this year? Do you know anyone who has had it? It can be a nasty¹ illness. Usually you have a temperature, you feel weak, and sometimes you might have a cough also. There is a lot of talk about flus at the moment. You have probably heard about the new H1N1 flu. It seems to be scaring a lot of people. When I say that it is a new flu, what that means is that, though it is from the family of flus, it is slightly different than any that we are used to. It is cold and flu season here at the moment. Lots of children are staying home from school because they have a touch of this, or a touch of that. It's best to stay at home, get lots of rest, preferably stay in bed, and have nutritious² drinks and food, if you feel like eating. Your body will fight the virus that you have, and it will eventually win. Thank goodness! Isn't it great that our bodies can do that! Doctors say, that to prevent illness there are some golden rules: wash your hands with soap and water regularly, avoid sick people, sleep well, eat well, and try not to touch door knobs³ and taps because they usually are covered in germs. Still, even if you do all these things, the viruses that float around in the air are difficult to avoid. Our local community has flu shots, or injections, every year. They say that the most vunerable people, such as the very young, the very old, and those who have weak immune⁴ systems, should have the shot. It is not a pleasant thing to have, but you can avoid a bad virus if you get the injection.

Grammar notes.

Related vocabulary: a virus, to float, to avoid, germs, immune system, a touch of (illness).

Exs:

I felt terrible for a week. I had some kind of virus, though I didn't know exactly what it was.

Look how the clouds float in the sky!

We avoid that area of town; it doesn't seem safe.

Wash your hands! They must be covered in germs!

His immune system must be weak because he gets one illness after another.

I have a touch of bronchitis; it's not too bad at the moment, and it's getting better.

Advanced.

The flu really has quite a history. Throughout history, humans have suffered because of various flus. One of the worst was the Spanish flu which caused the deaths of 100 million people around the time of the First World War. It didn't originate⁵ in Spain, and is only called the Spanish flu because Spain was the only country during the war that didn't have censorship in its newspapers. It is thought that the majority of those  people who died, did so because of complications⁶ and infections after getting the flu. Now a days, we have access to antibiotics⁷ and better quality medicines and health treatment, so even if we get the flu, we can quickly intervene⁸ if our health gets worse. So, what is the panic about the H1N1? The World Health Organisation⁹ has called it a pandemic, which means that it has spread quickly all over the world. And, what does H1N1 mean, anyway? Well, flu viruses come from humans, pigs, and birds. Apparently¹⁰, they all have two proteins on their surface, but each flu has a slightly different arrangement, and that is because the viruses can change or mutate. The H and the N are the first letters of the names of the proteins. It's fascinating, isn't it? Many people have had the H1N1 flu and not realised it, thinking that it was a virus that they had had before. Well, I suppose we will get used to it, because it is here to stay, unfortunately. We can only do our best to stay healthy and clean, and follow the golden rules to avoid contracting the virus. Let's hope that we all stay healthy this year!

Grammar notes.

Related vocabulary: censorship, to intervene, antibiotics, protein.   Practice of 'though'.

Exs:

The Mexican press now no longer has censorship.

The Special Forces intervened¹¹ and trapped the criminals.

The baby has an ear infection, so he needs antibiotics.

The body builder has to eat a lot of protein every day to keep his muscles big.

Practice of 'though'.

(similar to 'but' or 'however') I never got a long with him, though I did like his sister.

(short for 'even though') Though we were tired, we carried on dancing.

 

1 nasty   

adj.令人讨厌的，困难的，恶劣的，下流的

参考例句：

• She got a nasty knock on the head when she fell.她跌倒时头部受到严重碰撞。
• When this material burns，it flings off a nasty smell.这种物质燃烧时发出一股难闻的气味。

2 nutritious   

adj.有营养的，营养价值高的

参考例句：

• Fresh vegetables are very nutritious.新鲜蔬菜富于营养。
• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。

3 knobs   

小块( knob的名词复数 )； （收音机等的）旋钮； （门、抽屉的）球形把手； 疙瘩

参考例句：

• There are luminous knobs on all the doors in my house. 我家所有门上都安有夜光把手。
• We have replaced the knobs on all the doors. 我们将门上所有的把手都换了。

4 immune   

adj.免疫的，有免疫力的，不受影响的，免除的

参考例句：

• I am immune from the disease,for I had it once.我对这病有免疫力，因为我已得过一次了。
• Be immune from corruption.拒腐蚀，永不沾。

5 originate   

vi.起源于，来自；vt.创造，创始，开创

参考例句：

• All carbohydrates originate from plants.所有的碳水化合物均来自植物。
• All theories originate from practice and in turn serve practice.任何理论都来源于实践，反过来为实践服务。

6 complications   

（新出现的）困难，难题( complication的名词复数 )； 并发症； 曲折

参考例句：

• Complications set in, and the patient died. 病人因出现并发症而死亡。
• Normally there are no complications with the medicine. 服用这种药按理不会产生并发症。

7 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

8 intervene   

vi.干涉，干预，干扰，阻挠

参考例句：

• When riot broke out,the police were obliged to intervene.发生暴乱时，警察有责任干预。
• You don't intervene between those two drunks.你不要在那两个酒鬼之间进行调解。

9 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

10 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

11 intervened   

阻碍( intervene的过去式和过去分词 )； 出面； 插嘴； 介于…之间

参考例句：

• The President intervened personally in the crisis. 总统亲自出面处理这场危机。
• We enjoyed the picnic until a thunderstorm intervened. 那次野餐我们玩得很痛快，后来一场暴风雨使它中断了。