美国有线新闻 CNN 四家药企与美国地方政府达成2.6亿美元和解协议

 

Up next, a settlement worth hundreds of millions of dollars related to America's opioid epidemic¹. A trial was set to begin this week. The plaintiffs were two counties in Ohio, and the defendants² were four pharmaceutical³ companies. The counties accused the drug distributors of not doing enough to make sure that the orders they filled were going to people that needed them and not to the black market. The companies were also accused of ignoring signs there was a problem concerning opioids in northeastern Ohio. Hours before the trial began, the four companies agreed to a settlement worth $260 million.

They said they strongly disputed the counties accusations⁴' but that they believed settling the trial would be an important step toward quote, "achieving a global resolution and delivering meaningful relief". They also said they expected the settlement money would be used to fight the opioid epidemic by treating and rehabilitating⁵ people who abuse the drugs. This was one legal case concerning the opioid epidemic. There are more than 2,700 others like it awaiting trial. The problem is widespread across America. Between 1999 and 2017, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control says almost 400,000 people died from overdosing on opioids. That includes both prescription⁶ and illegal drugs.

1 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。

2 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

3 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

4 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

5 rehabilitating   

改造（罪犯等）( rehabilitate的现在分词 )； 使恢复正常生活； 使恢复原状； 修复

参考例句：

• a unit for rehabilitating drug addicts 帮助吸毒者恢复正常生活的机构
• She was more concerned about protecting the public than rehabilitating the criminal. 她比较关心保护百姓，而不大关心改造罪犯。

6 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。