万物简史 第455期:小生物的世界(26)

 Between the autumn of 1918 and spring of the following year, 548,452 people died of the flu in America. 1918年秋天到次年春天，美国有54842人死于流感。

The toll¹ in Britain was 220,000, with similar numbers dead in France and Germany. 英国的死亡人数达到22万，法国和德国的数字也差不多。

No one knows the global toll, as records in the Third World were often poor, 谁也不清楚全球的死亡人数到底是多少，因为第三世界的记录往往很不完整，

but it was not less than 20 million and probably more like 50 million. 但不会少于2000万，更可能是5000万，

Some estimates have put the global total as high as 100 million. 还有人估计，全球的死亡人数高达1亿。

In an attempt to devise a vaccine², medical authorities conducted tests on volunteers at a military prison on Deer Island in Boston Harbor. 为了研制一种疫苗，医疗当局在波士顿港鹿岛上的一所军事监狱对志愿者进行试验。

The prisoners were promised pardons if they survived a battery of tests. 要是犯人能从一系列的试验中挺过来，就保证他们获得赦免。

These tests were rigorous to say the least. 这些试验少说也是很严酷的。

First the subjects were injected with infected lung tissue taken from the dead and then sprayed in the eyes, nose, and mouth with infectious aerosols³. 首先，从死者身上取下感染的肺组织注射到试验对象的身上，然后用传染性的气雾剂喷在他们的眼睛、鼻子里和嘴里；

If they still failed to succumb⁴, they had their throats swabbed with discharges taken from the sick and dying. 要是他们仍没有倒下去，就从病人和临终病人身上直接取来排泄物，抹在他们的咽喉里；

If all else failed, they were required to sit open-mouthed while a gravely ill victim was helped to cough into their faces. 要是所有别的办法都告失败，就要求他们张开嘴巴坐着，同时让重病人稍稍坐起身来，朝着他们的脸咳嗽。

Out of—somewhat amazingly—three hundred men who volunteered, the doctors chose sixty-two for the tests. 从总共300名——这是个惊人的数字——志愿做试验的男犯人当中，医生们挑选了62人。

None contracted the flu—not one. 没有人感染流感——一个人也没有感染。

The only person who did grow ill was the ward⁵ doctor, who swiftly died. 惟一病倒的是病室医生，他很快就死了。

The probable explanation for this is that the epidemic⁶ had passed through the prison a few weeks earlier 原因很可能是，流感在几个星期前已经通过监狱，

and the volunteers, all of whom had survived that visitation, had a natural immunity⁷. 那些志愿者都已从那次侵袭中挺过来，因此有了一种自然免疫力。

1 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

2 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

3 aerosols   

n.气溶胶( aerosol的名词复数 )；喷雾剂；（气体中的）浮粒；喷雾器

参考例句：

• Aerosols are present throughout the atmosphere. 气溶胶存在于整个大气层。 来自辞典例句
• Deodorants are available as aerosols or roll-ons. 除臭剂有喷雾装或滚抹装。 来自辞典例句

4 succumb   

v.屈服，屈从；死

参考例句：

• They will never succumb to the enemies.他们决不向敌人屈服。
• Will business leaders succumb to these ideas?商业领袖们会被这些观点折服吗？

5 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

6 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。

7 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。