英语课程计划-World AIDS Day

World AIDS Day is observed on December the 1st each year. It really is a day that should be very high profile in all countries around the world. Of course, it is to raise awareness¹ of the horror of AIDS. On this day, we do our best to remember the millions of people who died and are dying because of AIDS. The first World AIDS Day was in 1998. Two officials from the Global Programme on AIDS met in August 1997 and proposed the idea at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. It is now run by the Joint² United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). In its first two years, the day focused on children and young people. Recent themes have included AIDS and poverty, and AIDS and the family.

AIDS means Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome³. It starts when someone contracts HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). This is a virus that attacks and weakens the body’s immune systems. If the virus destroys enough of a person’s defences, AIDS sets in and then eventually death. The body becomes too weak to protect itself from any illness. HIV/AIDS has killed more than 25 million people since it first broke out in the early 1980s. In many countries around the world, the disease is destroying families, communities and economies. The most common ways of getting AIDS are having sex without a condom and sharing infected syringes. The best way to prevent it is through continuing education.

1 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

2 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

3 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。