VOA慢速英语20060613b

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - Shocks to the System: Taking a Reading of the Health of Health CareBy Jill Moss¹

Broadcast: 2006骞?鏈?3鏃?

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:


A child with a high body temperature is given oxygen at a hospital in Bombay (also known as Mumbai), India

And I'm Pat² Bodnar. Recently VOA News had a team of reporters examine some of the problems and issues facing health care systems around the world.

VOICE ONE:

Our program this week is based on what they found.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

One could argue that a nation's health is only as good as its health care system.

In many developing nations, the poor often go without even the most basic care. Either the cost is too high or the nearest doctor is too far away.

Yet money is not the only thing in short supply. Some nations are dealing³ with shortages⁴ of doctors and other trained medical professionals.

VOICE ONE:

Efforts to reform public health systems can produce mixed results.

Consider the situation in Thailand. The country has a health care program known as the thirty baht plan. Patients pay just thirty baht, or about seventy-five cents, for every medical visit.

The program serves almost eighty percent of the sixty-two million people in Thailand. It offers basic services and even many high-cost operations and treatments. These include treatments for AIDS and cancer.

The thirty baht plan is popular with voters, especially in the countryside. The program helped the Thai Rak Thai party win the general elections⁵ in two thousand one. And it was again an important part of the campaign in the last elections in April.

VOICE TWO:

The thirty baht program marked a major step toward⁷ universal health care in Thailand. But now hospitals are the ones feeling the pain. They say the program is breaking them financially.

Public hospitals and many doctors say the plan is based on poor policy. And they say that even though government financing⁸ has increased, it has still fallen short.

Hospitals now face big debts. Siriraj Hospital is Thailand's oldest medical school. Today it has debts of about thirteen and one-half million dollars. Other major teaching⁹ hospitals have withdrawn¹⁰ from the plan to avoid similar situations.

Critics of the program note that many doctors have left the public health system in Thailand because of rising work pressures. As a result, hospitals often do not have enough doctors to see the increased numbers of patients.

Officials estimate¹¹ that more than two thousand doctors have resigned from state hospitals over the last four years.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

You are listening to SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

We continue now with India, where most poor people are in the care of a struggling public health system.

About two-thirds of all Indians live in villages. Most hospitals, however, are in big cities. The hospitals are crowded. Patients wait in long lines to see specialists. They can wait months for tests or operations.

Many poor people do not have enough money for a stay in the hospital, so they will not even make the trip.

The lack of an effective public health system has led to a successful private system. Highly¹² skilled¹³ doctors treat wealthy patients in modern, privately¹⁴ owned hospitals.

India has even developed a medical tourism industry. Patients travel to India to receive services at a much lower cost than they would pay in their own countries.

VOICE TWO:

The test for India is to put high-quality health services within reach of the majority of its people. Other countries face similar situations.

Pedro Francke is leader of a group of civil organizations in Peru called Foro Salud, Spanish for Health Forum¹⁵. The group is fighting to improve the ability of poor Peruvians to receive health care.

Mister¹⁶ Francke tells V.O.A. that about twenty-five percent of Peruvians cannot get health services. He says this is mainly because of economics¹⁷. People have to pay at public hospitals for medicines and operations. Most people, he says, do not have the resources.

VOICE ONE:

In the Philippines, the public health system is suffering as doctors and nurses leave for better paying jobs in other countries. Former health secretary Jaime Galvez Tan⁶ tells V.O.A. that the situation is near crisis¹⁸ level. Many rural¹⁹ areas are now without trained medical professionals. He says the situation is similar to the nineteen fifties.

Experts estimate that more than one hundred thousand nurses have left the Philippines since nineteen ninety-four. Within the past few years, thousands of doctors have followed.

VOICE TWO:

South Africa also has a limited number of doctors and nurses. They have to treat a population where almost one-fifth of the adults are living with H.I.V. The AIDS virus hit South Africa with force about ten years ago.

At that time, the nation was beginning to recover from years of racial separation laws. Public services were being expanded to reach all South Africans, black and white.

The spread of H.I.V. and AIDS overloaded²⁰ the health services. Many health workers left the country. Poor areas in South Africa have been affected²¹ the most.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:


A patient is treated for carbon monoxide poisoning in Jilin province, China

International health experts estimate that about half of poor farmers in China go without medical care. Most hospitals and medical centers are in large cities hours away from where they live. In addition, the cost of treatment is often too high for them.

In the nineteen seventies, the communist leadership in China launched²² a campaign to close the health care divide between cities and villages. Health workers who traveled the countryside became known as barefoot doctors. They provided²³ free medicines and other basic services to villagers.

But free-market reforms and economic development have been a shock to the system. Medical services in China are now provided mostly at hospitals in large cities. A low-cost health insurance plan has been established, but critics say it has reached few people.

Still, a World Health Organization official recently said the government has clearly recognized the need to re-invest in health. In March, Chinese leaders promised to spend thousands of millions of dollars to improve services in the countryside.

VOICE TWO:

Across the border from China, Russia is taking steps to reform its health care system for the first time in fifteen years. The plan calls for the government to spend more than three thousand million dollars beginning this year.

Some of that is expected to be used for pay increases for doctors and nurses. The money is also to be used to buy new equipment and build eight high-technology medical centers in the countryside.

But critics of the plan say the quality of patient care in Russia will suffer. The plan reportedly calls for the dismissal²⁴ of tens of thousands of specialists. The Russian government wants more doctors who can treat general medical problems. Russian news reports say many hospitals could be shut down in the next few years.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Even the world's wealthiest nation has problems with its health care system. Karen Davenport is director of health policy at the Center for American Progress, a research group. She says one of the biggest problems is the situation of uninsured patients. The United States has three hundred million people. An estimated²⁵ forty-six million do not have health insurance.

Most health services are privately operated. Government programs pay for care only for the poor. Americans are generally offered insurance through their jobs; their employers²⁶ usually share the costs. But some people work in jobs that do not provide insurance or it costs too much. Health plans also differ in the services they will pay for.

Karen Davenport notes that many of the uninsured delay medical care when they need it. When they finally do seek help, they often require more complex services including emergency care. So the cost is much higher. When hospitals cannot collect on the bills, the result is higher costs for other patients.

VOICE TWO:

Public opinion research shows that health care reform is a major concern among American voters. Calls for national health insurance have been debated for years. Opponents²⁷ including the medical and insurance industries say that idea would be worse for the nation's health than the current situation.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Jill Moss and produced by Brianna Blake. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Pat Bodnar. Read and listen to our shows at www.unsv.com, and find a link to other reports from VOA's health care series. Listen again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

1 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

2 pat   

n.轻拍，拍打声；vt.轻拍，拍打；vi.轻跑，轻击；adv.适时，彻底；adj.油腔滑调的，恰好的，合适的

参考例句：

• Could you hear the pat?你能听到轻轻的拍击声吗？
• He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 他轻拍了一下她的肩膀让她放心。

3 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

4 shortages   

n.不足( shortage的名词复数 )；缺少；缺少量；不足额

参考例句：

• Food shortages often occur in time of war. 在战争期间常常发生粮食短缺的情形。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• At the same time, worldwide food and fuel shortages eased. 同时，世界性粮食和石油短缺的现象终止了。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

5 elections   

n.选举，当选，推举( election的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Republicans got shellacked in the elections. 共和党在选举中一败涂地。
• He emerged victorious in the elections. 他在竞选中脱颖而出获得胜利。

6 tan   

n.鞣制革，黄褐色；adj.黄褐色的，鞣皮的；vt.晒黑，鞣(革)，鞭打；vi.晒成棕褐色

参考例句：

• She had gotten a good tan after the holiday at the sea.在海边度假之后，她的皮肤晒得黑黑的。
• His arms and legs had a dark tan.他的手臂和腿晒得黑黑的。

7 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

8 financing   

n.筹措资金

参考例句：

• The main source of our outside financing is bank loan. 我们向外筹措资金的主要渠道是银行贷款。
• They live in a symbiosis with governments that they are financing. 他们与他们服务的政府互利共存。

9 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

10 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

11 estimate   

n.估计，估量；评价，看法；vt.估计，估量

参考例句：

• We estimate the cost to be five thousand dollars.我们估计费用为5000美元。
• The lowest estimate would put the worth of the jewel at ＄200.按最低的评估这块宝石也值200美元。

12 highly   

adv.高度地，极，非常；非常赞许地

参考例句：

• It is highly important to provide for the future.预先做好准备非常重要。
• The teacher speaks very highly of the boy's behaviour.老师称赞这个男孩的表现。

13 skilled   

adj.(in)熟练的，有技能的；需要技能的

参考例句：

• Unskilled workers usually earn less money than skilled workers.无技能的工人通常比有技能的工人挣钱少。
• She was skilled enough in French to translate a novel.她法语娴熟，足以翻译小说。

14 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

15 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

16 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

17 economics   

n.经济学，经济情况

参考例句：

• He is studying economics,which subject is very important.他正在学习经济学，该学科是很重要的。
• One can't separate politics from economics.不能把政治与经济割裂开来。

18 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

19 rural   

adj.乡下的，田园的，乡村风味的

参考例句：

• He lived a rural life.他过着田园生活。
• We left the city for a rural home.我们离开城市，去农村安家。

20 overloaded   

a.超载的，超负荷的

参考例句：

• He's overloaded with responsibilities. 他担负的责任过多。
• She has overloaded her schedule with work, study, and family responsibilities. 她的日程表上排满了工作、学习、家务等，使自己负担过重。

21 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

22 launched   

v.发射( launch的过去式和过去分词 )；[计算机]开始（应用程序）；发动；开展（活动、计划等）

参考例句：

• He launched a bitter diatribe against the younger generation. 他对年轻一代发起了猛烈的抨击。
• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide. 这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。

23 provided   

conj.假如，若是；adj.预备好的，由...供给的

参考例句：

• Provided it's fine we will have a pleasant holiday.如果天气良好，我们的假日将过得非常愉快。
• I will come provided that it's not raining tomorrow.如果明天不下雨，我就来。

24 dismissal   

n.解雇，免职；撤退；解雇通知；[法]驳回，拒绝受理

参考例句：

• He still hopes to win his claim against unfair dismissal . 他声称遭无理解雇，仍然希望赢得申诉。
• She decided to sue her employer for wrongful dismissal. 她决定起诉雇主非法解雇她。

25 estimated   

adj．根据估计的

参考例句：

• She estimated the breadth of the lake to be 500 metres. 她估计湖面大约有500米宽。
• The man estimated for the repair of the car. 那人估算了修理汽车的费用。

26 employers   

雇主( employer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Employers must consider all candidates impartially and without bias. 雇主必须公平而毫无成见地考虑所有求职者。
• The onus is on employers to follow health and safety laws. 雇主有义务遵行健康安全法。

27 opponents   

n.对手，敌手( opponent的名词复数 )；反对者

参考例句：

• Somehow he always manages to outwit his opponents. 他反正总能设法智胜对手。
• to use strong-arm tactics against your political opponents 用强制手段对付政敌