VOA慢速英语-Development Report - Nothing But Nets Campaign Aims

The United Nations Foundation has raised over $20 million so far and supplied more than 700,000 treated bed nets to families. Transcript¹ of radio broadcast:
27 July 2008

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.
　

Malaria2 parasites3 are spread by female Anopheles mosquitoes

Nothing But Nets is a campaign to give families in Africa free bed nets to prevent malaria.

Malaria is preventable and treatable, yet it remains⁴ one of the world's deadliest diseases. Another person dies from it about every thirty seconds. Most of the victims are children and most of the deaths are in Africa. Africa suffers more than a million deaths from malaria each year.

Nothing But Nets is a campaign of the United Nations Foundation. The nets are manufactured by Sumitomo of Japan and the Danish company Vestergaard Frandsen. The nets are treated with insecticides that kill mosquitoes, which spread malaria.

The campaign collects donations. People are asked to give at least ten dollars. Elizabeth McKee Gore⁵ heads the campaign. She says the nets cost about five dollars; the other half of the donation covers training and distribution costs.

Local health workers are taught how to hang and take care of the nets, then they train their neighbors. The campaign says each net lasts up to seven years.

Nothing But Nets was launched two years ago after sports writer Rick Reilly wrote about malaria in Sports Illustrated⁶ magazine. He urged his readers to donate money to the United Nations Foundation for its efforts to buy treated bed nets.

Since then, the campaign has raised more than twenty million dollars. The National Basketball Association, the United Methodist Church and other groups have joined the campaign.

So far, the campaign says it has supplied more than seven hundred thousand nets to children and their families in Africa. The executive director says parts of Africa will have received more than two million nets by the end of this year. Nigeria, the Central African Republic, Gabon, Ethiopia and Ivory Coast have already received supplies.

The Web site nothingbutnets.net points out that a net treated with insecticide offers about twice the protection of an untreated net. When enough houses have treated nets, the combined effect can make a whole community safer from mosquitoes.

The campaign is also involved in efforts to vaccinate⁷ African children against measles⁸ and polio. Elizabeth McKee Gore says she hopes that in time, Nothing But Nets can also direct its efforts to other parts of the world.

And that’s the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jill Moss⁹. You can learn about the efforts of other groups working in the developing world at voaspecialenglish.com.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

3 parasites   

寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫

参考例句：

• These symptoms may be referable to virus infection rather than parasites. 这些症状也许是由病毒感染引起的，而与寄生虫无关。
• Kangaroos harbor a vast range of parasites. 袋鼠身上有各种各样的寄生虫。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

6 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

7 vaccinate   

vt.给…接种疫苗；种牛痘

参考例句：

• Local health officials then can plan the best times to vaccinate people.这样，当地的卫生官员就可以安排最佳时间给人们接种疫苗。
• Doctors vaccinate us so that we do not catch smallpox.医生给我们打预防针使我们不会得天花。

8 measles   

n.麻疹，风疹，包虫病，痧子

参考例句：

• The doctor is quite definite about Tom having measles.医生十分肯定汤姆得了麻疹。
• The doctor told her to watch out for symptoms of measles.医生叫她注意麻疹出现的症状。

9 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。