卫生协定要求中国人帮助陌生人

Health Agreement Asks Chinese People to Help Strangers 卫生协定要求中国人帮助陌生人

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

A recent agreement between the American Heart Association and China could reduce deaths from heart attack and stroke in China and, possibly, beyond.

Cardiovascular disease, including stroke and heart attack, is the main cause of early death in China and many developing countries. Studies show that cardiovascular disease kills more than 17 million people around the world every year. In the next 15 years that number is expected to rise to 23 million. These deaths are, for the most part, preventable.

Douglas Boyle works for the American Heart Association. He spoke¹ at the agreement signing ceremony in Washington, D.C. Mr. Boyle said the partnership² can help people live longer and healthier lives.

The agreement between the American Heart Association and China has three main parts. It calls for increasing opportunities for researchers, healthcare providers and public health specialists in the U.S. to meet with those in China. The agreement also seeks the sharing of cardiovascular research. And, finally, it calls for training in China of life-saving techniques such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation³, or CPR.

CPR can restart a stopped heart. CPR has helped lower death rates from heart disease in the United States by 30 percent. Improvements in medical science and educational campaigns about preventing heart disease also played a part.

The American Heart Association says teaching CPR to the people of China may help save lives. China’s population is very large. So, the association says it is highly likely that a bystander will need to help someone who is in cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest is the sudden loss of heart activity, breathing, and consciousness.

CPR combines rescue breathing and chest compressions. Rescue breathing requires breathing into the victim’s mouth to provide oxygen to the person’s lungs. To perform the compressions, place one hand over the other and press firmly on the center of the victim’s chest repeatedly. This permits oxygen-rich blood to continue flowing until the heartbeat and breathing are restored.

The following videos are from the American Heart Association. They demonstrate how to give CPR.

The question is, will a bystander in China give CPR to a complete stranger having a heart attack?

Several media reports have suggested that people in China may be resistant⁴ to helping⁵ strangers in medical emergencies. This could be because the person helping can be held legally responsible for damage to the injured person. 

Several of these reports went viral on the web.  

In 2011, there was a video online of the two-year-old girl who was hit by a vehicle. The video shows eighteen people pass by her before someone helped. The little girl, Wang Yue, later died from her injuries. In 2014, a man killed himself after he helped a stranger who later demanded money from him. 

These incidents may be few; but they draw attention to a lacking area of China’s legal system. According to the China Daily as well as other newspapers, China does not have a national Good Samaritan law. Good Samaritan laws protect people who aid others in medical need.

Words in This Story

opportunity – n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done

bystander – n. a person who is standing⁶ near but not taking part in what is happening

cardiac arrest – n. medical temporary or permanent stopping of the heartbeat

compression – n. the act, process, or result of pressing something together or pressing on something

went viral – expression becoming very popular by circulating quickly from person to person, especially through the Internet

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

3 resuscitation   

n.复活

参考例句：

• Despite attempts at resuscitation,Mr Lynch died a week later in hospital.虽经全力抢救，但林奇先生一周以后还是在医院去世了。
• We gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and heart massage.我们对他进行了口对口复苏救治和心脏按摩。

4 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。