VOA慢速英语2020 专家驳斥5G技术与冠状病毒有关的说法

Technology and medical experts are dismissing a theory linking the new coronavirus to 5G wireless¹ equipment.

技术和医学专家驳斥了将新冠病毒与5G无线设备相关联的理论。

Officials in Britain have blamed the theory for leading to the destruction of mobile phone transmitters in different parts of the country.

英国官员指责称，这种理论导致该国不同地区的移动电话发射器遭到破坏。

Britain's Cabinet Officer Michael Gove was asked about the idea that 5G telecommunications equipment could play a part in the spread of the coronavirus. "That is just nonsense, dangerous nonsense as well," he said.

英国内阁官员迈克尔·戈夫被问及5G电信设备可能在冠状病毒传播方面发挥作用这一说法。他说：“这简直是一派胡言，而且是危险的无稽之谈。”

The communications technology called 5G is the next generation of wireless technology. Companies around the world have been working to build 5G networks to replace 4G systems. 5G promises much higher internet speeds. Currently, 5G service remains² very limited in many areas of the world, and not many 5G mobile devices are available.

5G通信技术是下一代无线技术。世界各地的企业都在努力构建5G网络，以取代4G系统。5G承诺更快的网速。目前，全球多数地区的5G服务仍非常有限，可用的5G移动设备也不多。

Some reports appearing online have linked the new coronavirus to the launch of 5G in late October 2019.

互联网上出现的一些报道将新冠病毒与2019年10月底启动的5G服务关联在一起。

In Britain, officials said one of the most serious incidents was a fire attack on a mobile phone tower in the city of Birmingham. The officials said the fire caused major damage although no 5G equipment was attached to the tower.

英国官员表示，其中一个最严重的事件是伯明翰市一座移动信号塔遭纵火。官员表示，虽然该信号塔没有5G设备，但火灾依然造成了重大损失。

The medical director for Britain's National Health Service, or NHS, Stephen Powis, said the theory linking 5G to the coronavirus was false news with no scientific support.

英国国家医疗服务体系（简称NHS）的医学主任斯蒂芬·鲍伊斯表示，将5G与冠状病毒相关联的理论是虚假新闻，没有科学依据。

He told Reuters news agency the destruction of equipment can only hurt the country's emergency efforts to deal with the coronavirus crisis. "The reality is that the mobile phone networks are absolutely critical to all of us," Powis said.

他对路透社表示，毁坏设备只会损害英国应对冠状病毒危机的紧急救援计划。鲍伊斯说：“事实是，移动电话网络对我们所有人都绝对是至关重要的。”

A group representing Britain's major mobile phone operators said some of its workers had been threatened. Vodafone, the world's second-largest mobile operator, said the destruction of equipment was now a matter of national security. The company's head in Britain, Nick Jeffery, condemned³ the attacks.

代表英国主要移动电话运营商的组织表示，其部分员工遭受了威胁。全球第二大移动运营商沃达丰表示，破坏设备现在事关国家安全。沃达丰英国首席执行官尼克·杰弗里谴责了这些袭击。

He said he does not understand why anyone would "want to harm the very networks that are providing essential connectivity to emergency services, the NHS and the rest of the country." Jeffery described his engineers as heroes and urged people not to spread false information online.

他说，他不明白为什么有人“想伤害为紧急服务、国家医疗服务体系和英国其他机构提供基本连接的网络。”杰弗里称他公司的工程师是英雄，同时敦促民众不要在网上散播虚假信息。

Fabien Heliot is a researcher at Britain's University of Surrey who studies the safety of wireless radio waves. He told the French news agency AFP that there is no evidence to suggest any 5G technology could cause a virus. Since a virus is a living thing, it cannot be created by radiation, Heliot said.

法比安·赫利奥特是英国萨里大学的研究员，研究领域为无线电波的安全性。他对法新社表示，没有证据证明5G技术会导致病毒。赫利奥特说，因为病毒是活的，所以它不可能由辐射产生。

He added that any possible side effects of 5G radiation would be the same as with other older systems, including 4G, 3G and 2G. He said this is because all the wireless technologies use the same waveforms to radiate energy.

他还指出，5G辐射可能产生的任何副作用都与包括4G、3G和2G等在内的其他老旧系统一样。他说，这是因为所有无线技术都使用相同的波形来发射能量。

The World Health Organization's website says that a large number of studies have been carried out on whether mobile phones bring health risks. "To date, no adverse⁴ health effects have been established as being caused by mobile phone use," the WHO said.

世界卫生组织（简称WHO）在官网上表示，围绕移动电话是否会带来健康威胁已经进行了大量研究。世卫组织说，“到目前为止，尚未确定使用移动电话会造成不良影响。”

Words in This Story

transmitter – n. piece of equipment used to send out radio signals

nonsense – n. not true; silly

tower – n. a tall, narrow structure

critical – adj. very important for the way things will happen in the future

essential – adj. very important or necessary

side effect – n. a secondary and usually negative effect of something (such as a drug)

adverse – adj. things that cause problems or danger

1 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

2 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。

3 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

4 adverse   

adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的

参考例句：

• He is adverse to going abroad.他反对出国。
• The improper use of medicine could lead to severe adverse reactions.用药不当会产生严重的不良反应。