2006年VOA标准英语-Five New Bird Flu Cases Confirmed in Turke

Turkish health minister Recep Akdag says preliminary tests show five more people are infected with the bird flu virus. The cases were detected in four provinces, raising the number of suspected and confirmed cases in Turkey to 17.

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Turkish Health Ministry¹ officials carry poultry² they have collected for culling³ in Istanbul's Kucukcekmece district   
  

In the country's commercial capital, Istanbul, home to 10 million people, municipal teams dressed in protective orange jumpsuits began culling chickens and turkey in two districts where the virus was detected in a dead bird.

In Dogubayazit in eastern Turkey, where two siblings⁴ succumbed⁵ to the disease during the past week, authorities continued to raid homes for poultry that had not been handed in for destruction. On Sunday three bird-flu cases were detected in the Turkish capital, Ankara, where two boys apparently⁶ contracted the virus while playing with a pair of gloves used to handle some dead wild ducks.

 
Turkey's Health Minister Recep Akdag, left, prays for bird flu victims with Zeki Kocyigit, who lost his three children to bird flu in the eastern Turkish town of Dogubayazit 
  
The World Health Organization, whose experts are conducting investigations⁷ in the affected⁸ areas, has confirmed that 10 Turks including the dead siblings, had tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of the disease.

The strain has not been proven to be communicable from human to human. But WHO officials express concern that the more people who contract the disease, the greater the risk that it mutates into a strain that is transmitted among humans.

The deaths in Eastern Turkey are the first confirmed fatalities⁹ caused by bird flu outside Asia, where 74 people have been killed by H5N1 since 2003.

The virus was first detected in Turkey in October in and around a bird sanctuary¹⁰ in northwestern Turkey. Avian flu is believed to have been carried to the country by migratory¹¹ birds from Siberia, the Caucasus and the Balkans.

Turkish authorities have placed affected areas under quarantine and say the most effective way of dealing¹² with the virus is destroy all poultry in such areas. Local Islamic clerics have been ordered to inform their congregations of measures to help combat the disease.

The outbreak of bird flu comes just days ahead of the Muslim feast of Sacrifice, when adherents¹³ of the Islamic faith traditionally sacrifice animals and distribute meat to the poor. Heath officials have warned against sacrificing chickens, turkeys or geese this year, favored as a more economical option than sheep.

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

3 culling   

n.选择，大批物品中剔出劣质货v.挑选，剔除( cull的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The mathematicians turned to culling periodic solutions. 数学家们转而去挑选周期解。 来自辞典例句
• It took us a week to find you, a week of culling out prejudice and hatred. 我们花了一个星期的时间找到你们，把偏见和憎恨剔除出去。 来自演讲部分

4 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

5 succumbed   

不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死

参考例句：

• The town succumbed after a short siege. 该城被围困不久即告失守。
• After an artillery bombardment lasting several days the town finally succumbed. 在持续炮轰数日后，该城终于屈服了。

6 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

7 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

8 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。

9 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

11 migratory   

n.候鸟，迁移

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• This does not negate the idea of migratory aptitude.这并没有否定迁移能力这一概念。

12 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。

13 adherents   

n.支持者，拥护者( adherent的名词复数 )；党羽；徒子徒孙

参考例句：

• He is a leader with many adherents. 他是个有众多追随者的领袖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The proposal is gaining more and more adherents. 该建议得到越来越多的支持者。 来自《简明英汉词典》