2006年VOA标准英语-US Testing for Bird Flu in Alaska

By Brian Padden
Alaska
30 June 2006
 
Watch Avian Report

They face no passport controls or border police. They come unchecked by the thousands, and because they do, authorities in the United States fear they could be a potentially lethal¹ threat. They are migratory² birds that wing their way from Asia to the Americas, the feared source of a possible continental³ pandemic. So far there have been no confirmed cases of the deadly H5N1 strain of avian flu in North America and U.S. health officials want to keep it that way. In a new effort to prevent the disease from reaching America's shores, the U.S. government has started testing wild birds in Alaska. VOA's Brian Padden was there and has this exclusive broadcast report.

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Chris Nicoli 
  
The Yukon Delta⁴ National Wildlife Refuge is a remote and desolate⁵ region of the Alaskan tundra⁶. It is here that wild birds from both Asia and America come to feed and nest during the summer months. Scientists fear these nesting grounds might just be the gateway⁷ through which a deadly strain of avian flu enters the Americas.  

So it is here that biologists such as Chris Nicoli have been dispatched to catch and test birds for avian flu.  He is participating in a U.S. government-sponsored early warning detection program that will test more than 15,000 birds in Alaska this summer. 

Brant Goose
  
  
The Brant Goose is one of the prime suspects being targeted for testing. An area near the Tutakote River is a nesting ground for Brant Geese and Eider ducks, two of the 27 species being tested throughout the state.  

Bob Leddy is coordinating⁸ the avian flu early warning surveillance program for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska.

"The virus itself is often passed through water and where birds mingle⁹ in water," Leddy said. "The species we're looking for here in the Tutakote field camp are primarily Brant, Common Eider and Spectacle Eider. These birds were chosen because they have regular known contact with Asia and may bring the disease back here."  

The biologists test mostly mother birds because they are easier to catch. They either use snap traps placed over a nest of eggs, then wait for the mother bird to return. Or they try to sneak¹⁰ up on a nesting bird using a hand net.

 
Jim Sedinger 
  
Biologist Jim Sedinger with the University of Nevada at Reno has been studying birds in Alaska for more than 20 years. He says what scientists already know about migratory patterns can help them identify and contain a possible outbreak.

"These Brant here mostly go to California and Mexico," he said. "If we found a positive Brant for example, you wouldn't immediately be concerned about poultry¹¹ in Nebraska."  

So far, no avian flu has been found in the wild birds tested in Alaska. In fact, some in the scientific community say the threat of wild birds spreading the disease has been overstated. Still, Bob Leddy says developing this surveillance network has been critical.

 
Bob Leddy
  
"We know very little about the transmission of avian influenza¹² among populations of birds and then certainly from birds to humans.  We will have many, many samples," Leddy said. "We will ultimately be testing for all strains of avian influenza and we'll have a much better understanding of its prevalence in different species, we'll start to learn about transmission."   

The more biologists learn about transmission, the more effectively this new type of border guard can protect a concerned public from H5N1, the deadly strain of avian flu

1 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

2 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。

3 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

4 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

5 desolate   

adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂

参考例句：

• The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
• We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后，我们都觉得万分孤寂。

6 tundra   

n.苔原，冻土地带

参考例句：

• The arctic tundra is at the top of the world around the North Pole.北极冻原是指北极点周边的地区，是世界最高的地方。
• There is a large amount of methane gas under the Siberian tundra.西伯利亚的冻土地带之下有大量的甲烷气体。

7 gateway   

n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法

参考例句：

• Hard work is the gateway to success.努力工作是通往成功之路。
• A man collected tolls at the gateway.一个人在大门口收通行费。

8 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

9 mingle   

vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往

参考例句：

• If we mingle with the crowd,we should not be noticed.如果我们混在人群中，就不会被注意到。
• Oil will not mingle with water.油和水不相融。

10 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

11 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?

12 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。