2007年VOA标准英语-New Outbreaks in Asia Remind Experts of Bird Fl

By Martin Secrest
Washington, D.C.
26 January 2007
 
watch Bird Flu report

New outbreaks of bird flu are causing concern in Asia. Since the beginning of the year, there have been new bird flu cases in Thailand, Vietnam, and China.  Indonesian authorities stepped up a bird eradication¹ plan, while the United Nations in Thailand and health officials in Washington provided testimony² about the serious implications of avian flu for humans.  Voice of America's Dave DeForest has more.

 
Chickens on a farm in central Java, Indonesia
Indonesian authorities slaughtered³ thousands of chickens and pet birds in an effort to halt the spread of bird flu that killed five people in the country in two weeks.  There are an estimated 350 million backyard chickens in Indonesia.

In Bangkok, officials from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) worry about a spike⁴ in bird flu, but the FAO's Laurence Gleeson says the latest outbreak is not as serious as that of 2004. "Where the virus is occurring certainly in mainland southeast Asia, I would say that the outbreaks are under control, in the sense that if they do occur, the resources are there to deal with them."

Avian flu concerns health officials because of its potential for pandemic.  In Washington, a Congressional panel heard testimony about bird flu from the Director of the Centers for Disease Control, Dr. Julie Gerberding.  "When we have seasonal⁵ flu, the mortality rate is certainly less than three percent.  We're talking here about a virus, that when it does affect people, has a mortality rate of greater than fifty percent.  So that is, in and of itself, a reason for great concern.  But more importantly, people do not have any immunity⁶ to the H5(N1) virus.  So we have to assume that basically everyone in the world is susceptible⁷."

Bird flu remains⁸ hard for humans to catch, but experts fear it may mutate into a more contagious⁹ form.

1 eradication   

n.根除

参考例句：

• The eradication of an established infestation is not easy. 根除昆虫蔓延是不容易的。
• This is often required for intelligent control and eradication. 这经常需要灵巧的控制与消除。

2 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

3 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

5 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

6 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

7 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

8 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。

9 contagious   

adj.传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
• He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。