VOA标准英语2009年-Australia's Aborigines Bracing for Swine F

Community leaders say that swine flu is sweeping² through Australia's largest aboriginal³ communities on Palm Island off the Queensland coast. Elders say the government's approach to tackling the disease in indigenous⁴ communities is not working.

The latest victim on Palm Island of the H1N1 virus is a pregnant woman, who lost her unborn child after contracting the disease.

Officials estimate that more than 10 percent of the island's population of 3,000 people has been infected, although authorities do not yet have an exact figure.

Like indigenous groups and poor communities around the world, Australia's Aborigines are considered to be more vulnerable to the H1N1 flu than other groups because they suffer higher rates of chronic⁵ disease. They also often have limited access to health care and live in overcrowded homes, which make it easier for the virus to spread.

Medical workers have set up a special clinic on the island to treat flu patients, and the government has flown in supplies of antiviral drugs. Tribal⁶ elders, however, call on state and federal governments to improve their swine flu strategies for Aborigines.
　
An aboriginal man drinks a beverage⁷ outside a store in the remote outback town of Wadeye in the Northern Territory, Australia, 01 Jun 2009

Professor Michael Gracey represents Unity¹ of First People of Australia, a community organization, and says Aborigines need to be better informed about the flu.

"It is very important also for mainstream⁸ health professionals, in other words Western doctors and nurses and public health officials, to communicate better [and] that perhaps the best way to get messages across to these high risk people, like indigenous communities, are one on one," he said.

More than 13,000 cases of the H1N1 virus have been confirmed in Australia. Although most patients suffer only a mild illness, scores of people are being treated in hospitals and more than 45 people have died because of complications related to the flu.

Government-sponsored vaccine⁹ trials have started in the southern city of Adelaide. An effective vaccine is likely to be available in October. However, Australian health authorities expect a sharp rise in the number of swine flu infections in August, toward the end of winter in the southern hemisphere.

 

1 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

2 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

3 aboriginal   

adj.（指动植物）土生的，原产地的，土著的

参考例句：

• They managed to wipe out the entire aboriginal population.他们终于把那些土著人全部消灭了。
• The lndians are the aboriginal Americans.印第安人是美国的土著人。

4 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

5 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

6 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

7 beverage   

n.(水，酒等之外的)饮料

参考例句：

• The beverage is often colored with caramel.这种饮料常用焦糖染色。
• Beer is a beverage of the remotest time.啤酒是一种最古老的饮料。

8 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

9 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。