VOA标准英语2010年-Urbanization Puts Public Health at Gro

Nations predicts that number will rise to 70 percent by 2050. Urban health challengesHealth researchers, practitioners¹, policymakers and academics from 45 countries came to the New York Academy of Medicine to discuss a wide and growing array of urban health challenges. The issues included cholera² treatment in Port au Prince, Haiti, condom distribution for sex workers in Bangladesh, pedestrian traffic fatalities³ in Nairobi, Kenya, and research into the relationship between illicit⁴ drug control policies and public health in New York City. Experts at the conference agreed that the health risks associated with 21st century city living are many and complex, but often include overcrowding, poor air quality, indoor air pollution, the use of fuels that cause respiratory problems, high population density⁵, dampness and the simple lack of water and sanitation⁶. "In many areas, there are still communal⁷ standpipes, latrines that literally⁸ hundreds of families have to share," said Trudy Harpham of the London School of Hygiene⁹ and Tropical Medicine. "Sometimes no latrines and there is open defecation in some of these areas. So housing and health are a big issue." The relationship between health, housing and other urban issues is a pressing concern in the United States as well, where 85 percent of the population now lives in cities, according to Adolfo Carrion¹⁰, a senior administrator¹¹ at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Money matters"When you go to the challenges of trash management, of traffic management, of health care delivery systems, of access to jobs of economic opportunity, the quality, when you think of noise levels and pollution levels, we have to deal with all those issues," said Carrion. A key to promoting urban health is encouraging preventive health care with recommendations for proper diet and exercise routines, for example. Still, many of New York's poorest residents cannot readily act on those recommendations. "You can give people information about how to live healthy lives," said New York Academy of Medicine President Dr. Jo Ivey Bufford, "but if they can't buy the green vegetables, if they can't exercise because the streets aren't safe, they can't act on the information. That's the kind of environmental issue that's very important for us."Indeed, in many cities in both the developed and the developing worlds, access to quality health care varies widely between the rich and the poor. Danielle Ompad, an epidemiologist with the New York Academy of Medicine, said that the homeless, substance abusers, and undocumented immigrants are particularly vulnerable. Ompad often imagines what it is like for such people to get a simple flu vaccination¹². "You need to have sick leave, or you need to take off work. And we know that a lot of people who live in poverty have multiple jobs that often don't have sick leave or vacation leave. So often they are going to lose money by trying to take off work for preventative health care."Grassroots approachUrban Americans mostly rely on hospitals and clinics for their basic medical care. That is not so in many parts of the developing world, where druggists, for example, often prescribe and dispense¹³ prescription¹⁴ medications. This grassroots approach is a key part of the Indian government's tuberculosis¹⁵ eradication¹⁶ program. Dr. Aparna Srikantam of LepraIndia, an NGO that partners with the Indian government, was at the conference to tout¹⁷ its so-called DOTS program, which screens for TB, provides TB medicine when needed, and allows people in the patient's personal circle to follow up. "Any person can be a DOT provider and need not be a doctor," said Srikantam. "A grocery shop owner or a priest or any person can hold the drugs with them and see that the patient takes the entire treatment so that adequacy will be maintained." She added that each effective DOTS intervention¹⁸ means that as many as 15 other TB transmissions can be prevented. Trudy Harpham of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, believes that such partnerships¹⁹ between centralized authorities and grassroots health care providers will be the key to future advances in urban medicine."It has to be a two-way thing," said Harpham. "Communities have to have the power and the confidence to speak up about their needs and government has to listen." It's a dialogue that promises to become increasingly urgent, as migration²⁰ to the planet's urban centers continues to accelerate in the years ahead.

1 practitioners   

n.习艺者，实习者( practitioner的名词复数 )；从业者（尤指医师）

参考例句：

• one of the greatest practitioners of science fiction 最了不起的科幻小说家之一
• The technique is experimental, but the list of its practitioners is growing. 这种技术是试验性的，但是采用它的人正在增加。 来自辞典例句

2 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

3 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》

4 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

5 density   

n.密集，密度，浓度

参考例句：

• The population density of that country is 685 per square mile.那个国家的人口密度为每平方英里685人。
• The region has a very high population density.该地区的人口密度很高。

6 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

7 communal   

adj.公有的，公共的，公社的，公社制的

参考例句：

• There was a communal toilet on the landing for the four flats.在楼梯平台上有一处公共卫生间供4套公寓使用。
• The toilets and other communal facilities were in a shocking state.厕所及其他公共设施的状况极其糟糕。

8 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

9 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

10 carrion   

n.腐肉

参考例句：

• A crow of bloodthirsty ants is attracted by the carrion.一群嗜血的蚂蚁被腐肉所吸引。
• Vultures usually feed on carrion or roadkill.兀鹫通常以腐肉和公路上的死伤动物为食。

11 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

12 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

13 dispense   

vt.分配，分发；配(药)，发(药)；实施

参考例句：

• Let us dispense the food.咱们来分发这食物。
• The charity has been given a large sum of money to dispense as it sees fit.这个慈善机构获得一大笔钱，可自行适当分配。

14 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

15 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

16 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。

17 tout   

v.推销，招徕；兜售；吹捧，劝诱

参考例句：

• They say it will let them tout progress in the war.他们称这将有助于鼓吹他们在战争中的成果。
• If your case studies just tout results,don't bother requiring registration to view them.如果你的案例研究只是吹捧结果，就别烦扰别人来注册访问了。

18 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

19 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

20 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。