VOA标准英语2010年-US Government Highlights Antibiotic Mi

A leading U.S. government health agency is focusing an annual campaign on educating patients, parents, and health care providers about the need to avoid the misuse¹ of antibiotics³. Inappropriate use of antibiotics can lead to "superbugs" that resist drugs.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is marking the third week in November as "Get Smart About Antibiotics Week." The agency wants to draw attention to the misuse of these powerful drugs, such as when a doctor prescribes an antibiotic² for something other than a bacterial⁴ infection, or when patients don't take the medicine as instructed.
The medical director for the CDC program, Lauri Nicks, DO, says antibiotics are over-prescribed for a variety of reasons.
"We're seeing that doctors are over-prescribing because of patient expectations, because of fear of making the wrong diagnosis," she says. "And, of course, patients are demanding antibiotics in many cases from their providers as well."Antibiotics can also be misused⁵ when the drugs are not taken under expert supervision⁶. In many countries, antibiotics require a doctor's prescription⁷. But Hicks says that's not true everywhere.
"In certain areas, antibiotics can be obtained without prescription, so there may be more inappropriate antibiotic use in some of those settings."The CDC says about half the antibiotics used in the U.S. each year are prescribed unnecessarily, costing more than a billion dollars in the United States alone.
Overuse of antibiotics can lead to drug-resistant⁸ bacteria that have to be treated with more powerful and often more expensive drugs. And sometimes there are no drugs that work effectively, which increases the danger to people who are infected.
The U.S. campaign for the smart use of antibiotics parallels similar efforts in Europe and Canada, which Hicks says underscores the international nature of the threat.
"Resistant bacteria don't respect country or national boundaries and can easily travel on planes. Antibiotic resistance anywhere is really antibiotic resistance everywhere."

1 misuse   

n.误用，滥用；vt.误用，滥用

参考例句：

• It disturbs me profoundly that you so misuse your talents.你如此滥用自己的才能，使我深感不安。
• He was sacked for computer misuse.他因滥用计算机而被解雇了。

2 antibiotic   

adj.抗菌的；n.抗生素

参考例句：

• The doctor said that I should take some antibiotic.医生说我应该服些用抗生素。
• Antibiotic can be used against infection.抗菌素可以用来防止感染。

3 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

4 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

5 misused   

v.使用…不当( misuse的过去式和过去分词 )；把…派作不正当的用途；虐待；滥用

参考例句：

• He misused his dog shamefully. 他可耻地虐待自己的狗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had grossly misused his power. 他严重滥用职权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

7 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。

8 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。