VOA标准英语2010-South Africans Praise Latest HIV/AIDS Tes

South African President Zuma waves as he arrives to declare his HIV-negative status during launch of the HIV Counselling and Testing Campaign held at Natalspruit Hospital in Katlehong, 25 April 2010

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Text of President Zuma's address on HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention plan

South African leaders are praising President Jacob Zuma's new campaign to test nearly one-third of the population for HIV/AIDS in a country with the highest number of HIV victims in the world.

 

Leaders of the country's opposition¹ political parties, labor² unions and health-care professions praised President Zuma for launching an ambitious program to test 15 million South Africans for the HIV/AIDS virus by June of next year.

In announcing the program, Mr. Zuma said many people are afraid to be tested because of the stigma³ associated with HIV.  In South Africa the virus, which weakens the immune system, is transmitted primarily through unsafe sex.

"We have to work harder together to fight the perceptions and the stigma," he said.  "We have to make all South Africans understand that people living with HIV have not committed any crime."

He said the country's 4,300 clinics and hospitals are ready to provide HIV testing and counseling to all.  And he said the number of facilities supplying anti-retroviral drugs used to combat AIDS would be doubled from 500 to 1,000.

He appealed to retired⁴ health-care professionals to help in the campaign.

Under the plan, the government would also triple the number of condoms distributed each year to 1.5 billion.

In South Africa an estimated 5.7 million people, or 11 percent of the total population, are infected with HIV.

In a move to encourage more South Africans to be tested, the South African president publicly announced the results of his latest HIV test.

"My April results, like the three previous ones, registered a negative outcome for the HIV virus," Mr. Zuma said.

But he went on to underscore the decision to be tested for HIV remained a voluntary and confidential⁵, individual choice.

HIV activists⁶ have praised Mr. Zuma for breaking publicly in his first year of office with the policies of his predecessor⁷, former President Thabo Mbeki who was accused of failing to respond adequately to the HIV pandemic.

But the 68-year-old Mr. Zuma, who has three wives, has come under criticism for his personal lifestyle.

He was acquitted⁸ in a 2006 rape⁹ trial, during which he admitted having unsafe sex with an HIV-positive woman, and he came under political pressure recently when it emerged that he fathered a child out of wedlock¹⁰ last year.

 

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

5 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

6 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

8 acquitted   

宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现

参考例句：

• The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
• Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。

9 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

10 wedlock   

n.婚姻，已婚状态

参考例句：

• My wife likes our wedlock.我妻子喜欢我们的婚姻生活。
• The Fawleys were not made for wedlock.范立家的人就跟结婚没有缘。