VOA标准英语2011--AIDS 2012: Preparations Underway for US

In July 2012, the world's largest AIDS conference comes to Washington, D.C. It's the first time the gathering¹ will be held in the United States since 1990 and preparations are already underway.
Despite the massive U.S. financial, medical and scientific contributions to the fight against HIV/AIDS, a major issue blocked the conference from being held here. That was a law that prohibited HIV infected people from traveling to the United States. In was passed in 1987 in the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic². Efforts to lift the ban began during President George W. Bush's second administration. It was finally repealed³ in January 2010 under President Obama.
To International AIDS Society President and conference co-chair – Dr. Elly Katabira – that's very good news.
"So now we're in business," he says.
Similar to D.C.
Katabira has visited Washington, D.C. to meet with city officials about the 19th International AIDS Conference, also known as AIDS 2012.
AIDS 2012
"The epidemic in the U.S. and in particular Washington, D.C., is not very different from other highly affected⁴ countries in the sub-Saharan region and other regions of the world. So, coming here would give us an opportunity, and also Washington, D.C., an opportunity, to share the experiences, learn from each other, mistakes and so on," he says.
A prominent Washington HIV treatment and care facility – the Whitman-Walker Clinic – says 3 percent of the city's adult population is confirmed to have HIV. Another 3 to 5 percent are believed to be HIV positive, but have not been diagnosed. Most of the new infections are among African-Americans and gay men.
The theme of AIDS 2012 is yet to be determined⁵.
"We haven't yet worked on the theme. Normally, the theme comes close to the time of the conference. The reason is that the conference now has one and a half years to go. If you have a theme now, things may change over time. And the theme, once you've decided⁶, you can't change it. It becomes irrelevant," he says, adding, "So, we'll start discussing the theme somewhere in the middle of this year. And towards the end of this year, then we will have a theme for the conference."
Budget cuts
Katabira visited Washington at a time when the House of Representatives has proposed hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis⁷ and Malaria⁸.
He urges Congress to reject those cuts, especially since the conference is being held in the nation's capital.
"If they would listen to me, my pledge would be, please, don't do any more cuts. In anything, put up more money. The reason is, we appreciate the economic front, because we don't want to be on the negative side alone. We definitely appreciate the reason behind the cuts. But then also we need to appreciate that the epidemic itself is still burning. And any further cuts are likely to make the escalation⁹ of the epidemic worse," he says.
He says he fears if the U.S. cuts AIDS funding, other nations will follow suit.
"The rest of the world has stood on the benefits of the U.S. government and the people of the U.S. Once they hear that even the U.S. is cutting down they may think it is relevant for them also either to stay [keep] the status quo or to cut the funding," he says.
Each International AIDS Society president puts his or her mark on the conference, a personal goal, if you will. Dr. Katabira is no different.
"Mine," he says, "is leadership and accountability. Much as I appreciate the support from all the G8 [nations], including the U.S. and other public/private stakeholders, I want to emphasize that with...the possibility of funding likely to be reduced, ourselves, the recipients¹⁰, the beneficiaries of this support, need to be more focused in actually maximizing whatever we get from this country. Use the amount of money as effectively and efficiently¹¹ [as possible], so we can reach much more people than we are doing today with the current funding."
The 19th International AIDS Conference will be held from July 22nd through the 27th, 2012.

1 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

2 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

3 repealed   

撤销，废除( repeal的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The Labour Party repealed the Act. 工党废除了那项法令。
• The legislature repealed the unpopular Rent Act. 立法机关废除了不得人心的租借法案。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 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。

8 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

9 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

10 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。