VOA常速英语2013--粮农组织警告动物来源疾病的传播

 

FAO: Animal to Human Disease More Likely 粮农组织警告动物来源疾病的传播

About 70 percent of the new diseases that have infected humans in recent decades have come from animals. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization warns it’s getting  easier for diseases to make that jump as the population and food-supply chains grow.

最近几十年来影响人类的新疾病中有70%的来自动物，联合国粮农组织警告说，随着人口和粮食供应链的发展，疾病是很容易这样蔓延的。

The FAO has released a new reported called World Livestock¹ 2013: Changing Disease Landscapes. It says those landscapes have become “vastly more complicated” by human  activity.

粮农组织公布了名为《世界牲畜2013:改变疾病现状》的新报告，称这些现状因人类活动变得更加复杂。

“I think that if we continue the state of play, we’ll only see more diseases emerge – more natural resources disappear – and more threats to the human health into  the food chain,” said Juan Lubroth, the agency’s Chief Veterinary Officer.

“我想如果我们继续现状，不仅更看到更多的疾病出现，还有更多的自然资源消失，更多与人类健康有关的威胁进入食物链。”

He described conditions as the “perfect microbial storm.”

他称这些现状为“完美的微生物风暴。”

“We have certain issues such as climate change, particularly humidity and tropical weathers. We have increased globalization, more traffic across the world. People  traveling more, more trade. We are encroaching into habitats that previously² we as humans did not really know those ecological³ niches⁴ were occupied by other species.  But we are invading them.”

“我们面临着气候变化等问题，尤其是潮湿和热带天气。世界越来越全球化，全世界的车辆增多。人们旅行得多了，做更多生意。我们侵入一些栖息地，作为人类我们之前并不知道这些生态 区位是被其他物种占据的，但我们却在侵犯它们。”

He said inadequate⁵ healthcare systems and sanitation⁶ infrastructure⁷ raise the risk of disease in poor areas. And as population grows, livestock production intensifies⁸,  which has its own set of risk factors.

他说，不完善的医疗系统和卫生基础设施使得贫困地区的疾病风险增加，随着人口的增加，牲畜产量也在增加，而这其中有着内在的风险因素。

“As we intensify⁹ livestock production, we have created, let’s say, a monoculture. By using antibiotics¹⁰, for example, as growth promoters or antibiotics without the  supervision of qualified¹¹ personnel, we do allow for disease resistant¹² organisms to go throughout the herd¹³ or throughout the community. And this can, at the end, affect  human health,” he said.

“随着我们增加牲畜产量，我们也创造了单一栽培。比如使用抗生素来促进生长，或者在缺少有资格人员的监督下使用抗生素，这样具有抗疾病能力的有机物就进入牲畜或整个社区，这样就 影响了人类健康。”

Lubroth gave some examples of diseases that have jumped from animals to humans.

卢布罗斯解释了几个疾病从动物传播到人类的例子。

“The origin of the human immunodeficiency virus, HIV, which causes AIDS, probably had its precursor¹⁴ in something that we know today to be simian¹⁵ or monkey  immunodeficiency virus. And then even more recently, we have the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome¹⁶, which is caused by a corona¹⁷ virus, which likely has an animal  origin. We are at the point in research, which we still are trying to find out what origin that is.”

“导致艾滋病的人体免疫缺损病毒的前身可能是我们今天所知的猴免疫缺陷病毒，近年来出现的中东呼吸综合症是由可能来自动物的冠状病毒引发的。我们正在研究中，仍在努力找到其来源 。”

Other diseases that have emerged from animals over the last five to ten years, he says, include the Nipah and Hendra viruses. These are usually found in bats.

他说过去5到10年里来自动物的疾病还包括立百病毒和亨德拉病毒，这些病毒通常是在蝙蝠身上发现的。

“Probably more familiar to your readers or listeners will be the H5N1avian influenza¹⁸, which in 2003 spread in Southeast Asia. And by 2006 was present in over 60  countries and territories,” he said.

“可能我们的读者和听众更熟悉的是禽流感病毒H5N1型，2003年这种病毒在东南亚流行，到了2006年有60多个国家和地区有这种病毒。”

The Food and Agriculture Organization is calling for a holistic¹⁹ approach to meet the growing disease threat. This involves scientists, researchers and doctors and  others from many disciplines working together and sharing information.

粮农组织呼吁采取全面措施来应对越发严重的疾病威胁，这就需要各学科的科学家、研究者、医生等人员通力合作，共享信息。

The report said the holistic approach includes reducing poverty, addressing biological threats posed by globalization and climate change and better safety and health  measures in livestock production.

这份报告称全面措施包括减少贫困，减少全球化和气候变化引发的生物威胁，在牲畜生产上采取更好的安全和健康措施。

The FAO Chief Veterinary Officer is promoting – what he called – tackling the disease at source.  He said that means snuffing out a potential outbreak at a  particular location, village or town before it can spread.

粮农组织首席兽医官正在宣传从源头解决疾病问题，他说这意味着在特定的地段、村庄或城镇在潜在疾病蔓延之前就将之铲除。

1 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

2 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

3 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.

4 niches   

壁龛( niche的名词复数 )； 合适的位置[工作等]； （产品的）商机； 生态位（一个生物所占据的生境的最小单位）

参考例句：

• Some larvae extend the galleries to form niches. 许多幼虫将坑道延伸扩大成壁龛。
• In his view differences in adaptation are insufficient to create niches commensurate in number and kind. 按照他的观点，适应的差异不足以在数量上和种类上形成同量的小生境。

5 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

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 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

8 intensifies   

n.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的名词复数 )v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A clear atmosphere intensifies the blue of the sky. 纯净的空气使天空变得更蓝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Blowing on fire intensifies the heat. 吹火使热度加强。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 intensify   

vt.加强；变强；加剧

参考例句：

• We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
• They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。

10 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。

11 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

12 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。

13 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

14 precursor   

n.先驱者；前辈；前任；预兆；先兆

参考例句：

• Error is often the precursor of what is correct.错误常常是正确的先导。
• He said that the deal should not be seen as a precursor to a merger.他说该笔交易不应该被看作是合并的前兆。

15 simian   

adj.似猿猴的；n.类人猿，猴

参考例句：

• Ada had a wrinkled,simian face.埃达有一张布满皱纹、长得像猿猴的脸。
• Curiosity is the taproot of an intellectual life,the most valuable of our simian traits.好奇是高智生命的根源，也是我们类人猿特征中最有价值的部分。

16 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

17 corona   

n.日冕

参考例句：

• The corona gains and loses energy continuously.日冕总是不断地获得能量和损失能量。
• The corona is a brilliant,pearly white,filmy light,about as bright as the full moon.光环带是一种灿烂的珠白色朦胧光，几乎像满月一样明亮。

18 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

19 holistic   

adj.从整体着眼的，全面的

参考例句：

• There is a fundamental ambiguity in the use of word "whole" in recent holistic literature.在近代的整体主义著作中，“整体”这个词的用法极其含混。
• In so far as historicism is technological,its approach is not piecemeal,but "holistic".仅就历史决定论是一种技术而论，它的方法不是渐进的，而是“整体主义的”。