VOA常速英语2014--Tobacco Report From 50 Years Ago Has Changed the World 吸烟有害报告50周年

 

Tobacco Report From 50 Years Ago Has Changed the World 吸烟有害报告50周年

If there is one person whose work created a ripple¹ effect that is changing the world, it was the ninth surgeon general of the United States. Fifty years ago this month, he issued a report that linked cigarette smoking to lung cancer and heart disease.

如果说有一个人的工作产生了改变世界的涟漪效应的话，这个人就是美国第九任总医官路德·特里。50年前的这个月，他发表了一份报告，把吸烟跟肺癌和心脏病联系起来。

On a cold, rainy day at Arlington National Cemetery², people gathered to remember and honor a man who devoted³ his life to improving the health of others.

在寒冷的风雨中，人们聚集在阿灵顿国家公墓，纪念把一生心血贡献给改善人类健康的人：路德·特里。

Surgeon General Luther Terry, now buried at the cemetery for military heroes, released a report in 1964 that linked smoking with cancer.

总医官特里安葬在阿灵顿国家公墓，他在1964年发表了一份报告，把吸烟和肺癌联系起来。

"President Kennedy ultimately selects him to be the ninth surgeon general," said Rear Admiral Boris Lushniak.

代理总医官鲍里斯·鲁希尼亚克海军少将说：“肯尼迪总统任命他为第九任总医官。”

Acting⁴ Surgeon General, Rear Admiral Boris Lushniak, spoke⁵ of Dr. Terry's accomplishments⁶.

鲁希尼亚克少将赞扬特里医生说：

"What took place 50 years ago changed the world. Fifty years ago, [it was a] completely different world when it comes to tobacco use and smoking," he said.

“50年前发生的事件改变了世界。”他说：“50年前，人们对烟草和吸烟的看法完全不同。”

Smoking was accepted everywhere: in airplanes, in bars and restaurants and in work places.

人们可以在任何地方吸烟：飞机上、酒吧和餐厅，甚至办公室里。

"Statistically⁷, almost half the U.S. adult population smoked at that point," said Lushniak.

鲁希尼亚克说：“数据显示，当时几乎一半的美国成年人都吸烟。”

And the other half, including children, breathed in toxic⁸, smoke-filled air. It was part of the culture until Dr. Terry released the report produced by a committee of scientists.

包括儿童在内的另一半人则呼吸着充斥着烟雾的有毒空气，那是文化的一部分，直到特里医生领导的一个科学家小组发表了这份研究报告。

“And the stand was, ‘It is definitive⁹. There is a tie-in between tobacco use, smoking, lung cancer as well as heart disease.' And I think that really rattled¹⁰ the world that the U.S. government, specifically the surgeon general as a representative of the U.S. government, came out with such a strong stance," said Lushniak.

鲁希尼亚克说：“报告的态度是，‘毫无疑问，使用烟草、吸烟跟肺癌和心脏病有关。’这份报告震撼了全世界和美国政府，尤其是如此强烈的表态来自代表美国政府的外科医生。”

U.S. policies gradually changed... eventually mandating¹¹ smoke-free areas in the work-place and elsewhere.

美国政策逐渐发生了改变，最终在工作场所等地方强制实行无烟区。

Education campaigns warned people of the dangers of tobacco use. In the past 50 years, more than three dozen surgeon generals' reports revealed more negative health effects of tobacco use. They found that even those who don't use cigarettes, but breathe in other's smoke, are exposed to serious health risks and deadly disease.

宣传活动警告人们使用烟草的危害。过去50年来，总医官们发表了36份以上的报告，公布了烟草对健康更加严重的危害。报告发现，即使那些不吸烟的人，吸入别人吐出的烟雾后，也会面临健康风险，甚至患上不治之症。

These policies have helped cut the rate of smoking in the U.S. from 43 percent to 18 percent, according to Dr. Lushniak. But stopping smoking is hard.

鲁希尼亚克医生说，美国的政策把美国人口的吸烟率从43%降低到18%，可是戒烟并不容易。

"Remember, this is not just a habit. This is an addiction¹². Fifty years from now, I would love to think we won’t have to issue a 100th anniversary report because the problem will have been solved," he said.

他说：“记住，吸烟不仅是习惯，而且是上瘾。但愿再过50年，我们不需要再举行这份报告发表100周年的纪念活动，因为这个问题已经解决了。”

But the job isn't done. Five and a half million people die each year, including half a million Americans, because they used some form of tobacco or breathed someone else's smoke, and the number is expected to rise.

可是目前任务还没有完成，每年仍然有550万人丧生，其中50万是美国人，因为他们不同形式的使用烟草，或者吸进二手烟。据估计，死亡人数还会上升。

From 1964 on, Dr. Terry devoted his live to ending the smoking epidemic¹³.

 

特里医生从1964年起把全部心血奉献给了制止吸烟的努力。

1 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

2 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

3 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

4 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 statistically   

ad.根据统计数据来看，从统计学的观点来看

参考例句：

• The sample of building permits is larger and therefore, statistically satisfying. 建筑许可数的样本比较大，所以统计数据更令人满意。
• The results of each test would have to be statistically independent. 每次试验的结果在统计上必须是独立的。

8 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

9 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

10 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

11 mandating   

托管（mandate的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Current requirements mandating that committees keep minutes are too general. 目前对委员会要保持详细记录的指令性要求，还是太过一般化了。
• Mandating that workers who quit without permission forfeit a month's wages. 规定工人私自离岗将受到罚没一个月工资的处罚。

12 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

13 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。