VOA标准英语2014--US Health Official Comments on Evolving Ebola Procedures

 

US Health Official Comments on Evolving Ebola Procedures

WASHINGTON— 

A top U.S. health official says it is unrealistic to expect every hospital in America to be able to care for an Ebola patient, but that health care facilities must be vigilant¹ for possible cases and be ready to isolate² anyone infected with the virus for transport to specialized³ treatment centers. The Director of the National Institute of Allergies⁴ and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, spoke⁵ one day after President Barack Obama warned against mass-panic over the disease.

A collective sigh of relief could be felt aboard a cruise ship that docked in Texas after a passenger tested negative for Ebola.  A Coast Guard helicopter was dispatched to collect a blood sample from a woman who had handled specimens⁶ from America’s first Ebola patient, Liberian Thomas Eric Duncan, who died earlier this month in Dallas.

The episode points to mounting fears and evolving health protocols⁷ to deal with the virus.  Last week, America’s third Ebola patient, Dallas nurse Nina Pham, was transferred to the nation's premier⁸ health research facility, the National Institutes of Health near Washington, for treatment.  NIH infectious disease specialist Anthony Fauci says it’s important to remain realistic.

“I think this idea that every single hospital can take care of a seriously-ill Ebola patient right now is not true.  We do not want people to think that any community hospital is totally equipped to care for a patient,” said Fauci, speaking on ABC’s This Week program.

Earlier, President Barack Obama attempted to calm an increasingly-alarmed American public.

“This is a serious disease, but we cannot give in to hysteria or fear.  Now, even one infection is too many.  At the same time, we have to keep this in perspective.  As our public health experts point out, every year thousands of Americans die from the flu,” said Obama.

But a growing chorus of critics, including some Republican and Democrat⁹ lawmakers, want stronger measures to isolate the United States from African nations where Ebola has killed more than 4,500 people. Congressman¹⁰ Fred Upton is among them.

“I am going to encourage the president to really put in a no-fly zone from that region of the world, particularly for folks trying to travel here on a visa,” said Upton.

President Obama said stopping flights to and from West Africa could make the situation worse by disrupting the flow of supplies and health workers to affected¹¹ regions and causing passengers to go through third countries and possibly evade¹² screening for Ebola.

1 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。

2 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

3 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

4 allergies   

n.[医]过敏症；[口]厌恶，反感；（对食物、花粉、虫咬等的）过敏症( allergy的名词复数 )；变态反应，变应性

参考例句：

• Food allergies can result in an enormous variety of different symptoms. 食物过敏会引发很多不同的症状。 来自辞典例句
• Let us, however, examine one of the most common allergies; hayfever. 现在让我们来看看最常见的变态反应的一种--枯草热。 来自辞典例句

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 specimens   

n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人

参考例句：

• Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
• The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 protocols   

n.礼仪( protocol的名词复数 )；（外交条约的）草案；（数据传递的）协议；科学实验报告（或计划）

参考例句：

• There are also protocols on the testing of nuclear weapons. 也有关于核武器试验的协议。 来自辞典例句
• Hardware components and software design of network transport protocols are separately introduced. 介绍系统硬件组成及网络传输协议的软件设计。 来自互联网

8 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

9 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

10 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

11 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。

12 evade   

vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避

参考例句：

• He tried to evade the embarrassing question.他企图回避这令人难堪的问题。
• You are in charge of the job.How could you evade the issue?你是负责人，你怎么能对这个问题不置可否？