英语听力—环球英语 521 DOTS and TB

　　Voice 1
Hello. I’m Marina Santee.
Voice 2
And I’m Ruby¹ Jones. Welcome to Spotlight². This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 3
‘I am a community health worker. I am so happy that I could prevent the spread of disease⁴ in the community.’
Voice 4
‘Now I know the signs of the disease. So I have sent other villagers to the health centre. I had treatment there. And I am cured.’
Voice 5
‘I followed the plan exactly. Three months later I am cured! It can work for you too.’
Voice 1
These people are talking about a cure for tuberculosis⁵, or TB. You may remember Kheair’s story from an earlier Spotlight programme. TB spread through his family. TB is a very infectious⁶ disease. It spreads easily through the air. TB killed Kheair’s children. This situation is common in many places across the world. In fact, throughout the world, three people die from TB every minute. But this does not need to happen.
Today’s Spotlight looks at a successful way to fight and cure TB.
Voice 4
‘Now I know the signs of the disease. So I have sent other villagers to the health centre...I had treatment there.’
Voice 5
‘I followed the plan exactly. Three months later I am cured! It can work for you too.’
Voice 2
These people are talking about DOTS. DOTS is a health plan. The World Health Organisation⁷ invented the plan. Each letter in the word ‘DOTS’ has a particular meaning. The letters mean ‘Directly Observed Treatment.’ It is a simple, yet effective method. People must follow DOTS exactly for it to work. If they do, they have a ninety five percent [95%] chance of being cured. The DOTS plan has five main points. The WHO has developed these as a guide for different countries to follow.
Voice 1
First, the DOTS plan needs political support from national governments. Governments need to support action plans. They should create laws to enforce⁸ plans, where needed. And they should also provide financial support. The DOTS plan will only succeed with this support.
Voice 2
The second part is good TB testing. Countries need laboratories⁹ with all the right equipment. For many countries, this means more investments¹⁰.
Voice 1
Third, all TB patients should receive the same, correct, treatment and support. The WHO has developed a guide to managing patients and drugs.
Voice 2
The fourth part is an effective drug supply and management system. All health centres should receive enough anti TB drugs. These should be free for all people.
Voice 1
And finally, there needs to be a system that records everything. Experts can use this information to make sure DOTS is working. They can use it over large areas to ensure high quality TB control.
Voice 2
But all this is of no use without the work of two people. These two people have the power to cure TB or let it develop and kill. They are the TB patient and an observer¹¹.
Voice 1
The DOTS plan says that every TB patient must have an observer. The observer’s job is to make sure the patient takes the correct medicine at the correct time. The observer does not need to be a health worker. But he or she must be trustworthy. Some observers¹² are store owners. Some are tribal¹³ leaders. An observer can be any respected member of the community.
Voice 2
Observers ‘observe’ TB patients swallow their medicines. They make sure that the patients take them in the right order, at the right time. And, they also make sure that the patients complete the treatment. The DOTS plan suggests that observers do this for the whole period of treatment. But, it recognises that this is not always possible. In these cases, observers should watch for the first two months.
Voice 1
The aim of DOTS is to make TB disappear completely from countries. But there is another reason for DOTS. It is to prevent more dangerous forms of TB developing. This is a big concern for health experts. You may recognise the name MDR- TB, multi drug resistant¹⁴ TB. This is a very strong form of TB. It is so strong that current drugs are not effective against it. The TB resists the drugs’ power. Currently¹⁵, there are four main drugs that treat TB. Some forms of TB can resist more than two of these drugs. This TB is called ‘multi’ drug resistant tuberculosis - MDR-TB.
Voice 2
MDR-TB is very hard for doctors to treat. Patients need more treatment - for longer. The recovery¹⁶ rate for MDR-TB is 50% or less. The WHO estimates¹⁷ that there are around four hundred and sixty thousand [460,000] new cases every year. Meanwhile, there is new evidence of other drug resistant forms of TB. This is a great cause for concern.
Voice 1
So how do people develop MDR-TB? Suppose a person has normal TB. The patient takes his medicine for a few weeks. And then, he starts to feel better. So he stops taking the medicine. This is very dangerous. Improved health is not a sign that all the TB bacteria are dead. Most likely some bacteria remain. Inside the body, these bacteria develop. They become stronger. They can now fight the drugs. Eventually, they make the patient sick again. The old drugs will not work. So, the patient tries different drugs. But these do not work either. The TB has developed into the dangerous MDR-TB.
Voice 2
A person can also develop MDR-TB if they forget to take their medicine. This is why ‘DOTS’ is so important. The observer and the TB patient must work together. It can be the difference between life and death.
Voice 1
Mr Ram³ Khadka, from Nepal, knows about the dangers of TB. The disease killed some of his family. And it could have killed him also. But, he learned¹⁸ about DOTS in time:
Voice 6
‘When TB attacked my father we had not heard of ‘DOTS.’ And treatment was very costly¹⁹. My father did not live to see his 32nd birthday. TB killed him.
My mother developed TB also. She went to the hospital but she died. In the hospital I learned more about TB and treatment. It was here that doctors told me I also had TB. I remember all of the patients in the hospital felt hopeless. They did not have the knowledge of DOTS. I knew about DOTS. And I was sure it would work. I tried to make other patients believe in DOTS too.’
Voice 1
Ram Khadka carefully followed the DOTS plan. And today, he is cured. He said,
Voice 6
‘DOTS cured me. It can cure you too.’
Voice 1
Ram is now working to fight the spread of TB. He wants to spread knowledge of the disease. He said,
Voice 6
‘I hate the disease TB. I work to stop it forever. I need several hands to help in my courageous²⁰ and brave fight against TB.’
 

1 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

2 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

3 ram   

(random access memory)随机存取存储器

参考例句：

• 512k RAM is recommended and 640k RAM is preferred.推荐配置为512K内存，640K内存则更佳。

4 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

5 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。

6 infectious   

adj.传染的，有传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。
• What an infectious laugh she has!她的笑声多么具有感染力啊！

7 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

8 enforce   

vt.实施，执行；强制，强迫；加强，坚持

参考例句：

• You have no right to enforce your own views on me.你无权把你自己的观点强加给我。
• They tried to enforce agreement with their plans.他们企图迫使人们同意他们的计划。

9 laboratories   

n.实验室( laboratory的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• For, eight years, Marie Curie worked in cold laboratories with poor equipment. 整整八年，居里夫人在设备简陋、冰冷的实验室里做着实验。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• Some commercial laboratories use periodic nitrate tests as guides. 许多商业性的试验室已应用定期的硝态氮分析作为指导。 来自辞典例句

10 investments   

n.投资( investment的名词复数 )；投资额；（时间、精力的）投入；值得买的东西

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile, investments are at great risk. 由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All their money was tied up in long-term investments. 他们所有的钱都搁死在长线投资上了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 observer   

n.观察家，观察的人，观察员

参考例句：

• I can see you're a careful reader as well as a careful observer.我能看出你既是一位细心的读者，又是一位观察者。
• I want to attend the conference only as an observer.本人只作为观察员身份参加会议。

12 observers   

n.观察者( observer的名词复数 )；遵守者；观测者；目击者

参考例句：

• According to observers, the plane exploded shortly after take-off. 据目击者说，飞机起飞后不久就爆炸了。
• Some military observers fear the US could get entangled in another war. 一些军事观察家担心美国会卷入另一场战争。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

14 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。

15 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

16 recovery   

n.恢复，痊愈；追回，寻回，收复

参考例句：

• The doctors said that his recovery was a miracle. 医生们说他的复原是件奇事。
• The quick recovery was truly in response to medication.这次迅速康复确实是对药物治疗的反应。

17 estimates   

估计

参考例句：

• Unofficial estimates put the figure at over two million. 非官方的估计数字为200万以上。
• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

19 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

20 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。