英语听力—环球英语 988 The Ulcer Prize

 　　Voice 1

 

　　Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Liz Waid.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　And I’m Colin Lowther. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　In the summer of 1984, Barry Marshall went to the hospital. He had serious pain in his stomach. And he felt very sick and weak. Eating food hurt him.  But he was not like most people visiting the hospital. He was a research scientist. And he knew exactly what was wrong. He had a stomach ulcer². And he had caused this dangerous condition himself, as part of his research.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Today’s Spotlight is on Barry Marshall, and his research partner, Robin³ Warren. In 2005, they won the Nobel Prize for medicine. They won this award for their research on stomach ulcers⁴. By performing a dangerous experiment, they changed the way doctors understand this condition.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　A stomach ulcer is a sore or damaged area on the inside of the stomach or duodenum - the beginning of the small intestine⁵. A person with a stomach ulcer can be in a lot of pain. He may feel sick. He cannot eat well and he becomes weak. Stomach ulcers are a common problem. In the United States nearly one in ten adults suffers with stomach ulcers.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　In the past, experts believed they knew why people got ulcers. The cause was stress or worry. Doctors describe stress as a modern-day health problem. People with stress feel that life is too difficult to manage. Their minds cannot rest. They feel worried about many things.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　The World Health Organisation⁶ describes stress as a ‘worldwide epidemic’. It affects many people around the world. Research shows that stress is a cause for many health problems. For example, it can damage the heart. It can cause mental problems. But does it cause stomach ulcers?

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Robin Warren did not think so. He is a research doctor in Australia. In the1980s, he began studying ulcers. He thought there was a physical reason for them. He operated on ulcer victims. He removed small pieces of the damaged part of their stomachs. Then he looked carefully at them under a microscope. He observed that the same small bacteria were present in each of the stomachs of ulcer victims. He published his findings⁷.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　In 1981 Barry Marshall was training to become a doctor. He was working in the same hospital as Robin Warren. When he learned⁸ about Warren’s work, he was very interested. One of Marshall’s patients was suffering greatly with stomach problems. He wondered if Warren’s work could help people like that patient. So Marshall began working with Warren.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　They called the bacteria Warren found in the ulcer victim’s stomachs ‘Helicobacter pylori’ or ‘H pylori’. They estimated⁹ that the H pylori bacterium¹⁰ is found in the stomachs of about 50% of the world’s population. For most people, it does not cause a problem. But Warren and Marshall thought that in around 15% of cases the bacterium caused ulcers. Warren and Marshall claimed that these people could be cured.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　But doctors could only cure their patients if they changed the treatment of ulcers. Doctors normally¹¹ told patients to reduce their amount of stress. Then they treated the effects of the ulcer with antacids. This treatment reduces the pain of stomach ulcers. But antacids do not kill the bacteria. They cannot cure the condition. Patients continued to experience many problems from the ulcers. But Warren and Marshall wanted doctors to treat the stomach ulcers using strong antibiotics¹³. They claimed that these drugs would kill the bacteria. The patients would then start to recover. It would be possible to cure patients completely.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　However, the doctors and scientific experts did not believe Warren and Marshall. They continued to believe that stress caused ulcers - not bacteria. So what could Warren and Marshall do? They had published their results. They had shown their evidence to the world’s experts. But still no one believed them. So Warren had a dangerous idea. He decided¹⁴ to infect himself with the bacteria. Warren knew he would become sick. But then people would know that the bacteria caused stomach ulcers. He hoped that his action would persuade the other experts that he was right. He hoped that they would then support his work.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　So Marshall drank a liquid containing the H pylori bacterium. He suffered from stomach pain and sickness. He went to his local hospital. The doctors there performed some tests including an endoscopy. The endoscopy test let the doctors to see the inside of Marshall’s stomach. The doctors could see the damaged areas. They observed the action of the H pylori bacteria. Marshall was quickly developing a stomach ulcer. Marshall’s wife urged him to think of his children and get treatment, which he did. And his antibiotic¹² medicine worked. He had proved that H pylori causes ulcers, and that antibiotics could cure an ulcer.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Marshall’s experiment shocked the scientific world. Experts now started to accept that Warren and Marshall were correct in their thinking. Today, thanks to their work, many patients with stomach ulcers can be cured. Scientists now say that H pylori causes between 80-90% of ulcers.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Warren and Marshall were having dinner together when they heard about the Nobel Prize. They were very happy to receive this honour. But they were even more pleased to be able to help people suffering from ulcers. Barry Marshall says that he would do it all again. He told the Nobel Committee,

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　‘Somebody had to do it; somebody had to swallow the bacteria and develop an ulcer. It was the only way to persuade the scientific world’.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　These two men had a difficult job making people believe their research. But they continued to speak out. Now their work has changed the way doctors deal with stomach ulcers. Many people with stomach ulcers go on to develop stomach cancer. So the antibiotic treatment now used could also be helping¹⁵ to prevent cancer in these patients. Many people believe the world owes a lot to Robin Warren and Barry Marshall.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　The writer of this program was Elizabeth Lickiss. The producer was Michio Ozaki. The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　You can visit Spotlight on the Internet. Our address is http://www.radioenglish.net There., you can listen to this program again, and read it at the same time. This program is called, ‘The Ulcer Prize’.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　If you have a comment or question about any Spotlight program you can email us at radio at radioenglish dot net. Or you can leave a comment on the script¹⁶ page of the program on our website.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　You can also find Spotlight on Facebook and Twitter - just search for Spotlight Radio. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.

1 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。

2 ulcer   

n.溃疡，腐坏物

参考例句：

• She had an ulcer in her mouth.她口腔出现溃疡。
• A bacterium is identified as the cause for his duodenal ulcer.一种细菌被断定为造成他十二指肠溃疡的根源。

3 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

4 ulcers   

n.溃疡( ulcer的名词复数 )；腐烂物；道德败坏；腐败

参考例句：

• Detachment of the dead cells produces erosions and ulcers. 死亡细胞的脱落，产生糜烂和溃疡。 来自辞典例句
• 75% of postbulbar ulcers occur proximal to the duodenal papilla. 75％的球后溃疡发生在十二指肠乳头近侧。 来自辞典例句

5 intestine   

adj.内部的；国内的；n.肠

参考例句：

• This vitamin is absorbed through the walls of the small intestine.这种维生素通过小肠壁被吸收。
• The service productivity is the function,including external efficiency,intestine efficiency and capacity efficiency.服务业的生产率是一个包含有外部效率、内部效率和能力效率的函数。

6 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。

7 findings   

n.发现物( finding的名词复数 )；调查（或研究）的结果；（陪审团的）裁决

参考例句：

• It behoves us to study these findings carefully. 我们理应认真研究这些发现。
• Their findings have been widely disseminated . 他们的研究成果已经广为传播。

8 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。

9 estimated   

adj．根据估计的

参考例句：

• She estimated the breadth of the lake to be 500 metres. 她估计湖面大约有500米宽。
• The man estimated for the repair of the car. 那人估算了修理汽车的费用。

10 bacterium   

n.(pl.)bacteria 细菌

参考例句：

• The bacterium possibly goes in the human body by the mouth.细菌可能通过口进入人体。
• A bacterium is identified as the cause for his duodenal ulcer.一种细菌被断定为造成他十二指肠溃疡的根源。

11 normally   

adv.正常地，通常地

参考例句：

• I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
• My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。

12 antibiotic   

adj.抗菌的；n.抗生素

参考例句：

• The doctor said that I should take some antibiotic.医生说我应该服些用抗生素。
• Antibiotic can be used against infection.抗菌素可以用来防止感染。

13 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。

14 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。

15 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

16 script   

n.剧本，广播稿；文字体系；笔迹，手迹

参考例句：

• It's easy to identify his script.他的笔迹容易辨认。
• The script is massaged into final form.这篇稿子经过修改已定稿。