VOA慢速英语2014 埃博拉疫情还会危害经济

 

Ebola Outbreak Also Harms Economies 埃博拉疫情还会危害经济

The World Bank Group is warning that the West Africa Ebola crisis could severely¹ harm the economies of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone unless action is taken quickly. World Bank president Jim Yong Kim spoke² to reporters recently to discuss the effects of the Ebola spread.

“Our findings indicate that if the virus continues to spread the economic cost to these countries could grow eight-fold by 2015. This would deal a potentially catastrophic blow to their already fragile economies.”

Mr. Kim says saving lives and preventing new infections is most important. The bank has released $117 million for an “immediate³ humanitarian⁴ response.”

The World Bank president says the SARS outbreak between 2002 and 2004 showed how a disease could damage economies. Eight hundred people died from SARS and the economic losses were estimated to be $40 billion.

Mr. Kim says SARS and the H1N1 outbreak of 2009 taught that fear and avoidance resulted in about 90 percent of the economic losses. That means the disease is causing two levels of economic damage.

“The fear of contagion⁵ has helped fuel an economic crisis in the Ebola crisis as well. There are two kinds of contagion. One is related to the virus itself and the second is related to the spread of fear about the virus.”

The World Bank predicts the losses to the economies of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea will be a combined $360 million. 

Mr. Kim says losses could be limited to about $97 million next year with quick action to contain the virus. However, if there is not what he calls “an immediate massive effort” losses could reach $800 million in 2015.

The World Bank’s research includes only Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.  But early estimates show that losses could reach billions of dollars if the Ebola virus spreads widely to other African nations.

Mr. Kim says fast action is necessary. He says getting the disease under control is still far away. That is because there are not enough health care workers in the affected⁶ areas. The World Bank president says the most important issue is to act quickly in order to limit economic losses.

“However many cases there are right now, if we get an effective response on the ground in the next few months, we can really blunt the vast majority - 80 to 90-percent - of the economic impact.”

There is no cure or vaccine⁷ for Ebola. However, Mr. Kim says an effective effort could also sharply reduce the high death rate of about 53 percent for Ebola infections. He says the effort only needs “more people, more money, more attention and more commitment.”

1 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

2 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。

3 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

4 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

5 contagion   

n.(通过接触的疾病)传染；蔓延

参考例句：

• A contagion of fear swept through the crowd.一种恐惧感在人群中迅速蔓延开。
• The product contagion effect has numerous implications for marketing managers and retailers.产品传染效应对市场营销管理者和零售商都有很多的启示。

6 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。

7 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。