VOA标准英语2011--Famous Violinist Works to Eradicate Poli

Poliomyelitis, known as polio, is a viral disease that can cause paralysis¹. It once infected millions of people each year, but vaccination² efforts around the world have brought the yearly number of new cases to just less than 1000. That dramatic reduction is in large part thanks to Rotary³ International, a service organization, and its efforts to eradicate⁴ the disease completely by 2012. Rotary's End Polio Now campaign has attracted support from famous polio survivors⁶, as it did recently from Itzhak Perlman, one of the greatest violinists in the world.
Itzhak Perlman is one of the greatest violinists of our time. He graduated from the famous Julliard School of Music in New York and received the National Medal of the Arts and 15 Grammy Awards.
But before the accolades⁷ and awards, the Israeli-born musician was a four-year-old boy stricken by a debilitating⁸ disease.
"One afternoon I was on the bed, and I was standing⁹ up on my bed in Tel Aviv, and I felt a little weak, and I had to sit down, ‘cause you know I was four years old - I was wild riding bikes and stuff like that... And all of a sudden, I felt like I couldn't do it, and that was it," he recalls.
Before a vaccine¹⁰ was developed for polio, Perlman became one of its victims. The disease may have robbed him of the ability to walk, but it did not jeopardize¹¹ the masterful movement of his arms.
Polio also failed to rob him of his voice, a powerful asset to Rotary in its fight to end the disease, once and for all.
Before performing with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Rotary's Concert to End Polio, he spoke¹² to VOA about his music and about the dread¹³ disease.
"One of the stories of, I suppose, comical situations here is that we still have polio considering that we have vaccines¹⁴ available," Perlman said.
"The challenge is that while there is polio anywhere in the world, all children are at risk," Carol Pandak said.
Pandak leads Rotary International's effort to eradicate polio in the four countries where it is still present: India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria. To keep the disease isolated¹⁵, millions of doses of vaccine are needed each year.
"To get to zero, you need to immunize 300 million, 400 million children every year, Pandak said."
The global effort is expensive. "It costs around $800 million a year for global polio eradication¹⁶. Over the next two years we have a funding gap of 720 million," she explained.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have pledged $355 million. Rotary hopes to raise another 200 million with an aggressive campaign.
General Manager John Osterlund says the campaign is working, thanks in part to Itzhak Perlman.
"Certainly his presence adds a great deal to what we're hoping to accomplish in terms of bringing to attention of people here in the Midwest, particularly in Chicago, that although polio has been gone from the United States for many, many decades, it's still a very real thing in the world," he said.
"We've been jabbing at this thing," Perlman adds, "and the knockout punch is very close."
Israeli-born musician Itzhak PerlmanPerlman has been using the thing he knows best - music - to combat the one thing he was unable to fight as a child.
He was the featured performer at Rotary's Concert to End Polio. The proceeds will go to the End Polio Now campaign.
"If people know that I am a polio survivor⁵, that I've had my career despite that, for me, that's not really an important fact. The important fact is why go through that if you have a vaccine," he said.
The vaccine is working. There were fewer than 1000 new cases of polio in 2010, down from 350,000 cases in 1988. But experts say it could make a comeback, if vaccines don't reach into the most remote corners of the world.

1 paralysis   

n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症)

参考例句：

• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。
• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。

2 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

3 rotary   

adj.(运动等)旋转的；轮转的；转动的

参考例句：

• The central unit is a rotary drum.核心设备是一个旋转的滚筒。
• A rotary table helps to optimize the beam incidence angle.一张旋转的桌子有助于将光线影响之方式角最佳化。

4 eradicate   

v.根除，消灭，杜绝

参考例句：

• These insects are very difficult to eradicate.这些昆虫很难根除。
• They are already battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus.他们已经在努力消灭疟疾、破伤风等疾病。

5 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

6 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

7 accolades   

n.（连结几行谱表的）连谱号( accolade的名词复数 )；嘉奖；（窗、门上方的）桃尖拱形线脚；册封爵士的仪式（用剑面在肩上轻拍一下）

参考例句：

• Unlike other accolades for literature which tend to value style or experimentation. 有别于其他偏重风格活实验性的文学奖项。 来自互联网
• Build your trophy room while amassing awards and accolades. 建立您的奖杯积累奖项和荣誉。 来自互联网

8 debilitating   

a.使衰弱的

参考例句：

• The debilitating disease made him too weak to work. 这个令他衰弱的病，使他弱到没有办法工作。
• You may soon leave one debilitating condition or relationship forever. 你即将永远地和这段霉运说拜拜了。

9 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

10 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。

11 jeopardize   

vt.危及，损害

参考例句：

• Overworking can jeopardize your health.工作过量可能会危及你的健康。
• If you are rude to the boss it may jeopardize your chances of success.如果你对上司无礼，那就可能断送你成功的机会。

12 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。

13 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

14 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

15 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

16 eradication   

n.根除

参考例句：

• The eradication of an established infestation is not easy. 根除昆虫蔓延是不容易的。
• This is often required for intelligent control and eradication. 这经常需要灵巧的控制与消除。