VOA常速英语2021--美国多州新冠疫苗库存告急

The COVID-19 vaccine¹ developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is likely to protect against more infectious variant² of the virus, which was discovered in Britain and has spread around the world. Reuters Emer McCarthy reports. The encouraging results from an analysis of blood of participants in trials are based on more extensive analysis than those released by the drug maker³ last week. In those tests, Pfizer said a similar lab study showed the vaccine was effective against one key mutation⁴ that's found in both of the highly transmissible new variants⁵ spreading rapidly across Britain and South Africa. The latest study, which was posted online but is yet to be peer reviewed, was conducted on a synthetic⁶ virus with 10 mutations that are characteristic of the variant known as B117 identified in Britain. Among the 11 authors of the study are the co-founders of BioNTech. That's Reuters Emer McCarthy.

辉瑞公司和BioNTech公司开发的新冠疫苗有可能预防更具传染性的新冠病毒变种，该病毒变种是在英国发现的，并已在世界各地传播。请听路透社记者埃默·麦卡锡带来的报道。针对试验参与者血液的分析结果令人振奋，而这一分析结果相较于上周辉瑞/BioNTech制药公司公布的分析结果更为广泛。根据这些试验，辉瑞公司称一项类似的实验室研究表明，其疫苗对一种关键的突变有效，在英国和南非迅速传播的两种高传染性新变种中均发现了这一突变。这项最新的研究已在网上发表，但尚待同行评审，该研究针对英国发现的以结合10种突变为特征的B117新冠变种病毒。这项研究的11位作者中有BioNTech的联合创始人。我是路透社记者埃默·麦卡锡。

The slowdown of getting vaccines⁷ into the arms of Americans continues. AP's Shelley Adler reports. A number of states are reporting that they are running out of vaccine, and tens of thousands of people who managed to get appointments for a first dose are seeing them canceled. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio: "We've had to tell 23,000 New Yorkers who had an appointment this week that they will not be able to get that appointment for lack of supply." The CDC says about half of the 31 million doses sent to the states by the federal government have been given so far. However, only about 2 million people have gotten the two doses needed for maximum protection against COVID-19. I'm Shelley Adler.

美国人接种疫苗的速度正在放缓。请听美联社记者雪莱·阿德勒带来报道。美国多个州报告称其疫苗已经用完，成千上万预约接种第一剂疫苗的人都被取消了。纽约市市长比尔·德·布拉西奥表示：“我们不得不告知本周预约接种的2.3万名纽约市民，由于疫苗供应不足，他们的预约将被取消。”疾控中心表示，到目前为止，联邦政府向各州发送的3100万剂疫苗中，大约有一半已经注射完毕。然而，只有大约200万人接种了能以最大限度预防新冠肺炎所需的两剂疫苗。我是雪莱·阿德勒。

Two U.N. agencies say that 43 African migrants died when a ship they were on capsized in the Mediterranean⁸ Sea off the coast of Libya. In a joint⁹ statement, the International Organization for Migration¹⁰ and the U.N. refugee agency say the vessel¹¹ overturned in rough seas after its engine quit a few hours into its trip. The agencies say a "partner on the ground," the International Rescue Committee, reports 10 survivors¹² were rescued by coastal¹³ security and brought to shore. The survivors say all the passengers were men from West African countries. The U.N. agencies say this is the first such accident of 2021, following a year in which hundreds of people lost their lives attempting to cross the central Mediterranean. 

两个联合国机构表示，利比亚沿海的地中海发生翻船事件，船上的43名非洲移民死亡。国际移民组织和联合国难民署联合发表声明称，这艘船在航行数小时后引擎熄火，随后在波涛汹涌的海面上翻覆。国际移民组织和联合国难民署表示，地面伙伴国际救援委员会报告称，10名幸存者被海岸安全部门救出，并被带到岸边。幸存者表示，所有乘客都是来自西非国家的男性。联合国机构表示，这是2021年此类事故首次发生，就在去年，数百人试图穿越中地中海而丧生。

On Wall Street, stocks rose on the hope of a new coronavirus aid bill from the Biden administration. The Dow Jones Industrials closed up 0.83 percent. The S&P gained 1.39 percent. The NASDAQ rose by 1.97 percent. Visit voanews.com for more. Reporting by remote, I'm David Byrd, VOA news.

因抱有拜登政府出台新的冠状病毒援助法案的希望，华尔街股市上涨。道琼斯工业指数以上涨0.83%收盘。标普指数上涨1.39%。纳斯达克指数上涨1.97%。您可通过网址voanews.com浏览更多内容。我是大卫·伯德，为您远程报道美国之音新闻。

1 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。

2 variant   

adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体

参考例句：

• We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。
• In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。

3 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

4 mutation   

n.变化，变异，转变

参考例句：

• People who have this mutation need less sleep than others.有这种突变的人需要的睡眠比其他人少。
• So far the discussion has centered entirely around mutation in the strict sense.到目前为止，严格来讲，讨论完全集中于围绕突变问题上。

5 variants   

n.变体( variant的名词复数 )；变种；变型；（词等的）变体

参考例句：

• Those variants will be preserved in the'struggle for existence". 这些变异将在“生存竞争”中被保留下来。 来自辞典例句
• Like organisms, viruses have variants, generally called strains. 与其他生物一样，病毒也有变种，一般称之为株系。 来自辞典例句

6 synthetic   

adj.合成的，人工的；综合的；n.人工制品

参考例句：

• We felt the salesman's synthetic friendliness.我们感觉到那位销售员的虚情假意。
• It's a synthetic diamond.这是人造钻石。

7 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。

8 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

9 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

10 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

11 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

12 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

13 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。