必克VOA新闻：战胜疾病和消除贫困

[00:00.10]During his 2013 State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama called for the eradication of extreme poverty world-wide by the year 2030.

[00:10.91]One of the keys to achieving this goal is to prevent and control diseases that disproportionately burden the poor.

[00:17.72]This includes vector-borne illnesses—those transmitted by mosquitoes, flies, ticks and bugs—such as Neglected Tropical Diseases.

[00:26.83]Over a billion people suffer from one or more neglected tropical diseases, or NTDs.

[00:33.39]Sometimes also called diseases of the forgotten people, these illnesses affect mostly people living in rural areas and urban slums of low-income countries.

[00:43.69]They are most common wherever access to clean water and sanitation is lacking, and where children suffer from malnutrition.

[00:51.28]NTDs are devastating both to those suffer from them and to their communities.

[00:57.09]Many of these diseases can impair intellectual development in children, reduce school enrollment,

[01:03.04]and hinder economic productivity of entire communities by limiting the ability of infected individuals to work.

[01:10.41]These usually treatable and preventable diseases include Schistosomiasis; Elephantiasis; Trachoma;

[01:17.65] Chagas Disease; River Blindness; Leprosy; Kala-azar, dengue,

[01:23.87]black fever and other forms of Leishmaniasis; and the three most common infections --

[01:29.76]the soil-transmitted parasites hookworm, roundworm and whipworm.

[01:33.83]Together, they cause as much damage as HIV, malaria or tuberculosis.

[01:39.58]The United States has been a part of the global effort to control these diseases since 2006.

[01:46.00]Then, two years ago, working through the U.S. Agency for International Development,

[01:51.16]the U.S. Government joined Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases,

[01:56.12]a partnership that also includes the governments of the United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates;

[02:01.90] the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; the World Bank; 13 pharmaceutical companies;

[02:07.65]and other global health organizations dedicated to accelerating progress toward eliminating or controlling 10 NDTs by the end of the decade.

[02:17.62]As of 2012, the USAID NTD program has supported the delivery of 820 million treatments globally.

[02:27.48]Controlling, and perhaps eventually eliminating these diseases cannot be achieved by one group, or one country acting alone.

[02:35.96]The problem is too wide spread, too complex, and must be attacked on many levels.

[02:41.21]It will require much effort, funding, and political will.

[02:44.94]Only by working together can we hope to overcome these ancient causes of human misery,

[02:50.87]and improve the lives of over a billion people.
词汇解析

extreme

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

adj.极度的；极端的

n.极端；极限

参考例句

用作形容词 (adj.)

Extreme poverty had reduced them to a state of apathy.

极端的贫困使他们万念俱灰。

用作名词 (n.)

Starvation is at one extreme of the spectrum of food intake; obesity is at the other.

饥饿是食物摄入量的一个极端,肥胖则是另一个极端。

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poverty

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

n.贫困；贫乏；劣质

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

They were handicapped by (a) poverty of resources.

他们因资源短缺处境窘迫。

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world-wide

英汉解释

adj.世界范围的；遍及全球的

参考例句

用作形容词 (adj.)

The old parochial outlook has become a world view.

昔日的那个地方范围的观点已成了一种世界范围的观点。

The Tzu Chi International Medical Association, or TIMA, organizes relief operations all over the world, including their own backyard in Taiwan.

慈济国际医疗协会或称人医会，组织遍及全球各地。

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burden

难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词

英汉解释

n.负担；责任；装载量；主题；[音乐]副歌

v.使负重；装载；烦扰

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

The burden on his back seemed to be crushing him to the earth.

他背上的重负似乎要把他压倒在地。

用作动词 (v.)

I don't want to burden you with my problem.

我不想让我的问题给你添麻烦。

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tropical

难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词

英汉解释

adj.热带的；炎热的；热带植物的

参考例句

用作形容词 (adj.)

Summer was almost tropical last year.

去年的夏天十分炎热。

Tropical plants thrive in a greenhouse.

热带植物在温室里茁壮生长。

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urban

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

adj.城市的；都市的

参考例句

用作形容词 (adj.)

In some developing countries more and more people are migrating to urban areas.

在某些发展中的国家,越来越多的人向市区迁移。

The quality of urban living has been damaged by excessive noise levels.

城市生活的质量已被过度的噪音所破坏。

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observer

难度：2星扩展词汇，属常用10000词

英汉解释

n.观察者

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

Each observer's prediction has been borne out.

每个观察者的预料已被证实了。

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ability

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

n.能力；才能

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

This is a task well within your ability.

这完全是你力所能及的工作。

He shows exceptional ability in solving problems.

他处理问题才干过人。

 

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