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1、北师大版选修第三册Lesson 3 Epidemics Explained第三课 流行病探因An epidemic is the name given to an infectious disease that rapidly spreads to a large number of people within a short period of timeusually two weeks or less. Epidemics have been happening for as long as there have been people living on Earth. They can
2、be caused by several different factors, such as a virus being carried into an area, or changes in the way people live, like more people living in an area, which increases the chances of them coming into contact with a bacteria or virus.流行病是指在短时间内(通常两周或更短)迅速在大量人群中传播的传染性疾病。自地球上有人类生活以来，流行病就一直存在。它们可能由不同
3、因素引起，例如病毒被带入某个地区，或者由于人们生活方式的改变，比如说某一地区居住的人群增多，从而增加了接触细菌或病毒的几率。Each disease can only officially be classified as an epidemic once a certain number of deaths have occurred from the disease. The number of deaths is different for every disease. So a very rare disease will have a low baseline and just a
4、few cases of it in one place will be classified as an epidemic; as opposed to more common diseases, such as the flu, that have a higher baseline. The common cold is a widespread virus that affects millions of people, but it is not seen as being a serious enough condition to deserve the classificatio
5、n of epidemic.只有致死病例达到一定数量，某种疾病才会被正式定性为流行病。每种疾病的死亡数量各不相同。罕见疾病的基线很低，即使某一地区只出现少数病例，也会被认定为是流行病;与此相反，常见疾病的基线较高，如流感。普通感冒由一种广泛传播的病毒引起，可感染数百万人，但它并没严重到可以被称为流行病。With recent press reports drawing parallels between bird flu and killer epidemics of the past, Jim Smith looks at the sometimes depressing history o
6、f epidemics for clues about how we can create a more positive future without epidemics.最近有新闻报道，吉姆史密斯将禽流感和过去致命的流行病做对比，在屡屡令人感到沮丧的流行病史中寻找线索，从而创造一个远离流行病的美好未来。Since bird flu first appeared in 1997, it has taken more than a hundred lives. Many people fear it could be the next global epidemic, especially a
7、s scientists who have gone into detail studying tissue samples from the bodies of people who died of the 1918 Spanish Flu have proved that bird flu is a modern adaptation of that virus.禽流感自1997年首次出现以来，已经夺去了一百多人的生命。科学家们仔细研究了1918年西班牙流感死亡者尸体的组织样本，证明禽流感是该病毒的现代变异版本，许多人担心它可能会引起下一场全球流行病。One of the earliest
8、 epidemics on record happened between about 500 and 550 CE. Scientists now estimate that up to 50% of the areas population died from the epidemic, making it one of the main causes of the fall of the Roman Empire. Then, in the 1330s, this epidemic returned, this time in Asia. It spread rapidly to Eur
9、ope and became known as “The Black Death” because one visible symptom was black spots on the body.人类有记载的最早的流行病，大约发生在公元500年至550年之间。现今科学家估计，发病区域多达50%的人口死于这一流行病，成为罗马帝国衰落的一个主要原因。接着，14世纪30 年代，这一流行病又卷土重来，这次发生在亚洲，并迅速传播到欧洲。由于患者身上会出现明显的黑斑症状，这种流行病被称为“黑死病”。Centuries later, the Great Flu Epidemic of 1918, also
10、called the Spanish Flu, struck near the end of World War . Families who had only just got through the war now had to bury their loved ones who had died of the disease. As a result of the war, more people were travelling and moving perhaps than ever before in history and this caused the epidemic to s
11、pread worldwide. Having killed up to 50 million people in 18 months, the Spanish Flu is believed to have been the most severe epidemic in history. More people died of the flu than died in the war. Initially, many people believed that such epidemics no longer posed a threat until very recently when S
12、ARS became a cause for concern.几个世纪后，第一次世界大战快结束时爆发了1918年大流感，又称西班牙流感。刚刚熬过战争的人们现在不得不埋葬他们死于疾病的亲人。战争引发的人口流动前所未有，从而导致这一流行病蔓延到全世界。西班牙流感在18个月内造成5000万人死亡，成为历史上最严重的流行病。死于该病的人比死于战争的人还要多。最初，人们以为这种大规模流行病不会再对人类构成威胁，直至非典出现，再次让全球陷入担忧。The SARS epidemic began in 2002 with a case of lung disease in Guangdong Province
13、. It spread to Canada, Vietnam and Singapore and lasted until 2003. SARS was examined by scientists, who were confused by this new disease and wanted to learn more about it and its causes. Infection rates went up steadily, and in the course of the outbreak, about 8,000 people were infected over nine
14、 months. Since the end of the SARS epidemic, scientists have been doing trials on treatments to prevent any future outbreaks.非典疫情始于2002年广东省的一例肺部疾病，后蔓延到加拿大、越南和新加坡，并一直持续到2003年。科学家对这种新型疾病感到困惑，对SARS病毒进行检测，以期了解该病与致病原因的更多信息。非典的感染率不断上升，在爆发期九个月内感染了约8000人。非典疫情结束后，科学家们一直在试验各种治疗手段，以防止未来疫情再爆发。Then, from 2013 to
15、 2016, there was the most widespread outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in West Africa, which resulted in a major loss of life in a number of west African countries. 11,310 deaths were officially recorded, but the actual number of deaths is probably much higher. The virus was extremely infect
16、ious and the survival rate was as low as 30% in some areas, indicating that very few people got over it.随后，2013年到2016年间，西非爆发了大规模传染病埃博拉出血热(EVD)，夺去了这一地区多个国家的很多人的生命。官方统计的死亡人数为11310 人，而实际死亡人数可能要更高。该病毒传染性极强，一些地区的存活率低至30%，也就是说很少有人能康复。Despite, or perhaps because of, the epidemics the world has faced in recent years, governments worldwide have underlined the fact that they want thorough and systematic medical research on epidemics to get at t
