61 有待重视的脑部疾病
DATE=6-25-01
TITLE=DEVELOPMENT REPORT - Brain Disorders
BYLINE=Jill Moss
(Start at 59")This is Bill White with the VOA Special English Development Report.
An international (1) committee of doctors says that the number of cases of brain diseases in developing countries is rising. The doctors were reporting the information for the United States National (2) Academy of Sciences.
They say that brain diseases affect at least two-hundred-fifty-million people in the developing world.These diseases include (3) strokes, (4) epilepsy and (5) mental sicknesses such as (6) schizophrenia and (7) depression. They also include (8) abnormal development of the nervous system, which causes mental slowness and (9) cerebral palsy.
Richard Johnson of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland was one of the leaders of the committee. He says poor countries usually do not have the resources to deal with brain diseases. This is because most developing countries are already struggling with food problems, the spread of (10) infectious diseases and child health (11) issues.
Srinivasa Murthy also served on the committee. She works for the National Institute of Mental Health and (12) Neurosciences in India. She criticized the lack of international interest in brain diseases. For example, Doctor Murthy says fifty percent of all countries have no policies about brain diseases. In addition, she says health care centers in forty percent of the world's countries do not offer common (13) drugs to treat brain diseases.
Doctor Murthy says there are two reasons for this. One is a lack of money. The other is a lack of human resources. For example, a recent study shows most developing countries do not have enough doctors who treat mental sicknesses. Another (14) barrier to action against brain diseases is the unfair way in which the public acts toward (15) victims. Many victims of brain diseases are treated poorly.
The committee says there are (16) effective and low cost medical treatments for these diseases. Yet these treatments are not often provided in developing countries. The committee says more treatments should be offered to poor countries.
It says health care systems in developing countries should provide mental health services for their people. The committee says efforts should be made to increase public understanding of brain diseases.
Finally, the committee says national research programs should be (17) established to study brain diseases.
This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill Moss. And This is Bill White.
(1) committee [ ??????? ] n.委员会
(2) academy [ ?????????] n.(高等)专科院校, 研究院, 学会, 学术团体, 学院
(3 stroke [??????? ] n.击, 敲, 报时的钟声, 一次努力, 打击 vt.抚摸
(4) epilepsy [ ??????????] n.[医]癫痫症
(5) mental [ ?????? ] adj.精神的, 智力的
(6) schizophrenia [ ??????????????? ] n.[心]精神分裂症
(7) depression [???????????] n.沮丧, 消沉, 低气压, 低压
(8) abnormal [ ????????? ] adj.反常的, 变态的
(9) cerebral palsy n.〈医〉大脑性麻痹
(10) infectious [ ??????????] adj.有传染性的, 易传染的, 有感染力的
(11) issue [ ???????] n.出版, 发行, (报刊等)期、号, 论点, 问题, 结果, (水, 血等的)流出 vi.发行, 流出, 造成...结果, 进行辩护, 传下 vt.使流出, 放出, 发行(钞票等), 发布(命令), 出版(书等)发给
(12) neuroscience [ ??????????????? ] n.神经系统科学( 指神经病学、 神经化学等)
(13) drug [ ?????] n.药, 麻药, 麻醉药, 滞销货 vi.<俗> 吸毒 vt.使服毒品, 毒化
(14) barrier [ ?????? ] n.(阻碍通道的)障碍物, 栅栏, 屏障
(15) victim [???????? ] n.受害人, 牺牲者, 牺牲品
(16) effective [????????? ] adj.有效的, 被实施的, 给人深刻印象, 有生力量
(17) establish [?????????? ] vt.建立, 设立, 安置, 使定居, 使人民接受, 确定 v.建立
62 利用现代科技手段控制蝗虫
DATE=6-26-01
TITLE=AGRICULTURE REPORT - Controlling Locusts with Technology
BYLINE=George Grow
(Start at 59")This is Bill White with the VOA Special English AGRICULTURE REPORT.
Desert (1) locusts are a (2) threat to agriculture in many developing countries. Large numbers of locusts can destroy crops in a few hours. Locusts can eat as much food in one day as two-thousand-five-hundred people. The insects also move quickly. They can travel more than one-hundred kilometers in a day.
The U-N Food and Agriculture Organization says desert locusts are found in twenty-five countries. The countries cover an area of sixteen-million (3) square kilometers, from West Africa to India.
The local (4) Ministry of Agriculture generally is responsible for locust control. In some areas, international organizations offer (5) assistance. Chemicals to control locusts can (6) reduce the number of insects. However, some locusts have developed a resistance to the chemicals. Also, chemicals can be costly and harm the environment.
Desert locusts caused major crop damage between Nineteen-Eighty-Seven and Nineteen-Eighty-Nine. Locust experts are preparing for the next (7) major attack.
Presently, teams (8) investigate and collect information about the location of locusts. They send their reports to a national office. From there, the reports are sent to F-A-O (9) headquarters.
Recently, United Nations officials described a method to ease the work of people studying the insects. The method (10) involves (11) satellites in earth (12) orbit and computers. F-A-O officials say teams now can use satellites in a (13) global positioning system, or (14) G-P-S. It provides position information to both (15) military and civilian users all over the world. Researchers studying locusts can (16) identify their position to within ten meters. The team connects the G-P-S to a small hand-held computer. The computer has a program for collecting information about locusts. At the end of the day, the team connects the computer to a special radio in a (17) vehicle. The radio sends the information to the national office through a special device.
F-A-O locust expert Keith Cressman says desert locust attacks can begin suddenly. So it is important to be able to act quickly. He says this technology will help send information quickly and correctly. The new system should help experts warn countries threatened by desert locusts. It also should reduce the amount of chemicals needed to kill the insects.
This VOA Special English AGRICULTURE REPORT was written by George Grow. This is Bill White.
(1) locust [ ???????? ] n.[动]蝗虫, 蚱蜢, 蝉
(2) threat [??????] n.恐吓, 凶兆, 威胁
(3) square [ ????? ] n.正方形, 广场, 平方, 直角尺 adj.平方的
(4) Ministry of Agriculture n.农业部
(5) assistance [?????????? ] n.协助, 援助, 补助
(6) reduce [????????? ] vt.减少, 缩小, 简化, 还原
(7) major [ ??????? ] n.<美>[教]主修课adj.主修的, 成年的, 大调的 vi.主修
(8) investigate [ ?????????????] v.调查, 研究
(9) headquarters [ ???????????? ] n.司令部, 指挥部, 总部
(10) involve [ ??????? ] vt.包括, 笼罩, 潜心于, 使陷于
(11) satellite [ ??????????] n.人造卫星
(12) orbit [ ???????] n.轨道, 势力范围, 生活常规, 眼眶 vt.绕...轨道而行
(13) global positioning system n全球卫星定位系统
(14) G-P-S= global positioning system
(15) military [ ????????? ] adj.军事的, 军用的
(16) identify [ ??????????? ] vt.识别, 鉴别, 把...和...看成一样 v.确定
(17) vehicle [ ??????? ] n.交通工具, 车辆, 媒介物, 传达手段
63 火星的神秘运动
DATE=6-27-01
TITLE=SCIENCE REPORT - The Motion of Mars
BYLINE=Mario Ritter
(Start at 59")This is Bill White with the VOA Special English Science Report.
Last week, we explained that the planet Mars has passed "(1) opposition." It passed a point opposite the Sun. This week, we tell about the planet's surprising (2) motion among the stars.
Our English word "planet"comes from the Greek word meaning "traveler."For thousands of years, people have recognized that planets travel among the stars. The planets generally follow the path taken by the Sun through the sky. The Sun's path is called the (3) ecliptic. The groups of stars, or (4) constellations, along the ecliptic are called the (5) Zodiac.
The motion of the planets can be (6) confusing at times. Everyone knows the Sun rises in the east and sets in the west. But this is caused by the turning motion of the Earth. Planets generally move from west to east.
However, Mars will appear to move backwards for about two months this year. This happens because the Earth is (7) overtaking Mars on its way around the Sun. Mars began its backward, or westward, motion on May eleventh. It will start moving eastward again on July nineteenth.
Mars' (8) apparent motion has been a mystery to (9) astronomers for hundreds of years. Most early theories of the solar system argued that the Sun and planets turned, or (10) revolved, around the Earth. But the sudden westward motion of Mars presented a problem. Why would Mars move west for two months when it nears opposition?
In Fifteen-Forty-Three, a (11) Polish church worker named Nicolas Copernicus published a different theory. His theory said the Earth and planets moved around the Sun in perfectly (12) circular (13) orbits. Copernicus' theory was simpler. But his Sun-centered system still did not explain the observed motion of Mars very well.
Finally, a German (14) mathematician named Johannes Kepler published a complete theory of the motion of the planets in Sixteen-Nineteen. He had carefully studied the motion of Mars for many years.
Johannes Kepler discovered that the planets do not move in circular orbits around the sun. Instead, they travel in (15) flattened orbits called (16) ellipses. Mars' (17) elliptical orbit is the cause of its unusual brightening this year and its apparent large size.
During the next several weeks, you can see for yourself why the mysterious motion of Mars has caused so many people to wonder.
This VOA Special English Science Report was written by Mario Ritter. And This is Bill White.
(1) opposition [ ????????? ] n.反对, 敌对, 相反, 反对派, [天]冲
(2) motion [ ??????? ] n.运动, 动作v.运动
(3) ecliptic [ ????????? ] n.[天]黄道 adj.黄道的, 日(或月)食的, 蚀的
(4) constellation [ ????????????? ] n.[天]星群, 星座, 灿烂的一群
(5) zodiac [ ???????? ] n.[天] 十二宫图, 黄道带
(6) confuse [ ????????? ] vt.搞乱, 使糊涂
(7) overtake [ ?????????? ] vt.赶上, 追上, (暴风雨、麻烦等)突然来袭, 压倒
(8) apparent [ ???????? ] adj.显然的, 外观上的
(9) astronomer [?????????????] n.天文学家
(10) revolve [ ??????? ] v.(使)旋转, 考虑, 循环出现
(11) Polish [ ??????? ] adj.波兰(Poland)的
(12) circular [ ????????? ] adj.圆形的, 循环的 n.函件 通知
(13) orbit [ ?????? ] n.轨道, 势力范围, 生活常规, 眼眶 vt.绕...轨道而行
(14) mathematician [ ????????????? ] n.数学家
(15) flatten [ ???????] vi.变平, 变单调 vt.使平, 变平, 打倒, 使失去光泽
(16) ellipse [ ?????? ] n.[数]椭圆, 椭圆形
(17) elliptical [ ?????????? ] adj.椭圆的, 省略的
64 基因疗法治疗血友病疗效有限
DATE=6-28-01
TITLE=SCIENCE REPORT - Gene Therapy to Treat Hemophilia
BYLINE=Nancy Steinbach
(Start at 01'02") This is Bill White With the VOA Special English Science Report.
American researchers report (1) limited success using (2) gene therapy to treat the (3) genetic blood disease (4) hemophilia.
Hemophilia results when a gene fails to produce the (5) protein needed for the blood to (6) clot, or change from a liquid to a solid. The (7) defective gene is passed from parents to children. People with hemophilia suffer uncontrolled bleeding. This can result in pain, (8) tissue (9) swelling and (10) permanent damage to (11) joints and muscles.
One in every ten-thousand males has the most common kind of hemophilia. It is extremely (12) rare for females to have it. Patients can be treated with the missing clotting substance. They generally can lead normal lives.
Scientists say gene therapy may be a possible way to (13) cure hemophilia in the future. Most gene therapies use a (14) virus to place a good copy of a gene into a cell that needs it. The new gene helps the body operate normally. For people with hemophilia, this means that clotting genes placed in the body would result in blood cells that clot normally.
Researchers consider hemophilia the best disease for gene therapy because it is caused by a single defective gene. Also, only a small increase in the missing clotting substance could provide good results. Scientists at the Beth (15) Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts carried out the experiment. They reported the results in the New England Journal of Medicine. They tested gene therapy in six patients with (16) severe hemophilia.
First, they removed skin cells from the patients' arms. The researchers grew the cells in the laboratory. They added copies of the needed gene taken from healthy people. Then they created hundreds of millions of genetically changed cells. They placed these cells into the patients' stomachs.
After four months, the amount of blood clotting substance in the blood increased in four of the six patients. Some of the patients reported a decrease in bleeding problems. However, ten months later, the clotting substance was no longer in the patients' blood. It is not clear if the (17) implanted cells died or the added genes stopped working.
The researchers say the study showed that gene therapy is safe for people with the most common kind of hemophilia. But others expressed concern about the treatment because the effects were only (18) temporary.
This VOA Special English Science Report was written by Nancy Steinbach. This is Bill White.
(1) limited [ ???????? ] adj.有限的, 狭窄的, 缺乏创见的 n.高级快车
(2) gene therapy [ ????????] n.基因治疗
(3) genetic [ ????????? ] adj.遗传的, 起源的
(4) hemophilia [ ???????????? ] n.血友病
(5) protein [ ????????? ] n.[生化]蛋白质 adj.蛋白质的
(6) clot [ ???? ] n.(血液等的)凝块 v.(使)凝结
(7) defective [ ????????? ] adj.有缺陷的, (智商或行为有)欠缺的 n.有缺陷的人, 不完全变化动词
(8) tissue [ ??????? ] n.[生]组织, 连篇
(9) swelling [ ??????? ] n.河水猛涨,涨水
(10) permanent [ ?????????? ] adj.永久的, 持久的
(11) joint [ ?????? ] n.接缝, 接合处, 接合点, 关节 adj.共同的, 联合的vt.连接, 接合, 使有接头
(12) rare [ ??? ] adj.稀罕的, 杰出的, 珍贵的, (肉类)半熟的 adv.非常
(13) cure [ ???? ] v.治愈, 治疗 n.治愈, 痊愈
(14) virus [ ???????? ] n.[微]病毒, 滤过性微生物, 毒害, 恶毒
(15) Israel [????????] n.[地名] 以色列
(16) severe [ ?????? ] adj.严厉的, 严格的, 剧烈的, 严重的, 严峻的
(17) implant [ ????????? ] v.灌输
(18) temporary [ ?????????? ] adj.暂时的, 临时的, 临时性
