经济学人: 热带疾病 (1)

 Malaria killed 435,000 people last year, most of them in Africa. 去年435,000人死于疟疾，其中大部分在非洲。

The parasite¹ that causes the illness is carried by females of some, but not all, species of mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles. 一些，并非所有，按蚊属雌性疟蚊都携带致病的寄生虫。

An insect becomes infected by biting an infected human being. Over the course of ten to 12 days, the parasites² then multiply inside her. 当一只昆虫叮咬了被感染人群后，这只昆虫会被感染。在10 到12天内，寄生虫迅速在她的体内繁殖。

Once this has happened she transmits them with her bite. 一旦繁殖，她就会通过叮咬传播这些寄生虫。

The threat posed by an individual mosquito thus depends on its species, sex and age. 一只蚊子所造成的威胁取决于它的种类、性别和年龄。

Knowing these for lots of local insects gives a better idea of where, when and how to intervene in a particular place. 知道本地昆虫的这些信息可以更好的了解在哪、何时以及如何对某个特定地点进行干预。

If the locals are, for example, of a species that prefers to bite people inside houses, 例如，如果本地的一种种类喜欢叮咬房子里的人，

or to rest indoors after feeding, fumigating³ household interiors is the best approach. 或是喜欢在吃饱后在室内休息，那么对房屋内部进行消毒是最好的方法。

If not, it may be better to locate and disrupt breeding sites, using aerial spraying. 如果不是，那么最好是利用飞机喷雾对它们的繁殖点进行定位和破坏。

Sex is easy to determine. Males have bushy mouths—in essence, beards. Females do not. 性别很容易进行确定。雄性嘴部（其实是胡须）浓密。雌性则不是。

Determining species and age, though, is slow and laborious⁴. DNA⁵ must be sequenced. Bodies must be dissected⁶ under microscopes. 虽然确定种类、年龄慢且费劲。DNA必须要进行排序。必须在显微镜下对尸体进行解剖。

Chemical analyses must be performed. Laboratories in Britain and Tanzania are therefore testing an alternative—infrared⁷ spectroscopy. 必须由化学分析师执行。因此英国和坦桑尼亚的实验室对一种替换方法—红外光谱法，进行测验。

Mario González-Jiménez, a chemist at the University of Glasgow, uses a diamond and a piece of steel that act as a hammer and anvil⁸, 格拉斯哥大学化学家Mario González-Jiménez使用一颗钻石和一块钢充当锤子和铁砧

crushing the mosquito to be analysed. The infrared light is then provided by a laser. 压碎需要被分析的蚊子。然后用激光提供红外光。

With the insect duly splattered across one facet⁹ of the diamond, this laser is shone through the crystal onto it. 随着钻石的一面砸过这只昆虫，这束激光射过这面晶体。

The light reflected back out of the crystal by the insect's remains¹⁰ is run through a spectroscope for analysis. 通过昆虫尸体反射出的钻石光线穿过分光镜。

Part of the incident light will have been absorbed by various chemicals in the mosquito— 部分入射光将被蚊子中的各种化学物质吸收—

particularly chitin (a structural¹¹ carbohydrate), proteins and lipids in the animal's cuticle¹². 尤其是几丁质（一种结构性碳水化合物）、蛋白质以及动物外皮的脂肪。

This absorption shows up in the reflected light's spectrum¹³ as an absence of certain frequencies. 这种出现在反射光光谱中的吸收显现的是某种频率的缺失。

These absences are called Fraunhofer lines, after the German physicist¹⁴ who discovered them two centuries ago. 这些缺失的频率被称为夫琅和费谱线，200年前，德国物理学家发现了它们。

Particular molecules¹⁵ create particular patterns of Fraunhofer lines, 随着消失的光能被吸收，也驱动了特定分子中的原子键振动，

as the missing light energy has been absorbed to drive the vibrations¹⁶ of atomic bonds within those molecules. 那些分子就可以创造出某些模式的夫琅和费谱线。

 

1 parasite   

n.寄生虫；寄生菌；食客

参考例句：

• The lazy man was a parasite on his family.那懒汉是家里的寄生虫。
• I don't want to be a parasite.I must earn my own way in life.我不想做寄生虫，我要自己养活自己。

2 parasites   

寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫

参考例句：

• These symptoms may be referable to virus infection rather than parasites. 这些症状也许是由病毒感染引起的，而与寄生虫无关。
• Kangaroos harbor a vast range of parasites. 袋鼠身上有各种各样的寄生虫。

3 fumigating   

v.用化学品熏（某物）消毒( fumigate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We had applied for fumigating holds before the grain sucker came. 谷物吸扬机到来之前我们就已申请熏舱了。 来自互联网
• The wood door to be exported to your country-America, which whether need fumigating or not. 木门出口到你们美国是不是也需要熏蒸？ 来自互联网

4 laborious   

adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅

参考例句：

• They had the laborious task of cutting down the huge tree.他们接受了伐大树的艰苦工作。
• Ants and bees are laborious insects.蚂蚁与蜜蜂是勤劳的昆虫。

5 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

6 dissected   

adj.切开的，分割的，（叶子）多裂的v.解剖（动物等）( dissect的过去式和过去分词 )；仔细分析或研究

参考例句：

• Her latest novel was dissected by the critics. 评论家对她最近出版的一部小说作了详细剖析。
• He dissected the plan afterward to learn why it had failed. 他事后仔细剖析那项计划以便搞清它失败的原因。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 infrared   

adj./n.红外线(的)

参考例句：

• Infrared is widely used in industry and medical science.红外线广泛应用于工业和医学科学。
• Infrared radiation has wavelengths longer than those of visible light.红外辐射的波长比可见光的波长长。

8 anvil   

n.铁钻

参考例句：

• The blacksmith shaped a horseshoe on his anvil.铁匠在他的铁砧上打出一个马蹄形。
• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly.订书机上的铁砧安装错位。

9 facet   

n.(问题等的)一个方面；(多面体的)面

参考例句：

• He has perfected himself in every facet of his job.他已使自己对工作的各个方面都得心应手。
• Every facet of college life is fascinating.大学生活的每个方面都令人兴奋。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

12 cuticle   

n.表皮

参考例句：

• You'd never puncture the cuticle.你无法刺穿表皮。
• The reform has hardly made a scratch upon the cuticle of affairs.改革几乎还没有触到事物的表皮。

13 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

14 physicist   

n.物理学家，研究物理学的人

参考例句：

• He is a physicist of the first rank.他是一流的物理学家。
• The successful physicist never puts on airs.这位卓有成就的物理学家从不摆架子。

15 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

16 vibrations   

n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动

参考例句：

• We could feel the vibrations from the trucks passing outside. 我们可以感到外面卡车经过时的颤动。
• I am drawn to that girl; I get good vibrations from her. 我被那女孩吸引住了，她使我产生良好的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》