美国国家公共电台 NPR Defying Parents, A Teen Decides To Get Vaccinated

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

An outbreak of measles¹ in the Pacific Northwest has again put the issue of vaccinations² front and center. Most of the people infected have been children who were not vaccinated⁴. Parents can choose whether or not to vaccinate³ their children. And children, by and large, are bound by that decision.

Ethan Lindenberger is one such youngster. He is now a high-school senior from Norwalk, Ohio. His parents are opposed to vaccinations. But when he turned 18, he decided⁵ to rethink that decision.

ETHAN LINDENBERGER: What mainly happened was I had grown up just listening to my mom and what she had told me and just assumed that was the case - that I wasn't vaccinated because vaccines⁷ are bad, and they cause all these bad effects.

And - but as I grew up and spoke⁸ to friends and saw how online, there was a large debate and heated argument between both sides of this issue, I saw that this was not as much of a black-and-white universal truth. And when I started to look into it myself, it became very apparent there was a lot more evidence, you know, in defense⁹ of vaccinations - in their favor.

SIMON: Was there a moment when you said to your mother and/or father, look; it's not safe not to get vaccinations?

LINDENBERGER: For sure. I remember I approached my mom with an article by the CDC and asked why, according to the CDC, vaccines don't cause autism and why mercury is not this extremely dangerous substance and poison found in vaccines that, you know, some people like herself would claim. And her response was simply, that's what they want you to think.

And I was just blown away that, you know, the largest health organization in the entire world would be written off with a conspiracy¹⁰ theory-like statement like that. And so moments like that I can recall back to, where I just thought, like, the concern with the evidence is not here.

SIMON: When did you get vaccinated? When did you start?

LINDENBERGER: I had two vaccines when I was 2 years old. My mom claims that one of those did not happen, or it happened against her will, and the only vaccine⁶ I should have gotten was a tetanus shot when I was 2. And that was it. Alongside that, I've never got any other vaccines - hepatitis, polio - anything.

And the vaccines I did get were hepatitis A, hepatitis B and a few other vaccines, including a tetanus shot. And I have more this month.

SIMON: How are things at home?

LINDENBERGER: Strange. When I got my vaccinations, my mom had always known I disagreed with her and figured that that was going to pass, but it didn't. And once I actually had finally went out and got vaccinations, it caused some stress in the house where she looked at it as me getting vaccines for a gesture of rebellion and not for my own sake and for the sake of people around me.

SIMON: Your mother said in the digital science magazine Undark - she emphasized that she had made this decision because she thought it was the best thing for you. And then she called your decision...

LINDENBERGER: Right.

SIMON: ...Quote, "a slap in the face" and then said, it was like him spitting on me. Must hurt to hear those words from your mother, even thirdhand.

LINDENBERGER: Not necessarily. I mean, my mom is a very strong-willed person. And it's something to where I disagree with her very wholeheartedly and very politely. And even if it does hurt, I know that that's not a reaction that is deserved. So I try not to take it too much to heart.

SIMON: Yeah. You don't doubt her love, but you do question her judgment¹¹.

LINDENBERGER: Yeah, absolutely. That's a great way to put it. And I think a lot of people that are in a similar situation as mine can question a parent's, you know, love or care for their child to deny them a medical procedure. And some people can even compare vaccines to something like a seat belt. How would you love a child and deny them the safety of a seat belt?

But from her point of view, you can see how, if these things are truly to be believed, that it would make sense to try and push and defend and avoid something as dangerous as vaccines if it's causing polio, if it's causing autism, if it's causing brain damage. But it's simply just not true. And so I have to try and make amends¹² with that.

SIMON: Ethan Lindenberger, high school senior in Norwalk, Ohio - thanks so much for being with us.

LINDENBERGER: Thank you.

1 measles   

n.麻疹，风疹，包虫病，痧子

参考例句：

• The doctor is quite definite about Tom having measles.医生十分肯定汤姆得了麻疹。
• The doctor told her to watch out for symptoms of measles.医生叫她注意麻疹出现的症状。

2 vaccinations   

n.种痘，接种( vaccination的名词复数 )；牛痘疤

参考例句：

• Vaccinations ensure one against diseases. 接种疫苗可以预防疾病。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I read some publicity about vaccinations while waiting my turn at the doctor's. 在医生那儿候诊时，我读了一些关于接种疫苗的宣传。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 vaccinate   

vt.给…接种疫苗；种牛痘

参考例句：

• Local health officials then can plan the best times to vaccinate people.这样，当地的卫生官员就可以安排最佳时间给人们接种疫苗。
• Doctors vaccinate us so that we do not catch smallpox.医生给我们打预防针使我们不会得天花。

4 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 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。

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 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

10 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

11 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

12 amends   

n. 赔偿

参考例句：

• He made amends for his rudeness by giving her some flowers. 他送给她一些花，为他自己的鲁莽赔罪。
• This country refuses stubbornly to make amends for its past war crimes. 该国顽固地拒绝为其过去的战争罪行赔罪。