英国新闻听力 印度疯狂的毒蛇

每年，据统计有大约3万人在印度由于被毒蛇咬到而送命。问题不是缺乏抗毒血清，用于治疗被四大毒蛇，眼镜蛇，黑绉纱，蝰蛇和锯状鳞片蝰蛇，咬伤的抗毒血清已经推出数十年之久。困难的是要让被毒蛇咬到人能及时注射抗毒血清。在印度的许多地方，还迷信一些传统的救治方法，而不是第一时间送到医院，这会导致救治延误，造成致命的无法挽回的结果。杰明·格瑞恩曾到过有沙漠之洲之称的印度拉贾斯坦邦，在那里参与过一个教育项目旨在减少此类死亡人数。

单词注释： 

Antivenom n.抗蛇毒素，抗蛇毒血清 

Zigzag² adj.锯齿形的，Z字形的 

Scrubby adj.杂草丛生的，树丛繁盛的 

Rasping adj.令人不安的，令人焦躁的 

Deteriorate³ v.（使）恶化 

Amulet⁴ n. 护身符

ANNOUNCER: Every year, it is estimated that around 30 thousand people in India die from snake bites. The problem isn’t a shortage of antivenom, one to treat bites by the big four venom¹ snakes, cobra, crapes, viper⁵, and saw scaled viper has been available for decades. The difficulty is getting the snake bit victims to the serums⁶ in time. In many part of India, great faith is placed in traditional treatments but the delay cause by trying this first and not going straight to hospital, can often be fatal. Gemming⁷ Grain has been in the desert state of Rajasthan, where an education project is aiming to reduce the death toll⁸. 

播音员：每年，据统计有大约3万人在印度由于被毒蛇咬到而送命。问题不是缺乏抗毒血清，用于治疗被四大毒蛇，眼镜蛇，黑绉纱，蝰蛇和锯状鳞片蝰蛇，咬伤的抗毒血清已经推出数十年之久。困难的是要让被毒蛇咬到人能及时注射抗毒血清。在印度的许多地方，还迷信一些传统的救治方法，而不是第一时间送到医院，这会导致救治延误，造成致命的无法挽回的结果。杰明?格瑞恩曾到过有沙漠之洲之称的印度拉贾斯坦邦，在那里参与过一个教育项目旨在减少此类死亡人数。

GEMMING GRAIN: We were almost on top of the snake before we saw it. It lay still, curled in desert sand. Its zigzag markings looking like just another stone. It was a Northern saw scaled viper, known locally as “bandy” and this is a species which is responsible for 95% of all snake bites deaths in Northern Rajasthan. A local guiding tracker, Maona, had already bagged one specimen⁹. We set out on motor bike at dawn from the city of Patna to collect vipers¹⁰ so that they could be milked for their venom. As Maona strolled along head down, it didn’t take long for him to pick up a trail in the sand. Following into a hole of the base of some scrubby bushes, he started digging with a metal pole. Within a few seconds he revealed the snake’s tail, and soon after that, the rest of the “bandy” appeared. Gently, he pressed its front end to the ground with a stick to confirm grip of it head between palm and four fingers and with a flick¹¹ of the rest to ensure that it didn’t bit him on the way past, he deposited into the long black bag he was carrying. It was all very quick and very elegant. Maona was a surprise to any of us to discover the next specimen basking¹² on the sand within a few centimeters of his sandaled foot. This one showed us why it was called saw scaled viper. When the corner this snake wards¹³ you off not by the hiss¹⁴ but by curling into a figure of shape and rubbing their scales against each other to produce a distinctive¹⁵ and unsettling rasping sound. Our snake handler however obviously was not unsettled. Calmly, he reached his snake stick and the viper soon joined his companion in the bag. The bandy is small but deadly and in an area where people work in an open sandals or even on barefoot, there is very little protection against been bitten. Perhaps this explains why so far this year, the BPM hospital in Patna has admitted about 130 snake bite patients, nearly all of them bitten by bandy. If you multiply this by all the other district hospital in the Northern Rajasthan, not to mention the cases which never make it as far as the hospital, you will get some idea of the scale of the problem. Most rural communities still place a great deal of faith in traditional treatment for snake bite. Here in Rajasthan for example, priests in Village Temples will conduct a lengthy¹⁶ spiritual cleansing¹⁷ called Jadda. The patient is made to drink liquid butter or ghee until they vomit¹⁸, then after several hours of prayer and priestly ritual dance, they are allowed to go home, supposedly fully¹⁹ cured. In fact, this delay in receiving proper medical treatment can prove fatal. The lucky ones are taken straight to hospital by their families. I met one of those lucky ones, responding to a late night phone call from Dr. P. D. Tanwuar at the BPM Hospital, I rushed in to see Belrira, a-45-years old farmer just starting his anti-venom treatment through and IV Drip. After a bandy bite on the foot early that morning, he is being taken straight to the Jaddaman. But his condition was still deteriorating²⁰ and his family had decided²¹ to hire a taxi to transport him in the 200KM to Patna. It was a right decision. By the following morning he was sitting up in bed eating a banana and looking considerably²² better. I was intrigued²³ however to spot the amulet of peacock feathers his family had placed around his ankle, another traditional cure for snake bite, just in case. 

杰明?格瑞恩：当我们注意到那条蛇的时候几乎快踩到它的身上。它静静地蜷着身子躺在沙漠的沙地上。看上去就像是一块锯齿形的石头。它是一条北部特有的锯状鳞片蝰蛇，当地称它为“印度马车”，而且在拉贾斯坦北部，所有被毒蛇咬到中毒而死的人中有95%的人就是被这种蛇咬到的。当地的一位向导，毛纳，曾经捕获过一条这样的蛇。我们驾驶着电动车在清晨从巴特那市出发去收集蝰蛇来采集它们身上的毒液。毛纳低着头沿路搜寻着，没过多长时间他就在沙地上找到了痕迹。接着在一片杂木丛生的灌木丛中发现了一个洞，他开始用金属棒往里捅。没过多久就看见了一条蛇的尾巴，紧接着其余的部分都呈现出来了。轻轻地，他用一根木棍压住了它的前端按在地上，以确定把它的头部控制在掌心和四指之间的位置，然后敲击它的头以确保不会咬到他，然后放进随身携带的黑色长袋里。整个过程都非常的迅速，手艺一流。毛纳对我们每个人来说都是个惊喜，没走几步路我们又发现一条蛇躺在沙地上晒太阳。这一次我们算是见识到什么叫做锯状鳞片蝰蛇。当这条蛇要避开你的时候没有发出嘶嘶的声音，而是把身体盘成一种形状，摩擦它们的鳞片，制造出一种奇特的令人不安的尖锐声音来保护自己。这显然无法让我们的捕蛇手退却。他镇定地拿出他的捕蛇棒，按照之前所描述的步骤很快的将这条蝰蛇捕捉到袋子里。这是一条小蛇，但极具毒性，在这个地方，人们都是穿着敞脚的草鞋，有的甚至打着赤脚去工作，几乎没有什么防护措施。或许这可以解释今年目前为止，巴特那的BPM医院已经增加了近130个被蛇咬伤的病人，几乎所有被咬伤的人都是被这种蝰蛇咬伤的。如果算上拉贾斯坦所有其他区的医院，你会发现这个问题的规模性。大多数的乡下地方仍然信奉采用传统的救治方法来处理被毒蛇咬伤的情况。拉贾斯坦这里的方法是，祭司将会在村庄寺庙进行一次心灵净化，他们称之为加达。咬伤者会被灌入液体黄油或印度酥油直至呕吐，然后是数小时的祷告和祭祀舞蹈，所有这些完成以后，他们被允许带回家，认为他们已经治愈了。事实上，这会拖延他们接受药物治疗的最佳时间，后果是致命的。运气好的人会被他们的家人直接送到医院。我就见过其中的一个，当时我接到了P.D.汤沃博士很晚从BPM医院打来的电话，我冲到了医院看见了贝瑞纳，一名45岁的农民正在接受抗毒药物的静脉注射。那天早上他被蝰蛇咬到脚后，就直接送到了安达曼。但他的情况仍然在恶化，所以他家人决定租一辆出租车将他送往200公里外的巴特那。这个决定是正确的。送去后的第二天早上他就可以坐起来吃香蕉了，看上去好多了。然而我很好奇的是他家人在他的脚踝周围画上孔雀羽毛状的图案作为护身符，这是另外一个传统方法，用来以防万一的。

1 venom   

n.毒液，恶毒，痛恨

参考例句：

• The snake injects the venom immediately after biting its prey.毒蛇咬住猎物之后马上注入毒液。
• In fact,some components of the venom may benefit human health.事实上，毒液的某些成分可能有益于人类健康。

2 zigzag   

n.曲折，之字形；adj.曲折的，锯齿形的；adv.曲折地，成锯齿形地；vt.使曲折；vi.曲折前行

参考例句：

• The lightning made a zigzag in the sky.闪电在天空划出一道Z字形。
• The path runs zigzag up the hill.小径向山顶蜿蜒盘旋。

3 deteriorate   

v.变坏；恶化；退化

参考例句：

• Do you think relations between China and Japan will continue to deteriorate?你认为中日关系会继续恶化吗？
• He held that this would only cause the situation to deteriorate further.他认为，这只会使局势更加恶化。

4 amulet   

n.护身符

参考例句：

• We're down here investigating a stolen amulet.我们来到这里调查一个失窃的护身符。
• This amulet is exclusively made by Father Sum Lee.这个护身符是沙姆.李长老特制的。

5 viper   

n.毒蛇；危险的人

参考例句：

• Envy lucks at the bottom of the human heart a viper in its hole.嫉妒潜伏在人心底，如同毒蛇潜伏在穴中。
• Be careful of that viper;he is dangerous.小心那个阴险的人，他很危险。

6 serums   

n.（动物体内的）浆液( serum的名词复数 )；血清；（一剂）免疫血清

参考例句：

• To observe the trends of plague FI antibody serums of Microtus fuscus. 观察青海田鼠血清中鼠疫FI抗体动态。 来自互联网
• The contents of T_3,T_4 and cAMP in serums were increased by 16.01%(P<0.05),17.06%(P<0.05) and 19.88%(P<0.05) respectively. 三碘甲腺原氨酸、甲状腺素和环腺苷酸含量，分别比对照组增加了16.01%(P<0.05)、17.06%(P<0.05)和19.88%(P<0.05)。 来自互联网

7 gemming   

点缀（gem的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

8 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

9 specimen   

n.样本，标本

参考例句：

• You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。
• This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。

10 vipers   

n.蝰蛇( viper的名词复数 )；毒蛇；阴险恶毒的人；奸诈者

参考例句：

• The fangs of pit vipers are long, hollow tubes. 颊窝毒蛇的毒牙是长的空心管子。 来自辞典例句
• Vipers are distinguishable from other snakes by their markings. 根据蛇身上的斑纹就能把┹蛇同其他蛇类区别开来。 来自辞典例句

11 flick   

n.快速的轻打，轻打声，弹开；v.轻弹，轻轻拂去，忽然摇动

参考例句：

• He gave a flick of the whip.他轻抽一下鞭子。
• By a flick of his whip,he drove the fly from the horse's head.他用鞭子轻抽了一下，将马头上的苍蝇驱走。

12 basking   

v.晒太阳，取暖( bask的现在分词 )；对…感到乐趣；因他人的功绩而出名；仰仗…的余泽

参考例句：

• We sat basking in the warm sunshine. 我们坐着享受温暖的阳光。
• A colony of seals lay basking in the sun. 一群海豹躺着晒太阳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 wards   

区( ward的名词复数 )； 病房； 受监护的未成年者； 被人照顾或控制的状态

参考例句：

• This hospital has 20 medical [surgical] wards. 这所医院有 20 个内科[外科]病房。
• It was a big constituency divided into three wards. 这是一个大选区，下设三个分区。

14 hiss   

v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满

参考例句：

• We can hear the hiss of air escaping from a tire.我们能听到一只轮胎的嘶嘶漏气声。
• Don't hiss at the speaker.不要嘘演讲人。

15 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

16 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

17 cleansing   

n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词

参考例句：

• medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin 敏感皮肤药物清洗棉
• Soap is not the only cleansing agent. 肥皂并不是唯一的清洁剂。

18 vomit   

v.呕吐，作呕；n.呕吐物，吐出物

参考例句：

• They gave her salty water to make her vomit.他们给她喝盐水好让她吐出来。
• She was stricken by pain and began to vomit.她感到一阵疼痛，开始呕吐起来。

19 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

20 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

21 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。

22 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

23 intrigued   

adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧！
• He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。