VOA慢速英语2010年-Agriculture Report - Fight to End Rind

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
In nineteen ninety-four, animal health experts started a worldwide campaign to end rinderpest. This disease is closely related to the measles¹ virus but it does not infect people. Yet for thousands of years rinderpest has affected² people by killing³ cattle and other animals and causing starvation.
The last known outbreak of rinderpest took place in Kenya in two thousand one.
Now the World Organization for Animal Health is declaring victory against this much-feared sickness. Official confirmation⁴ is not expected until May, when the organization will have reports from the last few countries.
But the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has announced it is ending field operations against riderpest. Jacques Diouf is head of the FAO.
JACQUES DIOUF: "Rinderpest affected Africa, Asia and Europe for millennia⁵ and caused widespread famine and decimated millions of animals, both domestic and wild."Experts believe rinderpest first came from Asia. The name means "cattle plague" in German. The disease was common in Europe until the nineteenth century.
In Africa in the eighteen hundreds, rinderpest killed eight out of ten infected cattle. Whole herds⁶ died, leaving people without meat or milk and damaging economies.
Cattle in Dertu, Kenya Rinderpest can spread quickly through the air and in water containing waste from animals with the virus. The disease was deadly in eighty to ninety percent of cases. It mainly sickened cattle and buffalo⁷, but also other animals including giraffes, yaks⁸ and antelope⁹.
Some areas of the world escaped rinderpest. This was probably because of careful efforts to prevent the import of sick animals.
In nineteen ninety-nine, Walter Plowright won the World Food Prize as a hero of the fight against rinderpest. The British researcher fought the disease in Africa in the nineteen fifties and sixties.
He led the development of a vaccine¹⁰ called TCRV. A single dose of it could protect animals against rinderpest. Food production increased.
Now, rinderpest expert John Anderson calls the end of the disease "the biggest achievement in veterinary history" Officials say they must still decide where to keep some of the virus and infected tissue for future research. Rinderpest is only the second disease ever declared to have been eliminated. The other disease is smallpox¹¹.
And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report. You can read and download our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I'm Bob Doughty¹².

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 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

5 millennia   

n.一千年，千禧年

参考例句：

• For two millennia, exogamy was a major transgression for Jews. 两千年来，异族通婚一直是犹太人的一大禁忌。
• In the course of millennia, the dinosaurs died out. 在几千年的时间里，恐龙逐渐死绝了。

6 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

7 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

8 yaks   

牦牛( yak的名词复数 )； 笑话

参考例句：

• The jokes get yaks. 那笑话引人发笑。
• Social species including birds, fish and yaks must have companionship. 习惯群居的生物，包括鸟类、鱼类和（牛毛）牛必须有伙伴。

9 antelope   

n.羚羊；羚羊皮

参考例句：

• Choosing the antelope shows that China wants a Green Olympics.选择藏羚羊表示中国需要绿色奥运。
• The tiger was dragging the antelope across the field.老虎拖着羚羊穿过原野。

10 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。

11 smallpox   

n.天花

参考例句：

• In 1742 he suffered a fatal attack of smallpox.1742年，他染上了致命的天花。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child?你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

12 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。