2006年VOA标准英语-Indonesia Struggles to Contain Bird Flu

By Chad Bouchard
Kaben Jahe, Indonesia
31 August 2006

Chickens on a farm in central Java, Indonesia  
  
Indonesia is struggling to contain the spread of the deadly bird flu virus in people and poultry¹. The country now has the world's largest number of human bird flu deaths, and critics say it needs to do more to eradicate² the disease. But, as Chad Bouchard reports from the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the government's efforts are hampered³ by limited resources and resistance from local communities.

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In the isolated⁴ mountain community of Dairi in north Sumatra, about 200 villagers file into a packed meeting house. Everybody is talking about a frightening rumor⁵ that has been circulating all day.

Bupati Tumanggor, head of the local Dairi district, addresses the restless crowd over a loudspeaker.

He confirms that someone from the village has been hospitalized for avian influenza⁶. Five chickens have tested positive for the H5N1 virus as well. He tells them the next morning all birds within a one-kilometer radius⁷ will be killed, to keep the virus from spreading.

A man works on a chicken farm in Central Java, Indonesia    
  
Other countries hard hit by the H5N1 virus, such as Vietnam and Thailand, have made significant progress against the disease by killing⁸ large numbers of poultry once an outbreak is detected.

In August Indonesia recorded its 60th case of bird flu in humans, 46 of which have been fatal, the highest human death toll⁹ from the disease.

And some scientists are concerned this high death rate is partly due to Indonesia's reluctance¹⁰ so far to cull¹¹ birds.

 
Indonesia
  
Tumanggor acknowledges Indonesia has had a difficult time stopping bird flu. But he says the country faces unique challenges. Its population is spread over 17,000 islands, domestic fowl¹² roam everywhere, and there is widespread resistance to the central government among many of its diverse cultures.

"Criticism from other countries is normal," he said. "But sometimes the critics assign blame because they don't really understand Indonesia. Information in the media about this country is not complete. But if they looked at the whole picture, people would understand how difficult our task is, and that we are doing our best with what we have."

John Weaver¹³ is an advisor¹⁴ on avian flu with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, which is helping¹⁵ Indonesia fight the disease. He says Jakarta's culling¹⁶ program is not rigorous enough. In some cases only 30 or 40 percent of the birds in an area are killed because villagers do not cooperate.

"You know village poultry are recognized as a valuable asset both in terms of their food value, but also they're a liquid asset in that they can be sold to pay school fees or some medical fees, or something like that, so they are valued within the system. One needs to work within communities and address the fact that this is a potential loss to them," said Weaver.

Compensating¹⁷ villagers for their poultry is expensive, and the government currently pays only half the market price for birds that are culled¹⁸. Some villagers fail to report outbreaks of disease in poultry or they hide their birds during a cull.

Vendor¹⁹ unloads crates²⁰ of chickens from truck at chicken market in Jakarta  
  
Indonesia says the high cost of compensation is one of the biggest barriers to controlling the virus. The government says it needs $900 million for bird flu containment²¹ programs over three years but can only afford $150 million.

But international donors²³ have been reluctant to commit funds. Donor²² nations have asked for details of how the money will be spent but the Indonesian government has so far failed to provide a plan.

Indonesia also caused concern in August when it reduced its annual budget for bird flu programs from $57 million to $46 million. The World Bank said the cuts sent the wrong message to international donors.

Under pressure from the international community, Jakarta has agreed to restore funding to its previous level.

The U.N.'s Weaver says getting the virus under control in Indonesia will require sustained support from donors.

"It's not going to be a quick fix," he said. "It's not a one or two year program, it's a five to ten year program. And it's very resource dependent. And it's dependent on both the commitment of the resourcing within Indonesia - but one has to recognize that that's finite - and the response that's expected is beyond the capacity within Indonesia. So there has to be greater international commitment."

Back in Dairi, police demand residents bring out their chickens to be destroyed. Health workers dressed in sterile²⁴ white clothes, masks and hoods²⁵ sweep the village, slaughtering²⁶ captured birds in the streets.

At the end of a dusty road, a woman who goes by the honorary title of Nandetedi, or "grandma" in the local dialect, says the villagers do not understand.

"You know, we don't even have words for 'avian influenza' in the local language," she said. "We do not know how and why the chickens die. We only know the chickens are sick. All of us are healthy. Moreover, I'm an old person, and I'm not afraid of chickens."

Once the police and health workers have gone, simmering resentment²⁷ remains²⁸ over the loss of birds and the damage to the economy.

Indonesia has announced it will expand the culling of backyard poultry, and the country is rolling out a widespread public awareness²⁹ campaign about bird flu on television and radio stations.

The H5N1 virus cannot spread easily among people but there are fears a mutation³⁰ may occur that will allow it to do so if more humans catch the disease from infected birds.

And as long as an estimated 300 million chickens continue living in close contact with people, the chance remains for a deadly epidemic³¹ in Indonesia. But for now, many bird owners remain unconvinced of that risk.

1 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

2 eradicate   

v.根除，消灭，杜绝

参考例句：

• These insects are very difficult to eradicate.这些昆虫很难根除。
• They are already battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus.他们已经在努力消灭疟疾、破伤风等疾病。

3 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

4 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

5 rumor   

n.谣言，谣传，传说

参考例句：

• The rumor has been traced back to a bad man.那谣言经追查是个坏人造的。
• The rumor has taken air.谣言流传开了。

6 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

7 radius   

n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限

参考例句：

• He has visited every shop within a radius of two miles.周围两英里以内的店铺他都去过。
• We are measuring the radius of the circle.我们正在测量圆的半径。

8 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。

9 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。

10 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

11 cull   

v.拣选；剔除；n.拣出的东西；剔除

参考例句：

• It is usually good practice to cull the poorest prior to field planting.通常在实践上的好方法是在出圃栽植前挑出最弱的苗木。
• Laura was passing around photographs she'd culled from the albums at home.劳拉正在分发她从家里相册中挑选出的相片。

12 fowl   

n.家禽，鸡，禽肉

参考例句：

• Fowl is not part of a traditional brunch.禽肉不是传统的早午餐的一部分。
• Since my heart attack,I've eaten more fish and fowl and less red meat.自从我患了心脏病后，我就多吃鱼肉和禽肉，少吃红色肉类。

13 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

14 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

15 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

16 culling   

n.选择，大批物品中剔出劣质货v.挑选，剔除( cull的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The mathematicians turned to culling periodic solutions. 数学家们转而去挑选周期解。 来自辞典例句
• It took us a week to find you, a week of culling out prejudice and hatred. 我们花了一个星期的时间找到你们，把偏见和憎恨剔除出去。 来自演讲部分

17 compensating   

补偿，补助，修正

参考例句：

• I am able to set up compensating networks of nerve connections. 我能建立起补偿性的神经联系网。
• It is desirable that compensating cables be run in earthed conduit. 补偿导线最好在地下管道中穿过。

18 culled   

v.挑选，剔除( cull的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The herd must be culled. 必须有选择地杀掉部分牧畜。 来自辞典例句
• The facts were culled from various sources. 这些事实是从各方收集到的。 来自辞典例句

19 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

20 crates   

n. 板条箱, 篓子, 旧汽车 vt. 装进纸条箱

参考例句：

• We were using crates as seats. 我们用大木箱作为座位。
• Thousands of crates compacted in a warehouse. 数以千计的板条箱堆放在仓库里。

21 containment   

n.阻止，遏制；容量

参考例句：

• Your list might include such things as cost containment,quality,or customer satisfaction.你的清单上应列有诸如成本控制、产品质量、客户满意程度等内容。
• Insularity and self-containment,it is argued,go hand in hand.他们争论说，心胸狭窄和自我封闭是并存的。

22 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

23 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 sterile   

adj.不毛的，不孕的，无菌的，枯燥的，贫瘠的

参考例句：

• This top fits over the bottle and keeps the teat sterile.这个盖子严实地盖在奶瓶上，保持奶嘴无菌。
• The farmers turned the sterile land into high fields.农民们把不毛之地变成了高产田。

25 hoods   

n.兜帽( hood的名词复数 )；头巾；（汽车、童车等的）折合式车篷；汽车发动机罩v.兜帽( hood的第三人称单数 )；头巾；（汽车、童车等的）折合式车篷；汽车发动机罩

参考例句：

• Michael looked at the four hoods sitting in the kitchen. 迈克尔瞅了瞅坐在厨房里的四条汉子。 来自教父部分
• Eskimos wear hoods to keep their heads warm. 爱斯基摩人戴兜帽使头暖和。 来自辞典例句

26 slaughtering   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The Revolutionary Tribunal went to work, and a steady slaughtering began. 革命法庭投入工作，持续不断的大屠杀开始了。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• \"Isn't it terrific slaughtering pigs? “宰猪的！ 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

27 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

28 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。

29 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

30 mutation   

n.变化，变异，转变

参考例句：

• People who have this mutation need less sleep than others.有这种突变的人需要的睡眠比其他人少。
• So far the discussion has centered entirely around mutation in the strict sense.到目前为止，严格来讲，讨论完全集中于围绕突变问题上。

31 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。