2007年VOA标准英语-Livestock Disease Spreads in Britain as Contain

By Sonja Pace
London
07 August 2007

footpath1 leading to a farm outside Normandy, England, where a nsecond outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease was was announced Tuesday, 7 Aug. 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070811/0938110.jpg" width="141" vspace="2" border="0" />

British police officers block a public footpath leading to a farm outside Normandy, England, where a nsecond outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease was was discovered Tuesday, 7 Aug. 2007

Foot and mouth disease has spread to a second herd² of cattle in southern Britain, as experts narrow down the possible source and step up efforts at containment³.  VOA's Sonja Pace reports from London.

Officials are expressing concern over the possible spread of the highly contagious⁴ foot and mouth disease after a second herd of cattle was found to have contracted the virus.

"The tests that were done overnight on the samples taken from the animals culled⁵ does confirm foot and mouth," explained British Environment Secretary Hilary Benn.

Two farms in southern England have been hit.  The herds⁶ have been culled and authorities have cordoned⁷ off the farms as well as a nearby site where an animal research laboratory is located.

Roger Pride's family farm in Surrey, southwest of London, was where the first outbreak was discovered last Friday.  Speaking to reporters, Pride said he was devastated⁸ when he found something wrong with his herd of cattle.

"They were drooling, lots of saliva⁹ running out either side of the mouth," Pride said. "There was no lameness¹⁰ at that point.  They were very lethargic¹¹, walking around very slowly, which obviously to a farmer you can tell there is something drastically wrong."

Excessive saliva, lameness, blisters¹² around the mouth and hooves, raised temperature and lethargy are the main symptoms of the virus.  The disease affects cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, sheep, goats and pigs and is spread mostly through direct contact from one infected animal to another or through contaminated feed.

The virus is rarely fatal, but spreads rapidly and is generally dealt with through extensive culling¹³.  The disease does not usually affect humans.

Authorities are investigating a nearby animal research laboratory, shared by a British government institute and a private pharmaceutical¹⁴ company as a possible source. The lab produces a vaccine¹⁵ using the same rare strain of the virus.  The lab says none of its safety procedures have been breached¹⁶, but there is concern last month's heavy rains may have resulted in sewer¹⁷ backups or seepage¹⁸ from the lab site into the surrounding fields.

Spokesman for the National Farmers' Union, Anthony Gibson, told reporters that despite major efforts there is no assurance the disease can be contained quickly.

"I think everything that could have been done has been done," Gibson said. "The lessons have so far been learned from what went wrong in the 2001 outbreak, but foot and mouth is a hugely virulent¹⁹ disease and the virus can spread quickly and it can spread very long distances."

Britain was hit by a major foot and mouth outbreak in 2001 with more than 2,000 cases spread across the country.  More than six million animals were culled and the cost to the industry was estimated in the millions of dollars. 

1 footpath   

n.小路，人行道

参考例句：

• Owners who allow their dogs to foul the footpath will be fined.主人若放任狗弄脏人行道将受处罚。
• They rambled on the footpath in the woods.他俩漫步在林间蹊径上。

2 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

3 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。

4 contagious   

adj.传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
• He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。

5 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

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 cordoned   

v.封锁，用警戒线围住( cordon的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the area until the bomb was defused. 警方封锁了这个地区直到炸弹被拆除为止。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

9 saliva   

n.唾液，口水

参考例句：

• He wiped a dribble of saliva from his chin.他擦掉了下巴上的几滴口水。
• Saliva dribbled from the baby's mouth.唾液从婴儿的嘴里流了出来。

10 lameness   

n. 跛, 瘸, 残废

参考例句：

• Having been laughed at for his lameness,the boy became shy and inhibited. 那男孩因跛脚被人讥笑，变得羞怯而压抑。
• By reason of his lameness the boy could not play games. 这男孩因脚跛不能做游戏。

11 lethargic   

adj.昏睡的，懒洋洋的

参考例句：

• He felt too miserable and lethargic to get dressed.他心情低落无精打采，完全没有心思穿衣整装。
• The hot weather made me feel lethargic.炎热的天气使我昏昏欲睡。

12 blisters   

n.水疱( blister的名词复数 )；水肿；气泡

参考例句：

• My new shoes have made blisters on my heels. 我的新鞋把我的脚跟磨起泡了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His new shoes raised blisters on his feet. 他的新鞋把他的脚磨起了水疱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 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

14 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

15 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。

16 breached   

攻破( breach的现在分词 )； 破坏，违反

参考例句：

• These commitments have already been breached. 这些承诺已遭背弃。
• Our tanks have breached the enemy defences. 我方坦克车突破了敌人的防线。

17 sewer   

n.排水沟，下水道

参考例句：

• They are tearing up the street to repair a sewer. 他们正挖开马路修下水道。
• The boy kicked a stone into the sewer. 那个男孩把一石子踢进了下水道。

18 seepage   

n.泄漏

参考例句：

• Chemical seepage has caused untold damage.化学品泄漏已造成不可估量的损失。
• Water gradually escapes by seepage through the ground.水逐渐从地面渗走了。

19 virulent   

adj.有毒的，有恶意的，充满敌意的

参考例句：

• She is very virulent about her former employer.她对她过去的老板恨之入骨。
• I stood up for her despite the virulent criticism.尽管她遭到恶毒的批评，我还是维护她。