VOA标准英语2011--Ethiopia to Host 16th International Conference on HIV/AIDS

Ethiopia to Host 16th International Conference on HIV/AIDS

 

The Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, is making final preparations to host the 16th international conference on HIV/AIDS in Africa. The conference will bring together more than 7,000 delegates, including health professionals and scientists on the front lines of the battle against sexually-transmitted infections.

Roughly 22.5 million of the world's 33 million AIDS sufferers are in Africa. So the conference opening December 4 is aimed at raising public awareness¹.

Ethiopia's Health Minister Tewodros Adhanom calls the weeklong event an opportunity to share information about state-of-the-art approaches to prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections.

"Our main objective is really to learn from others," said Tewodros. "There will be scientific knowledge and best practices in HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment care and support, and other things we can learn from the world or the participants. We are really keen to learn, and we will have a chance to show to the world what we are doing."

This biennial² conference comes 30 years after the discovery of the AIDS virus. While the number of AIDS deaths has been steadily³ decreasing since 2004 as antiretroviral drugs become more commonly available, sub-Saharan Africa still bears an inordinate⁴ share of the global HIV burden.

AIDS patient Anna Bosigo (L) has her leg massaged5 by volunteer worker Lydia Mbhalo, of the Sakhi-Sizwe AIDS care initiative, in the Orange Farm township, south of Johannesburg, August 23, 2011.

Tewodros says the conference will emphasize that the 22.5 million Africans with HIV/AIDS are people whose lives and deaths touch millions more.

"I told you the figures, these are not really numbers, they are people," Tewodros noted⁶. "Twenty-two million in Africa is really big, and the extent, the magnitude of death is really huge, and if there is real commitment, there is no reason we cannot show or maintain the commitment we had started."

The International Conference on AIDS and sexually transmitted infections in Africa, known as ICASA, will be the biggest conference ever staged in Addis Ababa.

The city's massive Millennium⁷ Hall, built five years ago for celebrations of the Ethiopian calendar year 2000, is being transformed into a convention center for the event.

Officials say the facility will have a capacity of up to 35,000 people in 14 separate parallel sessions, making it one of Africa's largest convention centers.

1 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。

2 biennial   

adj.两年一次的

参考例句：

• The workers were strongly against the biennial election.工人们强烈反对两年一次的选举。
• His is a biennial,and one of the most useful pasture plants we have.这是两年生植物，也是我们最有用的牧草之一。

3 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

4 inordinate   

adj.无节制的；过度的

参考例句：

• The idea of this gave me inordinate pleasure.我想到这一点感到非常高兴。
• James hints that his heroine's demands on life are inordinate.詹姆斯暗示他的女主人公对于人生过于苛求。

5 massaged   

按摩，推拿( massage的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He massaged her back with scented oil. 他用芳香油按摩她的背部。
• The script is massaged into final form. 这篇稿子经过修改已定稿。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。