VOA标准英语2011--Struggle Against AIDS Makes Progress But More Gains Needed

Struggle Against AIDS Makes Progress But More Gains Needed

 

As communities around the globe mark World AIDS Day December 1, HIV infection rates in some parts of the world are surging, and remaining "stubbornly steady" in many other regions. At the same time, more effective prevention strategies and progress toward an HIV vaccine¹ are generating new hope for what U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently called "an AIDS-free generation."

“The goal of an AIDS-free generation may be ambitious, but it is possible,” said Clinton.

Speaking at a Washington forum², she called on global health experts, scientists, and advocates to redouble their efforts.

The stakes are high. AIDS - a disease associated with the Human Immuno-deficiency Virus - HIV - has killed 30 million people over the past three decades. Another 34 million people around the world are currently living with HIV infections.

Scientists working to control the epidemic³ say the fight against AIDS is difficult because the virus that causes it is complex - and tenacious⁴.

“The fact is that once you are infected with HIV, it incorporates into your genetic⁵ material. The virus has a trick that it kind of permanently⁶ attaches itself to our genetic material. And that means that it’s very difficult to get rid of," said Rick King, vice-president of vaccine design at the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, a public-private partnership⁷.

Romanian volunteers hold their hands forming a red ribbon, the anti-AIDS symbol, during an awareness8 rally two days before World AIDS day, in central Bucharest, Romania, November 29, 2011.

King said an effective vaccine against HIV could be ready within five years, though hurdles⁹ remain.

“Millions of viruses are circulating at one time and they are different enough that a vaccine needs to take those differences into account. We need to find vaccines¹⁰ that will block all those thousands of circulating strains,” said King.

A recent UN report says better prevention and drug treatment programs are reducing AIDS-related deaths and global HIV infection rates. But in some regions, said UNAIDS executive director Michel Sidibe, the data show the epidemic is surging.

"I think the most serious areas remain Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where the report is showing that in 10 years, we have an increase by 250 percent in the number of new infections," said Sidibe.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy¹¹ and Infectious Diseases, said there's a simple explanation for such disparities: high-risk human behavior.

"Injection-drug use, the use of selling sex for drugs - it's all a perfect incubation pot for the spread of HIV. So it isn’t an even, well-distributed incidence, prevalence, deaths, etcetera. Some countries are up and some countries are down,” said Fauci.

Sidibe said South Africa is a good example of a nation trying to get its AIDS epidemic under control:

"[They] tested more than 14 million people and reduced the price of a drug by 52 percent and increased the number of people on treatment," said Sidibe.

While public health experts applaud the progress made in controlling HIV/AIDS, they say more support from donor¹² countries and better use of resources by host nations will be needed to end the epidemic and meet the goal of an AIDS-free generation.

1 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。

2 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

3 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。

4 tenacious   

adj.顽强的，固执的，记忆力强的，粘的

参考例句：

• We must learn from the tenacious fighting spirit of Lu Xun.我们要学习鲁迅先生韧性的战斗精神。
• We should be tenacious of our rights.我们应坚决维护我们的权利。

5 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

6 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

7 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

8 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。

9 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

10 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

11 allergy   

n.(因食物、药物等而引起的)过敏症

参考例句：

• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。
• The patient had an allergy to penicillin.该患者对青霉素过敏。

12 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。