美国国家公共电台 NPR--Energy Dept. says with 'low confidence' that lab leak may be origin of COVID-19

Energy Dept. says with 'low confidence' that lab leak may be origin of COVID-19

Transcript¹

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Michael Gordon of The Wall Street Journal about a classified report indicating the Energy Department believes the COVID pandemic was likely caused by a lab leak in China.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The U.S. Department of Energy is concluding that COVID-19 might have been leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China, but there are caveats². The Wall Street Journal's Michael Gordon broke this story. So before we get to the Department of Energy report, let's talk about why it's taken so long and been so challenging to get to the bottom of where COVID-19 came from.

MICHAEL GORDON: Well, a big problem is the Chinese aren't cooperating. They're not being transparent³. They haven't shared data from their laboratories in Wuhan, which is the center of coronavirus research, nor did they fully⁴ cooperate with the World Health Organization when it sent a team there to inspect it and sort of sent the team back. So you're trying to decipher a mystery without the cooperation of the nation where the virus emerged. And that's proving to be a very difficult challenge for the U.S. intelligence community.

FADEL: Now, the Energy Department says that it's finding that COVID might have leaked from a laboratory. It was made with, quote, "low confidence." So is this report fully conclusive⁵? What does this mean?

GORDON: Well, let's step back a bit. I mean what happened was President Biden, in May of 2021, ordered a investigation⁶ into the origins of COVID by the intelligence community. And there were a number of different agencies involved in this - the CIA, the DIA, Energy, FBI and the like. And they came forth⁷ with a report that was pretty much of a split decision. And in this story that I broke with my colleague Warren Strobel, we determined⁸ that the FBI was an agency that had assessed it a leak from the lab with moderate confidence. There were four other agencies that said it probably arose naturally from an animal with low confidence. And at that time, the Energy Department was agnostic. It didn't have a position one way or the other.

What's happened is they've done an update to this report, and the Energy Department's position has shifted. It's gone from saying, well, we don't know to, we think it's most likely it did come from a lab, though with low confidence. So they've now aligned⁹ with the FBI in this intelligence community assessment¹⁰ that was provided to the White House last month but not acknowledged publicly.

FADEL: So different findings by different agencies. Why are multiple agencies conducting separate investigations¹¹ like this?

GORDON: Well, the intelligence community consists of 18 different agencies...

FADEL: Yeah.

GORDON: ...And eight of them were involved in this because they had the requisite¹² expertise¹³. So it was intended to be a whole of community effort. The reason the FBI and the Energy Department are significant is the FBI - it's not just a bunch of gumshoes. They have scientists. They have a lab at Fort Detrick, which does bio forensic¹⁴ research. And the Energy Department oversees¹⁵ the national laboratories, like Lawrence Livermore, which invented fusion¹⁶. They have scientists under their command. And so they're able to look at this more so than other agencies from a scientific perspective.

FADEL: And if China's not cooperating, then where is the Department of Energy getting its information?

GORDON: Well, they won't say. I mean, they won't say what the intelligence information is. And we know it's not conclusive. We know it's - they haven't established a cataclysmic episode and linked it directly to the outbreak in Wuhan. But the alternative theory that it leapt from an animal - well, in the past three years, they've never found a host animal. So the absence of evidence for the alternative theory and the nature of the research in Wuhan is what's pointing to this conclusion.

FADEL: Michael Gordon is a national security correspondent for The Wall Street Journal. Michael, thanks so much.

GORDON: Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 caveats   

警告

参考例句：

• I would offer a caveat for those who want to join me in the dual calling. 为防止发生误解，我想对那些想要步我后尘的人提出警告。 来自辞典例句
• As I have written before, that's quite a caveat. 正如我以前所写，那确实是个警告。 来自互联网

3 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

4 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

5 conclusive   

adj.最后的，结论的；确凿的，消除怀疑的

参考例句：

• They produced some fairly conclusive evidence.他们提供了一些相当确凿的证据。
• Franklin did not believe that the French tests were conclusive.富兰克林不相信这个法国人的实验是结论性的。

6 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

7 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

8 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

9 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

10 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

11 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

12 requisite   

adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品

参考例句：

• He hasn't got the requisite qualifications for the job.他不具备这工作所需的资格。
• Food and air are requisite for life.食物和空气是生命的必需品。

13 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

14 forensic   

adj.法庭的，雄辩的

参考例句：

• The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。
• The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后，法官于10时30分宣布休庭。

15 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

16 fusion   

n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc. 黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• This alloy is formed by the fusion of two types of metal.这种合金是用两种金属熔合而成的。