埃博拉病毒的爆发 The Ebola outbreak

Hello I’m Rob. Welcome to 6 Minute English. I’m joined today by Feifei. Hello Feifei.
大家好，我是Rob，欢迎收听六分钟英语节目。今天我的搭档是Feifei，你好Feifei。
Hello, Rob.
你好，Rob。
Today we’re talking about quite a controversial subject: the use of experimental drugs to treat disease. And, as always, you’ll learn some vocabulary – so you can talk about the topic too.
今天我们要讨论的是一个颇具争议的话题：使用实验性的药物来治疗疾病。同时，和往常一样，大家也会学到一些新单词。然后大家就可以讨论这个话题了。
Experimental drugs are medicines which are still being tested – they haven’t yet been officially approved.And experimental drugs are a very hot topic with the recent cases of Ebola in West Africa.
实验性药物就是那些还在实验中进行检测的药物——它们还未通过官方的比准。尤其在最近西非发生的埃博拉病毒事件中，关于实验性药物的讨论更是甚嚣尘上。
Ebola is caused by a virus for which there is no cure yet, and the mortality rate is high. The mortality rate is the proportion of people in a particular group who actually die of the disease.
埃博拉病毒目前还没有有效的疗法，死亡率非常高。死亡率是一些患有该种疾病的人之中死亡的人数所占的比例。
Hundreds of people have been infected in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and over half have died.
在几内亚，上百人受到了感染。在利比亚和塞拉利昂，有超过一半受感染的人死亡。
So – the World Health Organisation decided to allow the use of experimental drugs on people with the virus.
因此，世界卫生组织决定批准使用实验性药物来治疗患者。
This is something very risky. The drug might cause unexpected changes in the body and make the patient worse. These are what we call side effects.
这是一个风险很大的决定。这些药物会对患者的身体产生无法预计的影响，甚至还有可能让病情加重。这就是我们常说的副作用。
But before we talk any more about experimental drugs, let’s go for our usual question. So Feifei, how much do you know about the Ebola virus?
在我们继续更深入了解实验性药物之前，让我们先提出今天的问题。Feifei，你对埃博拉病的的了解有多少呢？
I’m afraid I don’t know very much, but I have been following it on the news.
恐怕不太多，但是我一直在关注新闻。
OK. Well, maybe you’ll have to have a guess on this question. The virus Ebola got its name after a river in the northern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. But when was it discovered? Was it in: a) 1966 b) 1976 or c) 1986
好的，那你可以猜猜这个问题的答案会是什么。埃博拉病毒得名于刚果共和国北部的一条河。你知道这种病毒是在什么时候被发现的吗？a) 1966b) 1976 c) 1986
Well, I’m not really sure but I’m gonna go with answer (b) 1976.
好吧，我不太确定，那我就选(b) 1976吧。
Well, we’ll have the answer at the end of the programme.
好的，让我们在节目的最后来揭晓答案。
Now, let’s get back to our topic – experimental drugs. The World Health Organisation (the WHO) announced they would allow the use of these drugs on humans, but… only under certain conditions.
现在让我们回到刚才的话题——实验性药物。世界卫生组织（WHO）宣布允许给人体使用实验性药物，但是……只能在特定的情况下。
What are the conditions?
条件是什么呢？
Well, with the answer is Dr Marie-Paule Kieny, who works for the WHO. Which word does she use to mean the patient gives permission for the drug to be used?
下面让Marie-Paule Kieny博士来告诉我们答案，她是WHO的一名工作人员。她用了哪个单词来形容病人允许使用这些药物的呢？
Transparency about all aspects of care, informed consent, freedom of choice, confidentiality, respect for person and preservation of dignity, and with the involvement of the community.
透明要体现在各个方面之中，如护理、知情同意、自由选择、保密、尊重以及维护尊严、还需要社会的参与。
The word for permission was ’consent’. And ’informed consent’ was one of the conditions.
表示允许的单词是“准许、统一”。“知情同意”就是条件之一。
Informed consent’ means permission given by the patient after they’ve been told of the risks of using the drug.
知情同意指的是当病人得知这些药物的风险性之后，他们还想要使用这些药物。
I wonder what would happen if it didn’t work or if the patient had a bad reaction – might they sue the doctor?
我想知道，假如那些药没有效果又或者患者有不良反应的话——他们会起诉医生吗？
That’s a very interesting point. The Health Minister of Liberia, Walter Gwenigale, has already said that people won’t be allowed to sue if the drug doesn’t work or if it makes them worse. Listen to what he says now and see if you can identify the word he uses to mean being ’legally responsible’ for something.
这一点很有意思。利比里亚卫生部长Walter Gwenigale，已经说到这个问题了，他说如果那些药没有效果或者使他们病情加重的话，人们不可以起诉医生。下面让我们来听一下他是怎么说的，这样你就会知道他用了哪个单词来形容对某事“负有法律责任”了。
We are not just going to take them and start using them. It’s an experimental drug so people have to sign a waiver and ask us to give it to them. Because it’s not just like a drug that is for general use. If you want us to try the drug on you, you have to say that we are not liable for anything that happens to you as a consequence of receiving the drug.
我们不是随便的就开始使用这些药物。在使用实验性药物之前，人们要先签署一份弃权声明书，然后再来向我们索要这些药物。因为这些药物不同于一般常用的药品。如果你想在自己身上使用它们，你就要先声明我们对发生的一切都不负有责任。
He’s very direct: neither the government nor the doctors are liable – that’s the word which means legally responsible - if something bad happens to you.
他说的可真直接啊：政府和医生都不负有责任——他用了这个单词来形容负有法律责任——如果你身上发生了什么坏事的话。
And that’s why if you are infected with the virus you have to sign a waiver.
所以这就是为什么如果感染了这种病毒就一定要签一份弃权声明书。
A waiver. This is a formal document in which the person says they’ve given up a right or claim – in this case, the right to take others to court.
弃权声明书。这是一种正式的文件，作用在于证明某人放弃了某项权利或者要求——在这个例子当中，人们放弃的是起诉别人的权利。
Yes. That’s right.
是的，没错。
So - people who are infected with Ebola can talk to a doctor, sign this document, this waiver, and get the medicine…
所以那些感染了埃博拉病毒的人们可以去找医生，签署弃权声明书，然后拿到实验性药物……
Well, not exactly – because not everyone gets it.
是的，不过也不全对——因为并不是每个人都可以拿到那些药物。
And why is that?
为什么呢？
It’s still experimental – and not much of it has been produced so there might not be enough for all who need it.So do you give it to the sickest who are likely to die, or to those not so sick who might recover with the help of the drug? It’s a big dilemma. A dilemma is a situation in which a choice has to be made between different things and one is not much better than the other.
因为这些药物还在实验当中——产量不大，所以可能无法供应所有的人。那么，你们会把这些药物给那些病情非常严重濒临死亡的人，还是给那些不是很严重，很有可能服药之后有所好转的人呢？这可是个进退两难的选择。进退两难的境地就是人们需要在两件不同的事物之间做决定，而这两件事物之间的差别又不是太大。
Quite a dilemma, indeed.
确实很难选择啊。
Now, let’s get back to our quiz. I asked when the Ebola virus was discovered. Was it in 1966, 1976 or 1986?
好的，那现在让我们回到那个问题上来吧。我问你的是埃博拉病毒被发现的时间是在什么时候。是1966、1976还是1986？
And I said 1976.
我猜的是1976.
You were indeed right. It was discovered in 1976. Interestingly we don’t really know which animal carries the Ebola virus, although bats have long been suspected and this makes prevention and controlling Ebola quite difficult. Okay. Well, we’re almost at the end of the programme so let’s recall some of the words that we’ve used today.
你还真猜对了。埃博拉病毒在1976年被发现。有意思的是我们至今还不知道到底是哪种动物携带的埃博拉病毒，虽然蝙蝠一直是人们怀疑的对象，但是这种不确定性还是让埃博拉病毒的防治和控制变得异常困难。今天的节目也要接近尾声啦，那让我们再来回顾一下今天学到的单词吧。
We heard: experimental drug mortality rate side effects consent waiver liable dilemma
我们今天听到的单词有:实验性药物死亡率副作用准许、同意弃权声明书负有责任的进退两难
Thanks Feifei. Well that’s it for this programme. Please join us again soon for 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.
谢谢Feifei。好的，我们今天的节目也要结束了。希望大家下次继续收听我们的六分钟英语节目。
Bye.
再见。