VOA常速英语:Neglected Diseases Afflict South Asia's Poor

短语讲解：

1. At a time when economists predict that South Asia's economy will grow, health experts point to hundreds of millions suffering from neglected infections, often as a result of poverty. 

suffer from因(疾病)而痛或不舒服;因...而更糟;受...之苦
例句：She often suffers from headaches.
她常常头痛。
as a result of由于…的结果
例句：He was injured as a result of boiler explosion.
他因锅炉爆炸而受伤。

2. Health experts say many tropical diseases that are mostly associated with sub-Saharan Africa have long been a neglected burden in South Asia as well.

associate with与…交往, 联系
例句：Foreigners always associate China with the Great Wall.
外国人总是把中国和长城联系在一起。

3. "Nobody is really dying from elephantiasis or lymphatic filariais and this is why it has been so hard to get these diseases the attention of global health policy makers," said Hotez.

die from死于
例句：In a severe winter, wild animals can die from lack of food.
在寒冷的冬天, 野兽可能因为缺乏食物而饿死。

4. "You might have heard the term the bottom billion, the one billion people in the world who live on no money," added Hotez.

live on继续活着; 继续存在
例句：He's ninety, but still he lives on.
他90岁了, 还健在。

5. Well, it turns out that a large proportion of them live in India and South Asia and these are the diseases that are trapping that bottom billion in poverty.

turn out结果是, 原来是
例句：It turned out that he was never there.
原来他根本没去过那儿。

6. "I hope that it galvanizes policy makers to pay more attention to those diseases when they are thinking about what should be funded with public monies and how those very inexpensive but effective treatments that exist can reach people in need," said Glassman.

pay attention to注意，关心
例句：No attention was paid to his advice.
他的建议没有引起注意。
think about考虑…; 捉摸…
例句：I should like to think about your suggestion before I give a definite reply.
我想先考虑一下你的建议, 然后给你一个明确的答复。

7. Experts urge Indian pharmaceutical companies to take the lead and focus not just on developing drugs for diabetes, heart disease and cancer, but on innovative therapies for neglected tropical diseases, as well.

focus on对(某事或做某事)予以注意
例句：Today we're going to focus on the question of homeless people.
今天, 我们主要讨论无家可归者的问题。