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Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Sam. And I'm Neil.
大家好。这里是 BBC 学习英语栏目的六分钟英语。我是萨姆。我是尼尔。
In March 2020, the World Health Organisation, the WHO, declared Covid-19 a pandemic.
2020年3月，世界卫生组织宣布新冠病毒感染是一种大流行病。
Now, after two and half years in the shadow of Covid, for many people, travel restrictions are ending,
现在，在新冠疫情的阴影下度过了两年半后，许多地方的封控措施正在解除，
and many people around the world are starting their lives again. But not everyone.
世界各地的人们正在重新开始他们的生活。但不是所有人。
Whether it’s because of lockdowns and not seeing friends, or getting sick, even dying, everyone wants to see an end to the pandemic.
无论是因为封锁、见不到朋友，还是害怕生病、甚至死亡，每个人都希望看到疫情结束。
But with cases of Covid infections still in the millions, and doctors warning about new variants of the disease,
但是，鉴于仍有数百万新冠感染病例，医生还在不断提醒民众新病毒变种的情况，
is the pandemic really coming to an end?
疫情真的要结束了吗？
In this programme, we’ll be finding out how pandemics end,
在本期节目中，我们将了解流行病是如何结束的，
and as usual, we’ll be learning some related vocabulary as well.
像往常一样，我们还将学习一些相关的词汇。
Of course, pandemics are nothing new.
当然，流行病并不是什么新鲜事。
Ancient texts are full of stories of plagues which spread death and disease before eventually going away.
古代文献中记载了许多瘟疫的故事，在最终消失之前这些瘟疫都带来了疾病和死亡。
In the Middle Ages, the Black Death that killed over half of Europe’s population lasted for four years.
在中世纪，导致欧洲一半以上人口死亡的黑死病持续了四年。
It’s only with modern vaccines that diseases have been eradicated – completely ended.
使用了现代疫苗，黑死病才被根除。
So, Neil, my question this week is: which disease was eradicated in 1977?
那么，尼尔，这周我的问题是：1977年哪种疾病被根除了？
Was it: a) cholera? b) polio? or c) smallpox?
是 a) 霍乱 b) 小儿麻痹症，还是 c) 天花？
I'm going to say c) smallpox.
我选 c) 天花。
OK, I’ll reveal the answer at the end of the program.
好的，我会在节目结束时揭晓答案。
Of course, the idea that the pandemic might not be ending isn’t something people want to hear.
当然，疫情可能不会结束的说法并不是人们想听到的。
Most people are sick of worrying about Covid and can’t wait for things to get back to normal.
大多数人已经厌倦了担心新冠病毒感染，迫不及待地想恢复正常生活。
But as Yale University physician, Professor Nicholas Christakis, explained to BBC World Service programme, The Inquiry,
但正如耶鲁大学医生尼古拉斯·克里斯塔基斯教授在BBC世界服务栏目的《调查》节目中解释的那样，
it’s not just the biological disease that needs to end – pandemics have a social ending too.
需要消灭的不仅仅是生物性疾病，在社会生活角度疫情也得终结。
Pandemics are not just a biological phenomenon, they’re also a social phenomenon, and they end socially.
疫情不仅仅是一种生物现象，也是一种社会现象，它需要一个社会性的终结。
And one of the ways that they end socially is when everyone just sort of agrees that they have ended,
一种方式是，当每个人都在某种程度上同意疫情已经结束的时候，
when everyone is simply willing to tolerate more risk.
或者说当每个人都愿意忍受感染风险的时候。
In other words, we sort of declare victory, maybe prematurely, or another way of thinking about it is, we put our heads in the sand.
换句话说，我们宣布战胜了疫情（可能为时过早）其实就是，我们摆烂了。
Biologically Covid still exists in the world and most of us would rather not catch it.
从生物学上讲，新冠病毒仍然存在，而且大多数人都不愿感染它。
But if you’re vaccinated, the risk of getting seriously ill is much lower, so it’s reasonable to make plans to resume normal life.
但如果你接种了疫苗，重病的风险就低得多，所以计划着恢复正常生活是有道理的。
When enough people do this, we declare victory,
当有足够多的人这样做时，我们就宣布战胜了疫情。
a phrase meaning to announce something to be finished before it actually is, but when it looks ‘good enough’.
“declare victory”的意思是在某事实际完成之前、完成得差不多的时候宣布它已经完成。
The danger is that we declare victory prematurely – too soon, before it’s the best time to do so.
风险就是，我们高兴地太早了。“prematurely”意为太快了，在最佳时机到来之前就做了某事。
Professor Christakis uses another idiom for this – to bury your head in the sand, meaning to deliberately refuse to accept the truth about something you find unpleasant.
克里斯塔基斯教授使用了另一个习语“to bury your head in the sand”把头埋在沙子里，意思是故意拒绝接受一个不愉快的真相。
It’s also true that pandemics do not end in the same way for everyone, everywhere.
而且，对不同的人，不同的地方来说，疫情结束的方式不完全相同。
Rich western countries with the resources to vaccinate their populations are in a better position than most.
拥有疫苗资源，能为本国人口接种的富裕西方国家比大多数国家处于更有利的地位。
Professor Dora Vargha is an expert on the history of medicine.
多拉·瓦加教授是医学史方面的专家。
She compares the Covid pandemic to an ongoing disease for which we have no cure,
她将新冠疫情比作一种我们无法治愈的现有疾病。
and which has killed millions since its outbreak in the 1980s – HIV/Aids.
自20世纪80年代爆发以来，这种疾病已导致数百万人死亡，它就是艾滋病。
Here is Professor Vargha speaking with BBC World Service’s, The Inquiry.
以下是瓦加教授在BBC世界服务栏目的《调查》节目中说的。
What happens in the case of HIV/Aids is that it became from being an immediate death sentence basically to a manageable chronic disease,
艾滋病从基本相当于死刑变成了一种可控制的慢性疾病，
but that happens in societies that have the means and the infrastructure to make that possible with medication,
但只有在懂治疗方法并有基础设施的国家才能通过药物控制来实现这一点，
and that is not necessarily true for all parts of the world, but we don’t think about the HIV/Aids pandemic as an ongoing pandemic.
世界各地不一定都是这样，但我们并不认为艾滋病是一种持续存在的流行病。
Although HIV has no cure, modern medical drugs allow people to continue living with the disease for years.
虽然艾滋病无法治愈，但现代药物可以使病人继续生活好多年。
HIV is no longer a death sentence – a phrase meaning the punishment of death for committing a crime, or from an incurable disease.
艾滋病不再是死刑。“death sentence”指对罪犯的死刑惩罚，或者说某种病不可医治只能等死。
Nowadays, HIV is no longer fatal.
如今，艾滋病不再致命。
It has become a disease which can be controlled and is chronic, or long lasting.
它已经成为一种可以控制的疾病，是慢性的，或者说是长期的。
We no longer think of Aids as a pandemic, but that’s not true everywhere.
我们不再认为艾滋病是一种流行病，但并不是所有地方都是这样。
Only in countries which can provide the necessary medical drugs and support.
只有在能够提供必要的医疗药物的国家才是这样的。
Finding the right balance of Covid restrictions for communities of people exhausted by the pandemic isn’t easy.
为厌烦疫情的人们找到适当的防控措施并非易事。
Many scientists are warning that we haven’t yet reached the beginning of the end of Covid,
许多科学家提醒说，新冠疫情还远没到要结束的时候，
but hopefully we’re at least reaching the end of the beginning.
但希望我们至少一直在接近。
Let’s finish the programme on a hopeful note by remembering that diseases can and do eventually end – like in your quiz question, Sam.
让我们满怀希望地结束本期节目，记住：疫情终会结束，就像你的问题中的传染病一样，萨姆。
Yes, I asked which disease was eradicated in 1977.
是的，我问的是1977年人们根除了哪种疾病。
Neil said it was smallpox which was the correct answer! Well done, Neil!
尼尔说是天花，回答正确！干得好，尼尔！
Smallpox no longer occurs naturally, but did you know that samples of smallpox do still exist,
天花不会再自然出现了，但天花的样本仍然存在，
frozen in American and Soviet laboratories during the Cold War!
它们在冷战期间被冷冻在美国和苏联的实验室里！
As if the thought that the Covid pandemic might never end isn’t scary enough!
这比新冠疫情可能永远不会结束的说法还可怕！
Right, let’s recap the vocabulary we’ve learnt starting with eradicate – to completely get rid of something, such as a disease.
好的，让我们回顾一下本期词汇。从“eradicate”开始，意为完全摆脱某种东西，比如疾病。
If you declare victory, you announce something to be finished before it actually is.
“declare victory”，意为在实际完成某事之前宣布完成。
The danger in doing this is that you announce it prematurely, or too soon.
这样做的风险在于，你过早地“prematurely”宣布了消息。
The idiom bury your head in the sand means to refuse to accept or look at a situation you don’t like.
俚语“bury your head in the sand”指的是拒绝接受或思考你不喜欢的事。
A death sentence means the punishment of death for committing a crime, or from an incurable disease.
“death sentence”是指因犯罪而被判处死刑或因不治之症而去世。
And finally, a chronic disease is one which lasts for a long time.
最后，“a chronic disease”是一种持续很长时间的疾病。
Even though the pandemic hasn’t ended, our programme has because our six minutes are up.
尽管疫情还没有结束，但我们的节目已经结束了，因为六分钟到啦。
Bye for now! Bye!
再见了！再见！
