Some Western countries have lowervaccinationrates than poor parts of Africa. Anti-vaxxers are not the mainculprits.
【NOTES】
Jab:
①皮下注射（尤指接種疫苗）an anti-tetanus jab打破傷風針。
②刺痛的感覺或感情a jab of envy嫉妒引起的刺痛
Vaccination:n.接種疫苗
Vaccine: n.疫苗；殺毒軟件
Vaccinate: vt.接種疫苗
Culprit:
②a person who is responsible for a crime or other misdeed.罪犯，犯人。
②the cause of a problem or defect.導致問題的原因
Eg: low level ozone pollution is the real culprit.低層臭氧污染是真正原因。
ERADICATINGa disease is the sort of aim that rich countries come up with, and poor ones struggle to reach. But for some diseases, the pattern is reversed. These are theailmentsfor which vaccinations exist. Many poor countries run highly effective vaccination programmes. But as memories of the toll from infectious diseases fades across the rich world, in some places they are making a comeback.
【NOTES】
Eradicate:v.根除，消滅。
Eg: this disease has been eradicated from the world.這種疾病已經在全世界消失了。
Ailment:n. an illness, typically a minor one.小病，微恙
The World Health Organisation (WHO) reckons that vaccines save 2.5m lives a year.Smallpoxwas eradicated in 1980 with the help of a vaccine;polioshould soon follow. In both cases, rich countries led the way. The new pattern looks very different.
【NOTES】
Smallpox:天花。（亦稱variola）
Polio:（poliomyelitis的簡稱。）小兒麻痹癥，脊髓灰質炎
The trend is most evident formeasles, which is highlycontagious. At least 95% of people must be vaccinated to stop its spread (a threshold known as “herd immunity”). Although usually mild, it can lead topneumoniaand cause brain damage or blindness. The countries with the lowest vaccination rates are all very poor, but many developing countries run excellent programmes (see chart).Eritrea, Rwanda and Sri Lankamanage to vaccinate nearly everyone. By contrast several rich countries, including America, Britain, France and Italy, are below herd immunity.
【NOTES】
Measles：[u].麻疹
Contagious:
②（疾病）接觸傳染的
②（人）可能帶有人際傳染疾病的
③（情緒，感覺，看法）有感染力的
Eg: her enthusiasm is contagious.她的熱情富有感染力。
herd immunity：群體免疫
pneumonia:[u].肺炎
Eritrea:厄立特里亞（位于非洲東北部，西鄰蘇丹共和國，南鄰埃塞俄比亞、吉布提，東隔紅海與沙特阿拉伯和也門相望，扼紅海進出印度洋的門戶，地理位置十分重要。）
Rwanda:盧旺達（非洲中東部的一個國家，全稱盧旺達共和國，位于非洲中東部赤道南側，內陸國家。）
Sri Lanka:斯里蘭卡(全稱斯里蘭卡民主社會主義共和國(The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka)，舊稱錫蘭，是個熱帶島國，位于印度洋海上，英聯(lián)邦成員國之一。)
Last year Europe missed the deadline it had set itself in 2010 to eradicate measles, and had almost 4,000 cases. America was declared measles-free in 2000; in 2014 it had hundreds of cases across 27 states and last year saw its first death from the disease in more than a decade. The trends for other vaccine-preventable diseases, such asrubella, which can causecongenitaldisabilities if a pregnant woman catches it, are alarming, too.
【NOTES】
Rubella: (German measles)風疹（傳染性病毒疾病，癥狀似輕度麻疹）
Congenital:
①（尤指疾病、身體畸形）先天的
a congenital malformation of the heart.先天性心臟畸形
This sorry state of affairs is often blamed onhardline“anti-vaxxers”, parents who refuse all vaccines for their children. They are amotleylot. The Amish in Americaspurnmodern medicine, along with almost everything else invented since the 17th century. Somevegansobject to the use of animal-derived products in vaccines’ manufacture. The Protestant Dutch Reformed Church thinks vaccines thwart divine will.Anthroposophy, founded in the 19th century by Rudolf Steiner, an Austrianmystic-cum-philosopher,preaches that diseases strengthen children’s physical and mental development.
【NOTES】
Hardline：強硬路線
Motley:
①（外觀，特征）混雜的，雜亂的
Eg: a motley crew of discontents and zealots.一群三教九流的不滿現(xiàn)實者和狂熱分子。
②混雜物
A motley of interacting interest groups.一群雜亂的互相影響的利益集團。
Lot：n.
①一群，一類，一批? one lot of rich people一群富人
②特定種類的人（通常用于否定場合）
An inefficient lot, our Council.我們議會這群效率低下的家伙。
③抽簽
Officers were elected rather than selected by lot.官員們是通過選舉而不是抽簽選上的。
④命運
Improve the lot of the disadvantaged.改善弱勢人群的命運。
⑤停車場 parking lot
⑥外景場地
【IDIOMS】
①All over the lot混亂地，無條理地
②Fall to someone’s lot命定應由某人
③Throw in one’s lot with與他人同甘共苦
Spurn：v.輕蔑地拒絕；唾棄
Vegan：素食主義者
Anthroposophy：人智學
mystic-cum-philosopher神秘主義者兼哲學家
preach：布道，鼓吹
In most countries suchrefuseniksare only 2-3% of parents. But because they tend to live in clusters, they can be the source of outbreaks. A bigger problem, though, is the growing number of parents who delay vaccination, or pick and choose jabs. Studies from America, Australia and Europe suggest that about a quarter of parents fall into this group, generally because they think that the standard vaccination schedule, which protects against around a dozen diseases, “overloads” children’s immune systems, or that particular vaccines are unsafe. Some believe vaccines interfere with “natural immunity”. Many were shaken by a claim, laterdebunked, that there was a link between autism and theMMR vaccine, which protects against measles,mumpsand rubella.
【NOTES】
refuseniks：反疫苗者
debunk：指出，拆穿
autism：孤獨癥；臆想（精神分裂的癥狀之一）
MMR vaccine：麻腮風三聯(lián)疫苗（MMR疫苗(Measles, mumps and rubellavaccine)是指麻疹、腮腺炎和風疹的聯(lián)合疫苗。）
Mumps：腮腺炎
In America, some poor childrenmiss outon vaccines despite a federal programme to provide the jabs free, since they have no regular relationship with a family doctor. Some outbreaks in eastern Europe have started in communities of Roma (gypsies). Members of this poor andostracisedminority are shunned by health workers and often go unvaccinated.
【NOTES】
miss out：
①to lose an opportunity to do or have something.
②To fail to include someone or something, usually by accident.
Gypsy (gipsy)吉卜賽人（指倒出流動的吉卜賽民族人，皮膚和頭發(fā)黝黑，傳統(tǒng)上以做季節(jié)工、流動商及算命為生，現(xiàn)多數(shù)居于歐洲、北非部分地區(qū)和北美，但被認為原居于印度次大陸）；流浪者；心靈自由者。
Ostracize(-ise)放逐，流放；（古希臘）陶片放逐制度（公民投票決定把不受歡迎或權力過大的人逐出城市5年或10年）
Several governments are trying to raise vaccination rates by making life harder for parents who do not vaccinate their children. A measles outbreak last year that started with an unvaccinated child visiting Disneyland and spread from there to seven states prompted California to make a full vaccination record a condition of entry to state schools. The previous year, in a quarter of schools too few children had been vaccinated against measles toconferherd immunity. A dozen other states are considering similar bills. After atoddlerdied from measles last year, Germany recently started toobligeparents who do not wish their children to be vaccinated to discuss the decision with a doctor before they can enroll a child in nursery. Australia’s new “no jabs, no pay” law withdraws child benefits from parents who do not vaccinate, unless they have sound medical reasons.
【NOTES】
Confer：
①授予（頭銜，學位，利益，權利）
Conferan honorary degreeonher.授予她榮譽學位。
②商議，協(xié)商，討論，交流意見
The officials were conferring with allies.官員們正在和盟國協(xié)商。
Toddler：學步兒童
Oblige：v.
①（根據(jù)法律或道義）強使某人做某事
Eg: doctors are obliged by law to keep patients alive while there is a chance of recovery.醫(yī)生受法律約束，在病人尚有一線康復希望的情況下必須讓病人活著。
②（按某人的請求）照辦；做…（以滿足某人的愿望）
Eg: oblige me by not being sorry for yourself.請你幫個忙，不要自怨自憐了。
Eg: tell me what you want to know and I’ll see if I can oblige.告訴我你想知道什么，看看我能否滿足你的愿望。
③感激
Eg: if you can give me a few minutes of your time I’ll be much obliged.如果我能占用您幾分鐘時間，我將不勝感激。
④使某人遵守誓約
Persuasion, afine art
There is, however, surprisingly little evidence that tough laws make a big difference to vaccination rates. European countries that are similar in most respects (such as the Nordics) may have similar rates for jabs that aremandatoryin one country but not in another—or very different rates despite having the same rules. Rates in some American states where parents can easilyopt outare as high as in West Virginia and Mississippi, which have long allowed only medicalexemptions.
【NOTES】
fine art
①（創(chuàng)造性）藝術（尤指視覺藝術）
②高級能（或要求精深造詣的）活動
Eg: the fine art drinking tequila品嘗墨西哥龍舌蘭的精深技藝
[IDIOM] have/get something down to a fine art.憑經驗把…做得盡善盡美
Mandatory：法律規(guī)定的，強制的；命令性的
opt out：決定不參與
opt-outs from key parts of the treaty.決定不參與條約關鍵部分
exemption:n.免除，豁免
exemption from prescription charges.藥費的免除
And strict rules may even harden anti-vaccination attitudes. Australia had previously made exemption conditional on speaking to a doctor or nurse about the benefits of vaccines. The new rules mean fewer chances to change parents’ minds. Research suggests that making it harder to avoid the most important vaccines may make it more likely that people who strongly oppose vaccination in general shun optional ones, says Cornelia Betsch of the University of Erfurt.
More important, say public-health experts, is to boost confidence in the safety of vaccines and trust in the authorities that recommend them—both badly damaged in many European countries bypastpublic-health mis-steps, such as a scandal withcontaminatedblood supply in France from the late 1990s. The best way to handle a vaccine scare is to express empathy and promptly share the results from investigations ofallegedadversereactions, says Heidi Larson of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. British authorities’ dismissive response to the MMR scare failed toreassureworried parents.
【NOTES】
pastpublic-health mis-steps：公共衛(wèi)生的過失政策
contaminate：使不純；污染；弄臟；毒害
alleged：（事情或人無證據(jù)而）被指控的
the alleged conspitators.被控的同謀者。
Allege:（尤指無證據(jù)地）聲稱，斷言（某人做非法事情或壞事）
He alleged that he had been assaulted.他聲稱自己被毆。
adverse：阻礙成功的，有害的，不利的（harmful, unfavorable）
eg: taxes are having an adverse effect on production.
Reassure:安慰，使放心，使消除疑慮
Eg: he understood her feelings and tried to reassure her.
Eg: Joachim reassured him that he was needed.
Eg: Gina gave her a reassuring smile.緝拿對她笑了笑以示鼓勵。
One promising new approach is to keep track of the vaccine myths circulating in cyberspace andrebuteach one as it appears. This requires tracking information from search engines and following anti-vaccination websites and parents’ forums. On one such forum, worriers say they havescouredgovernment and vaccine-manufacturer websites but feel overwhelmed by information that they regard as inconclusive or contradictory. One mother seeks advice on how to get around California’s “fascist” new rule. Anothercasts doubton a study on severe allergic reactions to vaccines: 33 cases from 25m jabs, she says, seems “fishilylow”.
【NOTES】
Rebut：v.(rebutted, rebutting)
①反駁，駁回；駁斥（證據(jù)，指控）
Eg: he had to rebut charged of acting for the convenience of his political friends.對于指控他為政界朋友謀取便利，他只好予以反駁。
Scour：仔細搜索，瀏覽
David scoured each newspaper for an article on the murder.
casts doubt on:把（懷疑，輕視）加諸
eg: journalists cast doubts on the government’s version of events.新聞記者質疑政府對該事件的解釋。
[cast spell on]使（魔咒）生效，施法
Eg: the witch cast a spell on her to turn her into a beast.
Eg: the city cast a spell on the visitor.這座城市把游客迷住了
Some countries are starting information campaigns that treat such concerns with respect. A parents’ organisation inBulgarialaunched one recently, under theauspicesof the ministry of health and the national association ofpaediatricians. Its website isjargon-freeand easier to navigate thanunwieldyofficialhubs. France is launching a national dialogue on vaccines this spring, with a website where citizens canswapgripes, worries and advice.
【NOTES】
Bulgaria：保加利亞共和國（簡稱“保加利亞”。歐洲東南部巴爾干半島東南部的一個國家）
under the auspices of：在….的幫助（支持、保護）下
paediatrician (pediatrician)兒科醫(yī)生
jargon-free語言通俗
jargon:行話，專業(yè)術語
unwieldy：不靈便的；（制度、機構）過于龐大運作不便的
hub：（活動）中心
swap：交換
gripe：抱怨，牢騷
Although vaccine-hesitant parents often search for answers on the internet, their most trusted sources are doctors and nurses. The WHO recently developed guidelines to help health workers figure out, through a questionnaire, which type of worrier a parent is—and how toalleviatespecific concerns. But recent research from several European countries shows that many doctors and nurses are also hesitant about vaccines, for much the same reasons as their patients. In a survey conducted in 2014, 16-43% of French family doctors said they never or only sometimes recommended some of the standard vaccines.
An additional problem is that many adults were not immunised as children and have not caught up since. In the 1970s and 1980s, when the measles vaccine was new, many children did not receive it, or got just one shot, which is now known not to be reliable in conferring immunity. Some countries offer free catch-up jabs to some adults when outbreaksflareup—usually parents with small children and health workers in affected areas.
But such efforts have, on the whole, been too little, too late. The return of easily preventable diseases that had all but disappeared is a shame. A bigger shame would be for governments to continue blaming it all on ignorant parents.
【NOTES】
alleviate減輕，緩和
flareup：lose one’s temper
