英语阅读教材:十大几乎毁灭人类的传染病事件

2012-03-08 13:35:44 英语教材


  London's Great Plague killed 100,000 people in 1665-1666

  伦敦大瘟疫(死亡10万人)

  There is some dispute over whether this was a plague at all or an epidemic of viral hemorrhagic fever, regardless there is little argument that 100,000 Londoners died。

  关于这场大灾难,一般有两种说法,一种认为这是一场瘟疫,另一种说法则主张这是病毒性出血热。不管怎么说,在这场灾难中有10万人丧生是无可争议的。

  Imported on ships from Amsterdam, infections began on the docks in 1665. Stevedores, crowded in squalor, died first before spreading disease to the rest of the city。

  1665年,在来自荷兰的船上这种病毒开始传播。首先,是那些挤在肮脏混乱的甲板上的装卸工先后死亡,后来,瘟疫就开始向伦敦的其他地方蔓延。

  By July King Charles had fled and ill-advised instructions to eradicate all the cats and dogs in the city sent the rat population skyrocketing -- rats carried the fleas that carried the disease。

  到了七月,当时的国王查尔斯二世被迫离开伦敦,临走前做出了导致瘟疫扩散更快的错误决定。他下令宰杀了城中所有的猫狗致使鼠患成灾,而老鼠身上的跳蚤正是传播瘟疫的始作俑者。

  Deaths raged at 7,000 people at week up until September 2, 1666 when the Great Fire of London drew the epidemic to a close。

  到1666年9月,平均每周死亡的人数达到了7000人。9月2日那天,伦敦城遭遇了一场大火才使得这场大瘟疫走到了末路。

  The Great Plague of Marseilles killed 100,000 people in 1720

  马赛大瘟疫(死亡10万人)

  The merchant ship Grand-Saint-Antoine was known to have stopped at plague-ridden Cyprus before allowed to dock at Marseilles, but immediately put under quarantine。

  商船大圣安图望号曾停靠在当时正在爆发瘟疫的塞浦路斯,而后出发开往马赛。到达马赛后港口机关立刻下令将其隔离。

  Despite numerous ship passengers perishing from the plague, including the ships surgeon, powerful city merchants had the ships quarantine lifted to receive the goods they had on board。

  尽管船上有包括随船医生在内的大量乘客患病死亡,马赛市内有权势的商人仍然要求解除隔离禁令,以便拿到他们在船上的货物。

  Within days the epidemic was firmly underway and piles of corpses lay about the city -- when it was over up to 50 percent of residents in the area were dead。

  数天后,市内爆发瘟疫,死尸成堆。到瘟疫结束时,城里约有一半的人口死亡。

  In 1771 the Moscow plague and riot claimed up to 200,000 people

  莫斯科瘟疫和暴乱(死亡20万人)

  The bubonic plague struck Moscow in late 1770 and by spring of the following year had become a full blown epidemic。

  1770年末,黑死病传到了莫斯科,到第二年春,此病已经迅速传开。

  The quarantine measures imposed by officials infuriated and terrified the public in equal measure, causing widespread riots and the destruction of quarantine zones。

  政府采取的隔离措施引起了人们的恐慌和愤怒,导致了大规模的暴乱,隔离区也遭到了破坏。

  The economy at a standstill, and running out of food -- in the end 300 people were arrested and up to 200,000 perished。

  经济停滞不前,食物短缺。最后的结果是,300人被捕,至少20万人死亡。

  The Russian flu killed 1 million people from 1890 to 1891

  俄罗斯流感(死亡100万人)

  The Russian flu pandemic of 1889-1890 is the earliest for which detailed records are available。

  1889-1890年的俄罗斯流感大爆发是最早的有史可查的传染病。

  Despite documentation, scientists have yet to agree on the virus type of the flu and as recently as 2000 exhumed bodies for conclusive answers。

  尽管有资料可查,科学家们最近在对2000多具尸体进行研究后才最终确定了该流感的病毒类型。

  The flu began in Russia, but spread rapidly through Europe, reaching North America and Asia before tapering off。

  该流感由俄罗斯开始迅速向欧洲传播,一直传到了北美和亚洲才逐渐减弱。

  The Hong Kong Flu killed 1 million people late 1968

  香港流感大传播(死亡100万人)

  The Hong Kong flu epidemic shows how a modern crisis might hit the world。

  香港流感大爆发让我们见识到了传染病是如何在现代社会中传播的。

  The first outbreak that summer in '68 was reported in Hong Kong. By September, the flu reached India, Philippines, Australia, and Europe. By fall it was brought into California by returning troops from Vietnam, becoming widespread in the U.S. by Christmas of that year. By January it was in South America, Japan, and Africa。

  1968年夏,流感首先在香港爆发。9月,传播到印度,菲律宾,澳大利亚和欧洲。入秋后,由从越南返回美国的士兵传播到加利福尼亚,并在当年的圣诞节前传遍美国。到了次年一月,该病已传播到了南美、日本和非洲。

  1,000,000 people died, though the virus had a case-fatality ratio of only 0.5%

  尽管这种病毒的致死率只有0.5%,但却有一百万人因此丧命!

  The Third Cholera Pandemic caused 1 million Russian deaths

  第三次霍乱肆虐(死亡100万人)

  A disease of the large intestine and transmitted through contaminated water, cholera has haunted humanity for centuries。

  霍乱是一种通过饮用受污染的水而导致的肠道疾病,它曾经危害人类长达几个世纪之久。

  The Third Cholera Pandemic from 1852 to 1859 swept through Asia, North America, and Africa hitting Russia particularly hard。

  第三次霍乱肆虐的时间是从1852年到1859年,传播范围包括亚洲、北美和非洲,其中俄罗斯情况最为严重。

  This cholera pandemic is considered the most deadly cholera pandemic in history, though the seventh is still going on。

  尽管我们正在经历历史上的第七次霍乱爆发,但第三次霍乱传播被认为是历史上最严重的一次。

  The Antonine Plague wiped out one-third of the Roman army

  安东尼瘟疫(1/3罗马军队覆灭)

  Roman soldiers unknowingly started the Antonine Plague in AD 165 when they returned from the Near East carrying either smallpox or measles。

  公元165年,从近东回来的罗马士兵携带着天花或麻疹病毒回到了罗马帝国,由此在不知情的情况下引发了安东尼瘟疫。

  Over 15-years, outbreaks killed as many as 2,000 people a day and decimated a full one-third of the Roman army。

  在瘟疫爆发的15年里,一天的死亡人数最多可达到2000人。在此期间,有三分之一的罗马军队遭受灭顶之灾。

  6.5 million people died。

  在这场大瘟疫中,有650万人丧生。

  The Plague of Justinian killed 25 million people worldwide

  查士丁尼瘟疫(死亡2500万人)

  The bubonic plague slipped into Constantinople from China in 541 AD killing up to 10,000 people a day at its peak。

  这场在公元541年从中国传播到君士坦丁堡的鼠疫在传播到最顶峰时,曾在一天里就造成一万人死亡。

  The plague decimated the Emperor Justinian's tax-base, undermining his ability to battle the Vandals and the Goths and effectively ended the chance of uniting the Western and Eastern Roman Empires。

  这场瘟疫摧毁了查士丁尼大帝的税收基础,削弱了他对汪达尔人和哥特人的进攻,从而阻碍了东西罗马帝国的合并。

  Justinian himself was one of the few infected by the plague who, in the end, survived。

  查士丁尼也在这次瘟疫中受到了传染,但最后却幸存了下来。

  The 1918 Spanish flu was H1N1 and killed 75 million people

  西班牙大流感(死亡7500万人)

  Unlike most outbreaks the majority of victims from the 1918 pandemic were young and healthy。

  和大多数流感不同的是,1918年的这次流感的感染者大多是身体健康的年轻人。

  Estimates put the possible number of dead at up to 100,000,000 -- 6% of the global population. Cases were reported from the Pacific Islands to the Arctic。

  这次流感的死亡人数据估计达到一亿人,占世界总人口的6%,传播范围波及全球。

  The disease did not originate in Spain, but the European nations had the most accurate and uncensored reporting of the outbreak resulting in the belief that it started there。

  这次流感的源头并不在西班牙,但是欧洲各国的报道让人们以为这里就是流感开始传播的地方。

  Ten to 20% of those infected died from the H1N1 flu virus that returned again in 2009.

  10%到20%的感染人群死亡,而在2009年,这种禽流感病毒又卷土重来了。

  The Black Death wiped out 100 million people

  黑死病席卷欧洲(死亡一亿人)

  One of the most devastating pandemics in the history of the world, the bacterium Yersinia pestis killed up to 60% of Europe's population between 1348 and 1350.

  黑死病是人类史上最严重的瘟疫之一,其元凶是一种叫做鼠疫耶尔森菌的病毒。黑死病在1348年到1350年间导致欧洲六成人口死亡。

  The monumental death toll shaped contemporary morality and a "live for the moment" approach to life infused Europe during the slaughter, and after the deaths tapered off。

  死亡人数之多甚至改变了当时人们的人生观,在黑死病肆虐时期,人们只相信“活在当下”,这种情况直到黑死病的蔓延减弱才得以改变。

  The disease was called "black" not for its tendency to cause gangrene before death, but because of the black mood it inspired. It took 150 years for the population to recover。

  这场大瘟疫之所以称之为黑死病,并不仅仅因为它会使患者死前身体呈现大量黑色,更多的是因为它所造成的恐怖压抑的氛围。黑死病之后,人口数量经过了150年才得以恢复。

 

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