Delta Covid variant may be edging race against vaccines
與疫苗的時間競賽中，Delta 新冠肺炎變異毒株可能會略勝一籌
The transmission advantage of the Delta variant that is spreading at pace globally is a sign that the race between vaccination and the virus could tip in favour of the latter unless countries ramp up their immunisation campaigns and practise caution, scientists say.***
科學(xué)家們表示，Delta 變異株正在全球蔓延，這種快速傳播的優(yōu)勢表明：世界各國需要大力推動免疫防治工作，并提高警惕，否則在疫苗接種和病毒之間的競賽中，后者將占據(jù)上風(fēng)。
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The calls for caution come at a time when research in Australia indicates just how easily the Delta variant can potentially spread. Based on CCTV footage, health officials suspect it has been transmitted in "scarily fleeting" encounters of roughly 5 to 10 seconds between people walking past each other in an indoor shopping area in Sydney in at least two instances.***
澳大利亞的一項研究展示了 Delta 變異株的傳播是多么輕而易舉，當(dāng)時人們就呼吁要提高警惕?；谙つ崮呈覂?nèi)購物場所的監(jiān)控錄像，衛(wèi)生官員們懷疑至少在兩起感染事件中，這種病毒是在“短得嚇人”的接觸時間內(nèi)傳播的，整個過程只需人們擦肩而過的大約 5 到 10 秒。
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It is possible that a person could be infected by being close to a carrier for a few seconds, if the carrier were to exhale a load of virus particles and the person just happened to breathe in at exactly the wrong moment, said Prof Catherine Noakes, an expert in airborne infections at the University of Leeds.
凱瑟琳·諾克斯教授是利茲大學(xué)空氣傳播方面的專家，她認(rèn)為如果病毒攜帶者呼出了大量的病毒粒子，而某個人恰好在錯誤的時間將它們吸入，那么這個人可能會在與攜帶者近距離接觸的幾秒內(nèi)被感染。
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Israel, where about 55% of the population has been fully vaccinated, reimposed its mask mandate on Friday to combat the rapid rise in Delta cases just 10 days after having lifted it.
以色列有大約 55% 的居民完成了疫苗接種。周五（6 月 25 日），以色列重新實施了口罩強制令，以應(yīng)對在解除強制措施 10 天后 Delta 變異株感染病例就迅速增加的情況。
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Dr Stephen Griffin, a virologist and associate professor at the University of Leeds school of medicine, said: "The ideal scenario is that you build your vaccine wall before you get exposed to variants because that means that even if you do get an outbreak, you've got sufficiently few people that are susceptible that the R never gets above 1, you don't see an increase in that outbreak."
利茲大學(xué)醫(yī)學(xué)院的病毒學(xué)家及副教授斯蒂芬·格里芬博士說：“理想的情況是在接觸到病毒變種前就建立好疫苗屏障，因為這意味著即便真的暴發(fā)了疫情，那里的易感染人群也足夠少，這樣 R 值永遠(yuǎn)低于 1，暴發(fā)中也不會出現(xiàn)病例增加?！?/p>
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主編：Amy
品控：木子
審核：Raven
Photo Credit：
REUTERS / Yves Herman
REUTERS / Athit Perawongmetha
REUTERS / Fiona Goodall / File Photo
重點詞匯
edge
/ed?/
v.（使）徐徐移動，漸漸移動
詞性拓展：edge（n. 邊，邊緣）
例句：He is standing on the edge of a cliff.
搭配短語：to edge the chair forward
transmission
/tr?ns?m??.?n/
n. 傳播，傳染；（電視節(jié)目的）播送
搭配短語：the live transmission of the Euro 2021
tip
/t?p/
v.（使）傾斜
詞性拓展：tip（n.（細(xì)長物體的）末梢，末端）
搭配短語：the tip of a pencil
搭配短語：to tip the scales（使天平傾斜；使結(jié)果傾向某方）
搭配短語：to tip the scales in favour of sb. / to tip the scales in one's favour
例句：In an interview, smart presentation can tip the scales in your favour.
ramp up
提高，使增加
相關(guān)詞匯：ramp（n. 斜坡，坡道）
搭配短語：to ramp up production
immunisation
/?im.j?.n??ze?.??n/
n. 免疫接種
美式拼寫：immunization
相關(guān)詞匯：immunity（n. 免疫，免疫力）
相關(guān)詞匯：immunise（v.（通過接種疫苗）使人獲得免疫）
近義詞：vaccinate（v. 給……接種疫苗）
例句：The vaccine is used to immunise people against the virus.
call
/kɑ?l/
n. 號召，呼吁
英文釋義：a demand for sb. to do sth.
fleeting
/?fli?.t???/
adj. 短暫的，迅速的
搭配短語：a fleeting visit
instance
/??n.st?ns/
n. 事例，實例
搭配短語：for instance
搭配短語：many instances of discrimination happened in the U.S.
carrier
/?ker.i.?/
n. 病毒攜帶者；運輸工具
相關(guān)詞匯：carry（v. 運輸；攜帶）
exhale
/eks?he?l/
v. 呼出，吐出（肺中的空氣）
英文釋義：to breathe out
例句：Take a deep breath, then exhale slowly.
詞根詞綴：ex-（表示“出，向外”）
反義詞：inhale（v. 吸氣）
a load of
大量，許多
同義詞組：loads of
例句：She's got loads of friends.
同義詞組：a lot of
mandate
/?m?n.de?t/
n. 命令，指令
英文釋義：an official order to do something
例句：Patients should follow the doctor's mandate.
詞性拓展：mandate（v. 命令，要求）
詞義辨析：mandate，order
與 order 相比，mandate 往往與法律條款相關(guān)，比如：The law mandates that every car should have seat belts.，意思是“法律規(guī)定所有汽車內(nèi)都要裝有安全帶?！?/p>
combat
/k?m'b?t/
v. 打擊，抑制
搭配短語：to combat inflation
搭配短語：to combat crime
lift
/l?ft/
v. 解除（某項規(guī)定），撤銷（限制）
例句：The U.S. has officially lifted the ban on TikTok and WeChat.
scenario
/s??ner.i.o?/
n. 可能發(fā)生的情況，設(shè)想；（電影、戲劇的）劇情梗概
相關(guān)詞匯：scene（n.（電影、戲劇中的）場景，場面）
例句：Try to imagine all the possible scenarios before taking actions.
get exposed to
（使）暴露于（某種危險的境地）
相關(guān)詞匯：expose（v. 暴露，顯露）
同義詞組：be exposed to
例句：Being exposed to high levels of radiation over a short period of time can cause skin burns.
susceptible
/s??sep.t?.b?l/
adj. 易受影響的，易受傷害的
英文釋義：very likely to be influenced or harmed by sb. or sth.
例句：Older people are more susceptible to infections.
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