黑死病（鼠疫）会再次爆发吗？：英语精读讲义

This year in many countries throughout the world, the flu has been deadly.

今年在世界许多国家，流感都非常致命。

The CDC reported that in America, it has been unusually active,

美国疾病控制与预防中心（CDC）报告称，在美国，流感异常活跃，

and in January it was revealed that the virus was killing around 100 people every week in the US.

且在1月份有报道指出，在美国该病毒每周导致约100人死亡。

In the UK, they've had the worst flu season in many years,

在英国，他们经历了多年来最糟糕的流感季节，

but it's also been a global concern with countries all over Asia and Africa

但这也成为了一个全球性问题，亚洲和非洲的各个国家

experiencing what many are calling one of the worst global flu outbreaks in a long time.

正经历着许多人所说的很长一段时间以来最严重的全球流感爆发之一。

So much so that scientists said it's imperative to create a much more effective universal influenza vaccine. 講解

严重到科学家们表示，当务之急是研制出一种更有效的通用流感疫苗。

We might regard ourselves as fortunate, though, 短語搭配

不过，我们或许会觉得自己很幸运，

based on what you're about to hear. 語法

基于你接下来将要听到的内容。

In this episode of The Infographics Show,

在本期《The Infographics Show》中，我们要探讨：

could the Black Death happen again?

黑死病会再次发生吗？

Don't forget to subscribe and click the bell button so that you can be part of our notification squad.

别忘了订阅并点击小铃铛按钮，这样你就能加入我们的通知小分队啦。

First of all, what is or what was the Black Death, also known as the plague? 短語搭配

首先，什么是或者曾经什么是黑死病（也被称为鼠疫）？

Well, it was one of the worst pandemics in history,

嗯，它是历史上最严重的流行病之一，

killing somewhere between 75 to 200 million people in Europe and Eurasia

在欧洲和欧亚大陆导致了约7500万到2亿人死亡，

in just a few years from 1346 to 1353.

仅仅发生在1346年到1353年这短短几年间。

After it was done,

在它结束之后，

something like 30 to 60% of Europe's half of population had been wiped out, 短語動詞

欧洲一半人口中的大约30%到60%被消灭了，

with many others dying in other parts of the world as well.

世界上其他地区也有许多人因此丧生。

In fact, it killed so many people, 語法

事实上，它杀死了如此多的人，

it took centuries for the world's population to stabilize.

以至于世界人口花了好几个世纪才稳定下来。

It also made comebacks in Europe later on, 短語搭配

后来它还在欧洲卷土重来过，

such as the Great Plague of London from 1665 to 1666,

比如1665年到1666年的伦敦大瘟疫，

but the 14th century Black Death was the worst pandemic the world has ever seen in terms of loss of life. 短語搭配

但就生命损失而言，14世纪的黑死病是世界史上最严重的流行病。

It's thought it made its way to Europe on Genoese trading ships. 講解

人们认为它是搭乘热那亚的商船来到欧洲的。

The ships arrived at the Sicilian port of Messina,

这些船只抵达了西西里岛的墨西拿港，

only for those who came to greet them to be faced with a nasty surprise. 語法

结果那些前来迎接他们的人却面临着一个可怕的“惊喜”。

Most of the occupants of the ships were either dead or dying.

船上的大多数人要么已经死了，要么奄奄一息。

It's thought the ships had been to parts of Central Asia,

人们认为这些船曾经去过中亚部分地区，

and there it's said rats carrying the bacterium Yersinia pestis came aboard the ships.

据说在那里，携带鼠疫耶尔森菌的老鼠登上了船。

Fleas on these rodents were the vectors that passed the disease to humans. 用詞

这些啮齿动物身上的跳蚤就是将疾病传染给人类的媒介。

Authorities in Sicily soon ordered all the death ships out of the harbor,

西西里岛当局很快下令将所有这些死亡之船驶出港口，

but it was too late,

但为时已晚，

and soon people all over Europe were getting infected. 語法

很快全欧洲的人都受到了感染。

It spread so easily because it was airborne, 用詞

它传播得如此容易是因为它是通过空气传播的，

which meant coughing or sneezing was enough to spread the disease around. 語法

这意味着仅仅是咳嗽或打喷嚏就足以将疾病传播开来。

So, what's it like to get down with a dose of Black Death? 語法

那么，感染上黑死病是什么感觉呢？

During the pandemic, an Italian poet called Giovanni Boccaccio described it like this:

在大流行期间，一位名叫乔万尼·薄伽丘的意大利诗人这样描述道：

"At the beginning of the malady,

“在疾病刚开始时，

certain swellings, either on the groin or under the armpits,

在腹股沟或腋下会出现某些肿块，

waxed to the bigness of a common apple, 用詞

有的长到普通苹果那么大，

others to the size of an egg,

有的像鸡蛋那么大，

some more and some less,

有的大一些，有的小一些，

and these the vulgar named plague boils." 用詞

俗人将这些称为瘟疫疖肿。”

These eggs that he describes are called buboes.

他描述的这些“鸡蛋”被称为腹股沟淋巴结炎（buboes）。

Once they appeared,

它们一旦出现，

soon after the victim would have a very high fever,

不久之后受害者就会发高烧，

usually start coughing up blood because of lung infection, 短語動詞

通常由于肺部感染开始咳血，

and between 2 and 7 days, it was often game over. 習語

而在2到7天之间，往往就一命呜呼了。

If you got it, you most likely died.

如果你感染了它，你多半会死。

But not everyone did,

但并非每个人都死了，

and true to Nietzschean philosophy, 文化背景

正如尼采的哲学所说，

what didn't kill them made them stronger. 習語

那些没有杀死他们的，使他们变得更强大。

Studies have found that those who survived became healthier.

研究发现，那些幸存下来的人变得更健康了。

It's believed the plague had a mortality rate of 30 to 75%. 短語搭配

据信，黑死病的死亡率在30%到75%之间。

It was a time of chaos as whole communities lived in fear.

那是一个混乱的时代，整个社区都生活在恐惧之中。

Doctors didn't want to treat the infected for fear of being infected themselves, 短語搭配

医生不想治疗感染者，因为害怕自己也被感染，

while mobs were busy ascribing the blame to any minority, 短語搭配

而暴徒们则忙着将责任归咎于任何少数群体，

such as lepers, Jews, foreigners, or even people with acne.

比如麻风病人、犹太人、外国人，甚至是长痤疮的人。

Entire Jewish communities were destroyed,

整个犹太社区被摧毁，

and thousands of Jewish people were murdered.

数以千计的犹太人被谋杀。

You get the picture. 習語

你懂的。

This was a grim time to be European.

对于欧洲人来说，这是一段黑暗的时期。

As we said, it came back many times,

正如我们所说，它后来又复发了很多次，

but never as virulent as those years in the 1300s. 語法

但从未像1300年代那些年那样致命。

What might surprise you, though, 語法

然而，可能会让你惊讶的是，

is that the bubonic plague is still making appearances around the globe.

腺鼠疫至今仍在全球各地出现。

It killed 10 million in China in the 19th century,

19世纪它在中国导致1000万人死亡，

more than 1,000 in Australia in the early 20th century,

20世纪初在澳大利亚导致1000多人死亡，

and over a hundred in San Francisco, also in the early 19th century.

同样在19世纪初，在旧金山也导致了100多人死亡。

It's thought that in 2017,

据认为，在2017年，

around 202 people died in Madagascar from the pneumonic plague,

马达加斯加约有202人死于肺鼠疫，

according to the WHO. 表達脈絡

这一数据来自世界卫生组织（WHO）。

This was from 2,348 confirmed, probable, and suspected cases. 用詞

这是从2348例确诊、可能和疑似病例中得出的。

Fewer people died, of course,

当然，现在死亡的人数减少了，

because of modern medicine and healthcare.

这归功于现代医学和医疗保健。

By the way,

顺便说一句，

there are three kinds of plague:

鼠疫分为三种：

bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic.

腺鼠疫、肺鼠疫和败血性鼠疫。

The difference is in how it infects you,

区别在于它如何感染你，

with bubonic getting your lymph nodes,

腺鼠疫感染你的淋巴结，

hence the ugly eggs, 表達脈絡

也就是那些丑陋的“鸡蛋”，

pneumonic gets the lungs,

肺鼠疫感染肺部，

and septicemic is an infection in the blood.

而败血性鼠疫则是血液感染。

You can be treated for a pneumonic plague with antibiotics, 短語搭配

你可以用抗生素治疗肺鼠疫，

but left untreated you will surely die. 語法

但如果不治疗，你必死无疑。

Most modern cases have been in developing nations, 用詞

大多数现代病例发生在发展中国家，

but there have also been some cases in the USA.

但美国也出现过一些病例。

In fact,

事实上，

in 2015, 16, and 17,

在2015年、16年和17年，

a handful of bubonic plague cases occurred in the country. 短語搭配

该国发生了少数几例腺鼠疫病例。

The CDC reports that more than 80% of United States plague cases have been the bubonic form.

CDC报告称，美国超过80%的鼠疫病例都是腺鼠疫。

It stated that from 2000 to 2016,

报告指出，从2000年到2016年，

around seven cases of plague occurred in the country every year,

该国每年大约发生7例鼠疫，

and most of those were in the rural west,

并且大部分发生在西部农村地区，

and some in northern New Mexico and northern Arizona.

还有一些在新墨西哥州北部和亚利桑那州北部。

The worst year this century for the US was 2015,

本世纪美国最糟糕的一年是2015年，

when 15 people were infected and four of them died.

当时有15人被感染，其中4人死亡。

Also, according to the CDC,

同样，根据CDC的数据，

the Europeans are now in good shape, 習語

欧洲人现在的状况很好，

with the department stating that all continents report instances of plague except Europe,

该部门指出，除了欧洲、

Australia, and Antarctica.

澳大利亚和南极洲之外，所有大陆都报告有鼠疫病例。

The advice given by health professionals if you want to stay plague-free

医疗专业人员给出的建议是，如果你想免受鼠疫感染，

is don't get bitten by fleas and don't mess with rats or other animals that could carry fleas. 短語動詞

就不要被跳蚤咬伤，也不要招惹老鼠或其他可能携带跳蚤的动物。

Easier said than done. 習語

说起来容易做起来难。

In 2014, a man from Oregon was infected with plague after his infected cat bit him.

2014年，俄勒冈州的一名男子被他感染了鼠疫的猫咬伤后，自己也感染了。

News media reports that he had lumps under his arms the size of lemons,

新闻媒体报道称，他腋下的肿块有柠檬那么大，

his hands and feet turned black due to gangrene,

他的手和脚因为坏疽变成了黑色，

and he was in a coma on life support for a month. 短語搭配

他在昏迷中靠生命维持系统度过了一个月。

He told The Guardian,

他告诉《卫报》，

"I had collapsed lungs, my heart stopped,

“我的肺部萎缩，心脏骤停，

and my hands and feet turned black.

我的手和脚都变黑了。

Technically, I shouldn't be here." 語氣意圖

严格来说，我早该死了。”

He was so violently sick because he had all three kinds of plague.

他病得如此严重，是因为他感染了全部三种鼠疫。

His cat didn't fare well 用詞

他的猫情况不妙，

and it ended up being buried in the garden before the man got really sick. 短語動詞

在该男子病重之前就被埋在花园里了。

The man lives a full life again,

这名男子再次过上了充实的生活，

minus most of his fingers and toes.

只不过失去了大部分的手指和脚趾。

So now we come to the essential question: 表達脈絡

那么现在我们来到这个关键问题：

Could there be another massive plague outbreak?

还会爆发另一次大规模的鼠疫吗？

The answer is that it is very unlikely because we can treat it before it spreads.

答案是这不太可能，因为我们可以在它传播之前进行治疗。

Most of us these days don't live in rat-infested squalor, 用詞

如今我们大多数人都没有生活在老鼠出没的肮脏环境中，

as many Londoners did back in those bleak times.

不像那个阴暗时代许多伦敦人那样。

When the Smithsonian asked a scientist this question,

当史密森尼学会向一位科学家提出这个问题时，

he, like most others,

他和大多数人一样，

said an outbreak was unlikely.

表示爆发的可能性不大。

What was possible, though, 語法

然而，有可能发生的是，

was a plague-based bioterror weapon that spreads the disease.

一种基于鼠疫来传播疾病的生物恐怖武器。

Yes,

是的，

our wonderful species has, in the past, 語氣意圖

我们这个奇妙的物种在过去，

created plague bioweapons,

曾制造过鼠疫生物武器，

with some of the guilty countries being Japan,

犯下这一罪行的国家包括日本、

the former Soviet Union,

前苏联，

and the United States of America.

以及美利坚合众国。

We'll leave it there. 語氣意圖

这个话题我们就说到这里。

Don't be too freaked out. 短語動詞

不要太惊慌。

It's highly unlikely you'll be the victim of plague.

你成为鼠疫受害者的可能性微乎其微。

But, do you have any thoughts

但是，你有什么看法吗？

on whether the Black Death could happen again?

关于黑死病是否会再次发生？

Let us know in the comments.

在评论区告诉我们吧。

Also, be sure to check out our other video called

同时，请务必去看看我们的另一部视频，名为

What would happen if humans went extinct? 短語搭配

《如果人类灭绝会发生什么？》

Thanks for watching, and as always,

感谢观看，和往常一样，

don't forget to like, share, and subscribe.

别忘了点赞、分享和订阅。

See you next time.

我们下期再见。