讲师丨林伯虎 来源丨 The Wall Street Journal 日期丨 2020.3.10 Tue.

Tiger Times 01

大流感教训：一百年前犯的错，今天仍在继续
（一）

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1918 年流感跟今天的新冠疫情有哪些不同？
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从公共卫生角度，为什么说这两场疫情有着巨大的相似性？
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当年的费城为什么会成为疫情最严重的美国城市？爱狂欢的圣路易斯为
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什么反而成为管控最成功的地方？

What We Can Learn From the 20th

Century's Deadliest Pandemic

讲解正文 听课笔记

By Jonathan D. Quick

In 1918, the Spanish flu killed more than 50 million people around the
world. The lessons of that outbreak could save countless lives in the fight
against the coronavirus.

The "Spanish" flu of 1918 was one of the deadliest pandemics in human
history. Seeming to come from nowhere in the waning days of World War I,
it spread through a war-ravaged world like wildfire. In a matter of months,
a third of the world's population was infected, 50 to 100 million people
died, and the global economy shrank by 5%.

The world of 1918 was very different from today's, where the new
coronavirus is emerging as another potential pandemic. A century
ago, antibiotics, modern hospitals, intensive care units and instant
communication did not exist; most people lived in rural communities;
intercontinental travel took weeks rather than hours. Now the world's
population is four times larger, with more than half living in urban areas.
National economies are heavily intertwined because of globalization.
Health services are highly sophisticated in wealthy countries, though their
quality varies greatly in the rest of the world.
 Tiger Times 02

From a public health perspective, however, there are important similarities

between the 1918 flu and the 2019 coronavirus. Both were previously
unknown viral strains for which there was no existing vaccine or proven
medical treatment. Both spread through respiratory droplets and killed
primarily by means of pneumonia and other complications. Both caused
severe economic disruptions. With the growing risk of a full-blown
pandemic, applying the lessons of the 1918 flu could save countless lives in
2020.

In 1918, a sign warns naval workers in Philadelphia about the danger of

spreading the flu through spitting.

Provide effective leadership. In 1918, Philadelphia was one of the hardest-

hit American cities, partly because it was, as the muckraker Lincoln
Steffens put it, "the worst-governed city in America." In his book "The
Great Influenza," the historian John M. Barry describes the efforts of Dr.
Wilmer Krusen, director of Philadelphia's Public Health and Charities
department, a well-intentioned man who lacked public health experience
and was prone to inaction. On Sep. 28, 1918, he allowed the city to proceed
with a Liberty Loan parade to sell millions of dollars in war bonds, despite
warnings that the event would spread illness. The parade drew 200,000
people; within 72 hours, every bed in the city's 31 hospitals was filled.

By contrast, Mr. Barry shows, St. Louis had the most success of any large
American city in fighting the pandemic. Dr. Max Starkloff, the city's health
commissioner, said that his goal was to "keep the epidemic out of the city,
if possible, and if that fails, to use every means to keep it down to the lowest
possible number of cases." He created an advisory body that included
representatives of the city's chamber of commerce, schools, medical society,
university, Red Cross and local public health services. He pursued what
he called "intelligent citizen cooperation" through active outreach to the
community. And he engaged health department staff, policy makers and
teachers to implement individual quarantines and bans on public gatherings.
Thanks to Starkloff's rapid, inclusive and systematic efforts, St. Louis's
mortality rate from the flu was half of Philadelphia's.
 Tiger Times
词汇
pandemic /pænˈdemɪk/ n.（全国或全球性）流行病
○ a pandemic is an occurrence of a disease that affects many
people over a very wide area
○ e.g. One pandemic of Spanish flu took nearly 22 million
lives worldwide. 西班牙流感的大爆发夺去了全球近 2,200
万人的生命。
wane /weɪn/ v. 衰落
○ if something wanes, it becomes gradually weaker or less,
often so that it eventually disappears
○ e.g. While his interest in these sports began to wane, a pas-
sion for rugby developed. 他对这些运动项目的兴趣开始减
退，倒是对橄榄球开始有了热情。
war-ravaged /wɔ:ˈrævɪdʒd/ adj. 受战争蹂躏的
○ severely damaged by war
○ e.g. The war-ravaged agrarian country was transformed
into a technologically advanced market economy with a so-
phisticated social welfare system. 遭受战争破坏的农业国转
变为有着完备的社会福利制度、技术发达的市场经济国
家。
antibiotics /ˌæntɪbaɪ'ɒtɪks/ n. 抗生素
○ antibiotics are medical drugs used to kill bacteria and treat
infections
○ e.g. The use of antibiotics is permitted only in extremis. 只
有在万不得已的情况下才允许使用抗生素。
strain /strein/ n.（病菌的）类型
○ a strain of a germ, plant, or other organism is a particular
type of it
○ e.g. Each year, the World Health Organization recommends
the viral strain composition of the influenza vaccine for the
coming season according to the prevalence of influenza viral
strains in the community. 每年，世界卫生组织均会根据社
区中流感病毒品种的出现情况，为即将来临的流感高峰
期使用的流感疫苗发出病毒成分建议。
vaccine /ˈvæksi:n/ n. 疫苗
○ a substance which contains a weak form of the bacteria or
virus that causes a disease and is used to protect people from
that disease
○ e.g. Anti-malarial vaccines are now undergoing trials. 抗疟
疾的疫苗正在试验阶段。
respiratory /ˈrespərətri/ adj. 呼吸的
○ relating to breathing
○ e.g. If you smoke then the whole respiratory system is
constantly under attack. 如果抽烟，整个呼吸系统就会一直
受到损害。
full-blown /ˈfʊlˈbləʊn/ adj. 充分发展的；完全形成的
○ fully developed
○ e.g. Before becoming a full-blown director, he worked as
the film editor on Citizen Kane. 在成为一名完全成熟的导
演之前，他曾经是电影《公民凯恩》的剪辑师。
Philadephia /ˌfɪlə'delfjə/ n. 费城
○ the largest city in Pennsylvania
03
○ e.g. A report compiled by the Fed's Philadelphia branch de-
scribed the economy as weak. 一份由联邦储备银行的费城
分部汇编的报告说经济不景气。
muckraker /'mʌk,rekɚ/ n. 搜集并揭发丑事的人（尤指新
闻记者）
○ one who spreads real or alleged scandal about another
(usually for political advantage)
○ e.g. The journalist is nothing but a professional muckraker.
记者是职业的爱着丑闻的人。
influenza /ˌɪnfluˈenzə/ n. 流感
○ an infectious disease that is like a very bad cold
○ e.g. Every year new strains of influenza develop. 每年都有
新的流感病毒出现。
well-intentioned /'welɪn'tenʃənd/ adj. 好心办坏事的
○ trying to be helpful to people, but actually making things
worse for them
○ e.g. He is well-intentioned but a poor administrator. 他是
个空有一番好意但能力很差的主管。
commissioner /kəˈmɪʃənə(r)/ n.（政府部门或其他组织的）
长官
○ someone who is officially in charge of a government de-
partment in some countries
○ e.g. The Commissioner has absolutely unrestricted access
to all the files. 特派员可以随意查阅所有文件。
advisory /ədˈvaɪzəri/ adj. 顾问的 ; 提供咨询的
○ an advisory group regularly gives suggestions and help to
people or organizations, especially about a particular subject
or area of activity
○ e.g. Get hold of the company list from your careers adviso-
ry service. 到就业指导处领取企业名录。
outreach /ˈaʊtriːtʃ/ n. 外展服务；扩大服务
○ when help, advice, or other services are provided for peo-
ple who would not otherwise get these services easily
○ e.g. Their brief is to undertake outreach work aimed at
young African Caribbeans on the estate. 他们的任务是为该
住宅区年轻的非洲裔加勒比海人提供外展服务。
 Tiger Times 04

今日习题

1. 根据英文释义写出文中出现的对应单词

______: become gradually weaker or less

______: fully developed

2. 一词多义

Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined part in "Both were previously unknown
viral strains for which there was no existing vaccine or proven medical treatment." ？ ____

A. The prison service is already under considerable strain.

B. Resources will be further strained by new demands for housing.
C. Every year new strains of influenza develop.
D. There was a strain of bitterness in his voice.

3. 翻译：根据给定中文回译英文

它们都是以前未知的病毒株，没有现成的疫苗或经证实的医疗方法。

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

习题答案

medical treatment.
3. Both were previously unknown viral strains for which there was no existing vaccine or proven
2. C
1. wane; full-blown

编辑丨 Stephanie