Delta Covid variant may be edging race against vaccines
与疫苗的时间竞赛中，Delta 新冠肺炎变异毒株可能会略胜一筹
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.***
科学家们表示，Delta 变异株正在全球蔓延，这种快速传播的优势表明：世界各国需要大力推动免疫防治工作，并提高警惕，否则在疫苗接种和病毒之间的竞赛中，后者将占据上风。
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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.***
澳大利亚的一项研究展示了 Delta 变异株的传播是多么轻而易举，当时人们就呼吁要提高警惕。基于悉尼某室内购物场所的监控录像，卫生官员们怀疑至少在两起感染事件中，这种病毒是在“短得吓人”的接触时间内传播的，整个过程只需人们擦肩而过的大约 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.
凯瑟琳·诺克斯教授是利兹大学空气传播方面的专家，她认为如果病毒携带者呼出了大量的病毒粒子，而某个人恰好在错误的时间将它们吸入，那么这个人可能会在与携带者近距离接触的几秒内被感染。
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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.
以色列有大约 55% 的居民完成了疫苗接种。周五（6 月 25 日），以色列重新实施了口罩强制令，以应对在解除强制措施 10 天后 Delta 变异株感染病例就迅速增加的情况。
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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."
利兹大学医学院的病毒学家及副教授斯蒂芬·格里芬博士说：“理想的情况是在接触到病毒变种前就建立好疫苗屏障，因为这意味着即便真的暴发了疫情，那里的易感染人群也足够少，这样 R 值永远低于 1，暴发中也不会出现病例增加。”
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主编：Amy
品控：木子
审核：Raven
Photo Credit：
REUTERS / Yves Herman
REUTERS / Athit Perawongmetha
REUTERS / Fiona Goodall / File Photo
重点词汇
edge
/edʒ/
v.（使）徐徐移动，渐渐移动
词性拓展：edge（n. 边，边缘）
例句：He is standing on the edge of a cliff.
搭配短语：to edge the chair forward
transmission
/trænsˈmɪʃ.ən/
n. 传播，传染；（电视节目的）播送
搭配短语：the live transmission of the Euro 2021
tip
/tɪp/
v.（使）倾斜
词性拓展：tip（n.（细长物体的）末梢，末端）
搭配短语：the tip of a pencil
搭配短语：to tip the scales（使天平倾斜；使结果倾向某方）
搭配短语：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
相关词汇：ramp（n. 斜坡，坡道）
搭配短语：to ramp up production
immunisation
/ˌim.jə.nəˈzeɪ.ʃən/
n. 免疫接种
美式拼写：immunization
相关词汇：immunity（n. 免疫，免疫力）
相关词汇：immunise（v.（通过接种疫苗）使人获得免疫）
近义词：vaccinate（v. 给……接种疫苗）
例句：The vaccine is used to immunise people against the virus.
call
/kɑːl/
n. 号召，呼吁
英文释义：a demand for sb. to do sth.
fleeting
/ˈfliː.t̬ɪŋ/
adj. 短暂的，迅速的
搭配短语：a fleeting visit
instance
/ˈɪn.stəns/
n. 事例，实例
搭配短语：for instance
搭配短语：many instances of discrimination happened in the U.S.
carrier
/ˈker.i.ɚ/
n. 病毒携带者；运输工具
相关词汇：carry（v. 运输；携带）
exhale
/eksˈheɪl/
v. 呼出，吐出（肺中的空气）
英文释义：to breathe out
例句：Take a deep breath, then exhale slowly.
词根词缀：ex-（表示“出，向外”）
反义词：inhale（v. 吸气）
a load of
大量，许多
同义词组：loads of
例句：She's got loads of friends.
同义词组：a lot of
mandate
/ˈmæn.deɪt/
n. 命令，指令
英文释义：an official order to do something
例句：Patients should follow the doctor's mandate.
词性拓展：mandate（v. 命令，要求）
词义辨析：mandate，order
与 order 相比，mandate 往往与法律条款相关，比如：The law mandates that every car should have seat belts.，意思是“法律规定所有汽车内都要装有安全带。”
combat
/kəm'bæt/
v. 打击，抑制
搭配短语：to combat inflation
搭配短语：to combat crime
lift
/lɪft/
v. 解除（某项规定），撤销（限制）
例句：The U.S. has officially lifted the ban on TikTok and WeChat.
scenario
/səˈner.i.oʊ/
n. 可能发生的情况，设想；（电影、戏剧的）剧情梗概
相关词汇：scene（n.（电影、戏剧中的）场景，场面）
例句：Try to imagine all the possible scenarios before taking actions.
get exposed to
（使）暴露于（某种危险的境地）
相关词汇：expose（v. 暴露，显露）
同义词组：be exposed to
例句：Being exposed to high levels of radiation over a short period of time can cause skin burns.
susceptible
/səˈsep.tə.bəl/
adj. 易受影响的，易受伤害的
英文释义：very likely to be influenced or harmed by sb. or sth.
例句：Older people are more susceptible to infections.
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