[00:00.10]During his 2013 State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama called for the eradication of extreme poverty world-wide by the year 2030.

[00:10.91]One of the keys to achieving this goal is to prevent and control diseases that disproportionately burden the poor.

[00:17.72]This includes vector-borne illnesses—those transmitted by mosquitoes, flies, ticks and bugs—such as Neglected Tropical Diseases.

[00:26.83]Over a billion people suffer from one or more neglected tropical diseases, or NTDs.

[00:33.39]Sometimes also called diseases of the forgotten people, these illnesses affect mostly people living in rural areas and urban slums of low-income countries.

[00:43.69]They are most common wherever access to clean water and sanitation is lacking, and where children suffer from malnutrition.

[00:51.28]NTDs are devastating both to those suffer from them and to their communities.

[00:57.09]Many of these diseases can impair intellectual development in children, reduce school enrollment,

[01:03.04]and hinder economic productivity of entire communities by limiting the ability of infected individuals to work.

[01:10.41]These usually treatable and preventable diseases include Schistosomiasis; Elephantiasis; Trachoma;

[01:17.65] Chagas Disease; River Blindness; Leprosy; Kala-azar, dengue,

[01:23.87]black fever and other forms of Leishmaniasis; and the three most common infections --

[01:29.76]the soil-transmitted parasites hookworm, roundworm and whipworm.

[01:33.83]Together, they cause as much damage as HIV, malaria or tuberculosis.

[01:39.58]The United States has been a part of the global effort to control these diseases since 2006.

[01:46.00]Then, two years ago, working through the U.S. Agency for International Development,

[01:51.16]the U.S. Government joined Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases,

[01:56.12]a partnership that also includes the governments of the United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates;

[02:01.90] the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; the World Bank; 13 pharmaceutical companies;

[02:07.65]and other global health organizations dedicated to accelerating progress toward eliminating or controlling 10 NDTs by the end of the decade.

[02:17.62]As of 2012, the USAID NTD program has supported the delivery of 820 million treatments globally.

[02:27.48]Controlling, and perhaps eventually eliminating these diseases cannot be achieved by one group, or one country acting alone.

[02:35.96]The problem is too wide spread, too complex, and must be attacked on many levels.

[02:41.21]It will require much effort, funding, and political will.

[02:44.94]Only by working together can we hope to overcome these ancient causes of human misery,

[02:50.87]and improve the lives of over a billion people.
詞匯解析

extreme

難度：4星核心詞匯，屬常用3000詞

英漢解釋

adj.極度的；極端的

n.極端；極限

參考例句

用作形容詞 (adj.)

Extreme poverty had reduced them to a state of apathy.

極端的貧困使他們?nèi)f念俱灰。

用作名詞 (n.)

Starvation is at one extreme of the spectrum of food intake; obesity is at the other.

饑餓是食物攝入量的一個(gè)極端,肥胖則是另一個(gè)極端。

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poverty

難度：4星核心詞匯，屬常用3000詞

英漢解釋

n.貧困；貧乏；劣質(zhì)

參考例句

用作名詞 (n.)

They were handicapped by (a) poverty of resources.

他們因資源短缺處境窘迫。

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world-wide

英漢解釋

adj.世界范圍的；遍及全球的

參考例句

用作形容詞 (adj.)

The old parochial outlook has become a world view.

昔日的那個(gè)地方范圍的觀點(diǎn)已成了一種世界范圍的觀點(diǎn)。

The Tzu Chi International Medical Association, or TIMA, organizes relief operations all over the world, including their own backyard in Taiwan.

慈濟(jì)國(guó)際醫(yī)療協(xié)會(huì)或稱人醫(yī)會(huì)，組織遍及全球各地。

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burden

難度：3星常用詞匯，屬常用6000詞

英漢解釋

n.負(fù)擔(dān)；責(zé)任；裝載量；主題；[音樂(lè)]副歌

v.使負(fù)重；裝載；煩擾

參考例句

用作名詞 (n.)

The burden on his back seemed to be crushing him to the earth.

他背上的重負(fù)似乎要把他壓倒在地。

用作動(dòng)詞 (v.)

I don't want to burden you with my problem.

我不想讓我的問(wèn)題給你添麻煩。

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tropical

難度：3星常用詞匯，屬常用6000詞

英漢解釋

adj.熱帶的；炎熱的；熱帶植物的

參考例句

用作形容詞 (adj.)

Summer was almost tropical last year.

去年的夏天十分炎熱。

Tropical plants thrive in a greenhouse.

熱帶植物在溫室里茁壯生長(zhǎng)。

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urban

難度：4星核心詞匯，屬常用3000詞

英漢解釋

adj.城市的；都市的

參考例句

用作形容詞 (adj.)

In some developing countries more and more people are migrating to urban areas.

在某些發(fā)展中的國(guó)家,越來(lái)越多的人向市區(qū)遷移。

The quality of urban living has been damaged by excessive noise levels.

城市生活的質(zhì)量已被過(guò)度的噪音所破壞。

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observer

難度：2星擴(kuò)展詞匯，屬常用10000詞

英漢解釋

n.觀察者

參考例句

用作名詞 (n.)

Each observer's prediction has been borne out.

每個(gè)觀察者的預(yù)料已被證實(shí)了。

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ability

難度：4星核心詞匯，屬常用3000詞

英漢解釋

n.能力；才能

參考例句

用作名詞 (n.)

This is a task well within your ability.

這完全是你力所能及的工作。

He shows exceptional ability in solving problems.

他處理問(wèn)題才干過(guò)人。

 

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