洗手的重要性
The importance of handwashing
Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.
大家好。这里是BBC教学英语的《六分钟英语》，我是尼尔。
And I'm Georgina.
我是乔治娜。
I've got a puzzle for you, Neil. Ready?
尼尔，我给你准备了个难题。准备好了吗？
Sure.
当然。
OK. It's a riddle.
好的。它是一个谜语。
I'm as light as a feather but no one can hold me for very long.
我轻如鸿毛，但没有人能托住我很久。
What am I?
我是什么？
Hmmm… as light as a feather but no one can hold you… No idea.
嗯……轻如鸿毛，但没人能托住你……不知道。
What are you?
你是什么？
Your breath.
你的呼吸。
Ah, yes, I see.
啊，是的，我明白了。
OK, I've got one for you.
好的，我也给你准备了一个。
I'm so big I'm everywhere but so small you can't see me.
我如此之大，无处不在，但也如此之小，你看不到我。
What am I?
我是什么？
You're everywhere but I can't see you?
你无处不在但我却看不见你？
Hmmm, tricky… I give up.
嗯，很难答……我放弃。
Well, the answer is – germs!
好吧，答案是——细菌！
And with the outbreak of coronavirus,
随着冠状病毒的爆发，
people around the world have rediscovered the importance of fighting germs to stop the spread of disease.
世界各地的人们重新认识到抵抗细菌来阻止疾病传播的重要性。
In this programme we'll be the discussing the importance of handwashing in the prevention of germs and viruses.
在本期节目中，我们将讨论洗手在预防细菌和病毒方面的重要性。
And we'll start off by meeting the first person to realise that keeping hands clean can really help prevent diseases being passed on.
我们将从第一个认识到保持双手清洁能真的帮助预防疾病传播的人开始。
Ah… do you mean the19th century Hungarian doctor, Ignaz Semmelweiss?
啊，你是说19世纪的匈牙利医生伊格纳兹·塞梅尔维斯吗？
He was known as the 'saviour of mothers' for keeping maternity wards germ-free,
他因使产房无菌而被称为“母亲的救世主”，
and he had a very interesting life.
而且他的生活非常有趣。
But do you know what happened to him in the end?
但是你知道他最后怎么样了吗？
That's my quiz question.
那就是我的测试问题。
Was it: a) He won the Nobel prize,
是a)他获得了诺贝尔奖，
b) He ended up in hospital for mentally ill people,
b)他最后因为精神疾病住院了，
or c) He started the first company to produce hand soap?
还是c)他创办了第一家生产洗手液的公司？
Dr Semmelweiss sounds like a scientific hero so I'll say, a) he won the Nobel prize.
塞梅尔维斯医生听起来像是一个科学英雄，所以我说是a)他获得了诺贝尔奖。
OK. We'll find out later if you were right.
好的。我们稍后将揭晓你是否正确。
But what's for sure is that Ignaz Semmelweiss was a hero to Val Curtis,
但可以肯定的是，对瓦尔·柯蒂斯来说，伊格纳兹·塞梅尔维斯是一个英雄。
a director at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
瓦尔·柯蒂斯是伦敦卫生与热带医学院卫生中心的主任。
Here she is talking to BBC Radio 4s Science Stories:
这是她接受BBC广播4频道的《科学故事》节目采访时说的：
Semmelweiss is kind of my patron saint.
伊格纳兹·塞梅尔维斯可以说是我的守护神。
Handwashing has been my life for the last thirty years working on trying to improve hygiene,
在过去的三十年里，洗手一直是我生活的一部分，我致力于改善卫生状况，
mostly in developing countries,
主要针对发展中国家。
and he was really the first to identify the importance of keeping hands clean in the prevention of the transmission of infection.
他最先认识到保持双手清洁在预防感染传播方面的重要性。
And since the beginning of my career working in public health,
从我在公共卫生领域开始工作以来，
I've been trying to understand how diseases get spread and what the best way of preventing it is,
我一直在试图了解疾病是如何传播的，以及预防疾病的最佳方法是什么，
and handwashing jumped out as being the most important means of preventing infections,
作为预防感染的最重要手段，洗手引起了人们的注意，
particularly in developing countries.
尤其是在发展中国家。
Val's work is all about improving hygiene - practices for maintaining health and preventing disease, especially through cleanliness.
瓦尔的工作全是关于改善卫生——保持健康及预防疾病的工作，特别是通过保持清洁。
And she was clearly influenced by the work of Dr Semmelweiss,
她显然受到了塞梅尔维斯医生的影响，
because she calls him her patron saint - a kind of guide and protector believed to give special help or inspiration.
因为她称他是自己的守护神——一种给予特别帮助或启发的引导者和保护者。
But Dr Semmelweiss is also a good example of science communication.
但是塞梅尔维斯医生也是科学交流的一个范例。
Getting the message out so people understand the importance of hygiene is difficult.
传达信息使人们了解卫生的重要性非常困难。
And 'wash your hands' jumped out - or made a strong impact - as a simple message to communicate.
“洗手”一词作为简单的交流信息引起了人们的注意，或者产生了强烈的影响。
Here's Val again:
这是瓦尔再次谈到的：
It wasn't until we wrote a paper in 2003 that showed the evidence that handwashing could save a million lives
直到我们在2003年写了一篇论文，证明洗手可以挽救100万人的生命，
that actually people started to take it seriously and handwashing became a big important issue internationally.
人们才开始认真看待洗手问题，洗手成了一个重大国际议题。
So for me the lesson from Semmelweiss is: don't scream and shout and accuse people of doing things wrongly,
所以，对我来说，塞梅尔维斯给出的教训是：不要大吼大叫，不要指责别人做错了事情，
but patiently get the data out there and tell your story in a positive way.
而是要耐心收集数据，用积极的方式讲述出来。
The idea that handwashing is an essential part of hygiene is supported by scientific evidence
洗手是卫生必不可少的一部分这一观点得到了科学论证的支持
- the facts and information used to show that a belief is true.
——被用来证明一种观点正确无误的事实和信息。
In this case, Val's belief that handwashing could help save a million lives.
在这里是指瓦尔相信洗手可以帮助挽救一百万人的生命。
So, handwashing has become an important global issue - or topic of discussion,
因此，洗手已经成为一个重要的全球议题——或讨论话题，
especially in places without access to clean sanitation and toilets.
尤其是在没有整洁卫生设施和厕所的地方。
Val also mentions that if you want people to listen to your message,
瓦尔还提到，如果你想让人们听到你的信息，
it's better to present the evidence in a positive, scientific way
你最好以积极科学的方式来展示论据，
instead of screaming and shouting - speaking in a forceful or even angry way to convince people you're right.
而不是大吼大叫——用一种暴力甚至愤怒的方式来说服人们你是对的。
Right, people don't listen if you scream and shout at them - they just think you're strange.
没错，如果你对人们大吼大叫，他们不会听的——他们只会觉得你很奇怪。
Which brings me back to today's quiz question.
那让我想起了今天的测试问题。
Remember, I asked you what happened to Dr Semmelweiss in the end?
还记得吗，我问你塞梅尔维斯医生最后怎么样了？
…and I said a) he won the Nobel prize.
我说是a)他获得了诺贝尔奖。
Well, I'm afraid the answer was , b) he actually ended up in hospital for mentally ill people.
嗯，恐怕答案是b)他最后因为精神疾病住院了。
Today we've been talking about handwashing,
今天我们一直在讨论洗手，
one of the single best ways to improve personal hygiene - the prevention of disease by keeping clean.
这是改善个人卫生的最佳方法之一——通过保持清洁来预防疾病。
Recently, handwashing has become a top global issue - subject or topic people are thinking and talking about.
最近，洗手已经成为一个全球头号议题——人们思考和谈论的主题或话题。
Scientific evidence - the facts and information used to prove ideas true or valid
科学论证——用来证明观点正确或有效的事实与信息
- it shows that handwashing jumped out - or was easily noticed - as one of the most important methods to stop the spread of infection.
——它表明洗手作为阻止感染传播的最重要方法之一引起了人们的注意——或很容易被注意到。
The work of 19th century scientist Ignaz Semmelweiss was so inspiring that even today,
19世纪科学家伊格纳兹·塞梅尔维斯的研究工作是如此鼓舞人心，以至于直到今天，
some doctors consider him the patron saint of hygiene
一些医生仍将他视为卫生守护神
- an expression referring to a protecting or guiding saint believed to give special help or inspiration.
——这个表达是指被认为给予特别帮助或启发的保护圣徒或指引圣徒。
But communicating the message of 'wash your hands' to people around the world is hard,
但是，和世界各地的人们交流“洗手”信息很困难，
especially if you just scream and shout - or try to convince someone by talking to them in a forceful or argumentative way.
尤其是你只是大吼大叫的时候——或者试图通过暴力或争辩的方式说服别人。
OK, Neil, the scientific evidence has convinced me - I promise to make sure I regularly wash my hands.
好的，尼尔，科学论证说服了我——我保证会经常洗手。
That's all from us today,
以上就是今天的全部内容，
but join us again soon for more topical discussion and vocabulary here at BBC Learning English's 6 Minute English.
但是下次再加入我们啊，更多话题讨论和词汇，就在BBC教学英语的《六分钟英语》。
Stay safe and remember to wash your hands!
注意安全，记得洗手！
Bye for now.
再见了。
Bye!
再见！