Drug Resistance¹ Fades Quickly in Key AIDS² Drug

    One of the main weapons to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the AIDS virus during birth is the drug nevirapine³. But when nevirapine is used alone just once，HTV⁴ starts becoming resistant to it. Research in Botswanashows that the resistance is not long lasting and that this affordable drug does not have to be abandoned forever by infected mothers who have already taken it.

    International medical guidelines call for⁵ pregnant women with advanced HTV to get a combination of AIDS drugs including nevirapine to prevent passing their infection on to their newborns during delivery. But in poor countries, combinations have been expensive and nevirapine has often been used alone，since studies have shown that a single dose can cut the transmission rate in half.

    The problem is that HIV resistance builds against it quickly when used alone just once because other drugs are not present to kill the virus particles that survive nevirapine. This renders the drug less effective in later combinations for treating women after their baby is born. But the new study fromBotswanashows that nevirapine can make a comeback for these women if they wait until the resistance subsides.

    "The further out you get from that exposure to single dose nevirapine, the less detectable nevirapine resistance is⁶，” said Shahin Lockman of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston⁷. She says waiting period for women who get the single dose of nevirapine at delivery can be as short as six months. “ If they started nevirapine-based treatment six or more months after nevirapine exposure, their treatment response⁸ was just as good, and really quite high, compared to women who did not have the single dose of nevirapine," she added. “However, the women who started nevirapine-based treatment within six months of that nevirapine exposure were much more likely to experience treatment failure. ”

    The study published in the New England Journal of Medicine⁹ shows that waiting at least six months means that HIV-positive women are 70 percent more likely to benefit from nevirapine-based drug combinations again than women who get them sooner. An official with theU. S.government health agency that helped fund the study calls it very important.

    Lynne Mofenson is chief of research on child, adolescent, and maternal AIDS at the U. S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development¹⁰. She says the finding supports a World Health Organization (WHO)¹¹ recommendation restricting a single dose of nevirapine only to pregnant HIV-infected women who are healthy enough to wait six months after childbirth for more nevirapine-based therapy. Otherwise, they should get other drugs during labor. “It shows the importance of screening women for treatment while they are pregnant and putting them on appropriate therapy while they are pregnant to avoid having to start them too soon after they received preventive therapy," she explained.

    Shahin Lockman inBostonsays the problem of nevirapine resistance should diminish now that¹² more and more people are receiving combinations of AIDS drugs under expandedU. S.and international programs to deliver them toAfricaand other regions hard hit by the virus.

词汇：

fade /feɪd/ vi. 消失 

affordable / ə"fɔ:dəbl / adj. 负担得起的，能提供的
transmission /trænsˈmɪʃn / n. 传播；传染；遗传 

abandon / ə"bændən / vt.  抛弃，放弃
Botswana 博茨瓦纳（非洲）

advanced n. 晚期的
newborn  /ˈnju:bɔ:n/ adj. 新生的；新生儿 

delivery /dɪˈlɪvəri / n. 分娩，生产

dose /dəʊs/ n. （一次）剂量，一剂
render / ˈrendə(r) / v. 使得，致使

comeback /ˈkʌmbæk/ n. 东山再起；还原；补偿
detectable /diˈtektəbl/ adj.可查明的；可找出的 

positive  /ˈpɒzətɪv/ adj. 阳性的
adolescent /ˌædəˈlesnt/ adj. 青年期的，青春的；青少年（12或13岁-20岁）

maternal /məˈtɜ:nl/ adj. 母亲的 

restrict / rɪˈstrɪkt / vt. 限制

pregnant  /ˈpregnənt/ adj. 怀孕的
childbirth /ˈtʃaɪldbɜ:θ/ n. 生孩子，分娩 

therapy /ˈθerəpi/ n. 疗法，治疗
preventive  /prɪˈventɪv/ adj. 预防的 

diminish /dɪˈmɪnɪʃ / vt.  减少，缩小

注释：

1.drug resistance:抗药性
2.AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome)：获得性免疫缺损综合征，艾滋病
3.nevirapine (NVP):奈韦拉平。一种阻断HIV母婴传播的新药。其品牌名为Viramune。
4. HIV (human immunodeficiency virus)：人体免疫缺损病毒
5.call for:要求；提倡；号召
6.The further out you get from that exposure to single dose nevirapine, the less detectable nevirapine resistance is. ? ?:你月艮用一剂nevirapine之后，时间越长越不易发现(HIV)对 nevirapine的抗药性……get out from:从……离开，从……出发（在本句中如直译就是： 从……走出去,走得越远就越……）。exposure to:暴露；接触（在本句中如直译就是：接触 一剂 nevirapine) 0
7.Harvard School of Public Health in Boston:波士顿哈佛公共卫生学院
8.response的原意是“反应，应答”，但在医学文献中常用来指“疗效”，此处treatment response 就更加明显。
9.New England Journal of Medicine ：《新英格兰医药杂志》。New England是美国东北部 Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island 和 Connecticut 六州的总称。
10. U. S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHHD):美国国立儿童 健康与人类发展研究所
11.World Health Organization (WHO)：世界卫生组织
12.now that:既然，因为

When may a woman start her nevirapine-based treatment if she gets the single dose of nevirapine at delivery?

A:She may start nevirapine-based treatment soon after her delivery B:She may start nevirapine-based treatment within six months after her delivery C:She has to wait at least six months after that nevirapine exposure D:She may wait several years so as to achieve the best effect

Oseola McCarty

LATE ONE SUNDAY AFTERNOON in September 1999, Oseola McCarty, an elderly cleaning lady passed away in the little wooden frame house where she had lived and worked most of her life.  It may seem like an ordinary end to a humble life,  but there was something quite exceptional about this woman. ¹

In the summer of 1995, McCarty gave $150,000, most of the money she had saved throughout her life, to the UniversityofSouthern Mississippiin her hometown.  The money was tohelp other African Americans through university. She had started her savings habit as a young child when she would return from school to clean and iron for money which she would then save.

    She led a simple, frugal existence, never spending on anything but her most basic needs. ² Her bank also advised her on investing her hard-earned savings.

    When she retired, she decided that she wanted to use the money to give children of limited means the opportunity to go to university. ³ She had wanted to become a nurse, but had to leave school to look after ill relatives and work.  When asked why she had given her life savings away, she replied, "I"m giving it away so that children won"t have to work so hard, like I did.” After news of her donation hit the media, over 600 donations were made to the scholarship fund.  One was given by media executive, Ted Turner, who reputedly gave a billion dollars.

    She didn"t want any fuss made over her gift, but the news got out and she was invited all over theUnited Statesto talk to people. Wherever she went, people would come up to her to say a few words or to just touch her.  She met the ordinary and the famous, President Clinton included.  In the last few years of her life, before she died of cancer, McCarty was given over 300 awards: she was honoured by the United Nations and received the Presidential Citizen"s Medal. Despite having noreal education, she found herself with two honorary doctorates: one from theUniversityofSouthern Mississippiand the other fromHarvardUniversity. Her generosity was clearly an inspiration to many and proof that true selflessness does exist.

词汇:

frugal /"fru:gəl/ adj. 节约的，俭朴的，花钱少 的，物质的，廉价的 fuss /fʌs / n. 慌乱，小题大做，抱怨争吵 V. 忙

donation /dəv’neifə n/ n. 捐赠，捐款，捐赠的 乱，(为小事)烦恼抱怨

注释：

1. It mayseem like an ordinary end to a humble life, but there was something quite exceptionalabout this woman.这位老妇人看似平凡的一生却有着非同寻常的意义。

2.  She led a simple, frugal existence, never spending on anything but her most basic needs.她一生过着简单、节俭的生活，除了生活必需品外她从不在其他事情上花钱。

3. When she retired, she decided that she wanted to use the money to give children of limitedmeans the opportunity" to go to university.当她退休的时候，她决定用钱给那些条件有限的孩子提供上大学的机会。

She managed to save so much money because____.

A:she had ironed and washed clothes all her life B:she had worked hard, sed hard and invested carefully C:she had opened a good bank account D:she knew how to make money

Oseola McCarty

LATE ONE SUNDAY AFTERNOON in September 1999, Oseola McCarty, an elderly cleaning lady passed away in the little wooden frame house where she had lived and worked most of her life.  It may seem like an ordinary end to a humble life,  but there was something quite exceptional about this woman. ¹

In the summer of 1995, McCarty gave $150,000, most of the money she had saved throughout her life, to the UniversityofSouthern Mississippiin her hometown.  The money was tohelp other African Americans through university. She had started her savings habit as a young child when she would return from school to clean and iron for money which she would then save.

    She led a simple, frugal existence, never spending on anything but her most basic needs. ² Her bank also advised her on investing her hard-earned savings.

    When she retired, she decided that she wanted to use the money to give children of limited means the opportunity to go to university. ³ She had wanted to become a nurse, but had to leave school to look after ill relatives and work.  When asked why she had given her life savings away, she replied, "I"m giving it away so that children won"t have to work so hard, like I did.” After news of her donation hit the media, over 600 donations were made to the scholarship fund.  One was given by media executive, Ted Turner, who reputedly gave a billion dollars.

    She didn"t want any fuss made over her gift, but the news got out and she was invited all over theUnited Statesto talk to people. Wherever she went, people would come up to her to say a few words or to just touch her.  She met the ordinary and the famous, President Clinton included.  In the last few years of her life, before she died of cancer, McCarty was given over 300 awards: she was honoured by the United Nations and received the Presidential Citizen"s Medal. Despite having noreal education, she found herself with two honorary doctorates: one from theUniversityofSouthern Mississippiand the other fromHarvardUniversity. Her generosity was clearly an inspiration to many and proof that true selflessness does exist.

词汇:

frugal /"fru:gəl/ adj. 节约的，俭朴的，花钱少 的，物质的，廉价的 fuss /fʌs / n. 慌乱，小题大做，抱怨争吵 V. 忙

donation /dəv’neifə n/ n. 捐赠，捐款，捐赠的 乱，(为小事)烦恼抱怨

注释：

1. It mayseem like an ordinary end to a humble life, but there was something quite exceptionalabout this woman.这位老妇人看似平凡的一生却有着非同寻常的意义。

2.  She led a simple, frugal existence, never spending on anything but her most basic needs.她一生过着简单、节俭的生活，除了生活必需品外她从不在其他事情上花钱。

3. When she retired, she decided that she wanted to use the money to give children of limitedmeans the opportunity" to go to university.当她退休的时候，她决定用钱给那些条件有限的孩子提供上大学的机会。

She gave her money away because____.

A:she wanted to help the university B:she wanted others to have the chance to become nurses C:she wanted others to have the opportunity to escape a hard life D:she want to be remembered after her death

Easy Learning

    Sudents should be jealous. Not only do babies get to doze their days away, but they’ve also mastered the fine art of learning in their sleep.

    By the time babies are a year old they can recognize a lot of sounds and even simple words. Marie Cheour at the UniversityofTurkuinFinlandsuspected that they might progress this fast because they learn language while they sleep as well as when they are awake.

    To test the theory, Cheour and her colleagues studied 45 newborn babies in the first few days of their lives. They exposed all the infants to an hour of Finnish vowel sounds—one that sounds like “oo”, another like “ee” and a third boundary vowel peculiar to Finnish and similar languages that sounds like something in between. EEG ¹recordings of the infant’s brains before and after the session showed that the newborns could not distinguish the sounds.

    Fifteen of the babies then went back with their mothers, while the rest were split into two sleep-study groups ². One group was exposed throughout their night-time sleeping hours to the same three vowels, while the others listened to other, easier-to-distinguish vowel sounds³.

    When tested in the morning, and again in the evening, the babies who’d heard the tricky boundary vowel all night showed brainwave activity indicating that they could now recognise this new sound. They could identify the sound even when its pitch was changed, while none of the other babies could pick up the boundary vowel at all.

    Cheour doesn’t know how babies accomplish this night-time learning, bunt she suspects that the special ability might indicate that unlike adults, babies don’t “turn off” their cerebral cortex while they sleep. The skill probably fades in the course of the first year of life, she adds—so forget the idea that you can pick up tricky French vowels as an adult just by slipping a language tape under your pillow. But while it may not help grown-ups, Cheour is hoping to use the sleeping hours to give remedial help to babies who are genetically at risk of language disorders.

词汇：

vowel /"vauəl/ n．元音

Finland /"finlənd/ n．芬兰

Finnish /"finiʃ/ adj．芬兰的；芬兰人的；芬兰语的

Newborn /"nju:bɔ:n/ n新生儿；adj新生儿的

cerebral /" seribrul/ adj．大脑的

remedial /ri"midiəl/adj．补救的

cortex /"kɔ: teksf n．皮层

注释：

1.    EEG = electroencephalogram /"i,lektrəuen"sefələgræm/：脑电图

2.    two sleep-study groups：两个睡觉时的学习小组

3.    easier-to-distinguish vowel sounds较容易区分的元音 

An infant can recognize a lot of vowels by the time he or she is a year old.

A:Right B:Wrong C:Not mentioned

Jane wasn’t in when Jack came, was she
______, but she returned a few minutes later.

A:No, she was B:No, she wasn’t C:Yes, she was D:Yes, she wasn’t

Jane wasn't in when Jack came, was she
______, but she returned a few minutes later.

A:No, she was B:No, she wasn't C:Yes, she was D:Yes, she wasn't

It was not until she arrived in classrealized she had forgotten her book.

A:and she B:that she C:she D:when she

It was not until she arrived in classrealized she had forgotten her book.

A:and she B:that she C:she D:when she