“糖丸爷爷”挽救数百万儿童

彭向梅

难词探意

1. the oral polio vaccine 口服脊髓灰质炎疫苗

2. polio /?p??li??/ n. 小儿麻痹症

3. paralysis /p??r?l?s?s/ n. 麻痹;瘫痪

4. appall /??pɑ?l/ v. 使震惊

5. casualty /?k??u?lti/ n. （事故或战争中的）伤亡人员

6. certify /?s??t?fa?/ v. 证明;证实

7. terminator /?t??m??ne?t?/ n. 终结者

He was regarded as “the father of sugar pills” in China for the oral polio vaccine he developed， which saved millions of children from crippling paralysis from 1949 to 1993.

“I spent my whole life doing one thing—developing an effective and affordable polio vaccine，” Gu Fangzhou once said. Born in 1926，  Gus family faced a difficult time with the sudden death of his father.

Overcoming bad conditions， he secured admission to the Peking Universitys medical department in 1944. In 1955， a disastrous outbreak of polio in Nantong， East Chinas Jiangsu Province， paralyzed 1，680 people， mostly children in the age below seven. Appalled by massive casualty， government designated Gu to lead polio research in 1957. A significant breakthrough was achieved in 1959 when Gu succeeded in developing the first polio （Sabin type） live vaccine.

According to Gus biography， in order to test the vaccine， he administered the vaccine to himself and started the first stage of the human trial. After extensive testing， he took another bold step to administer an oral vaccine to his one?month?old son. This inspired his colleagues to vaccinate their kids. They became the first generation in China to try a polio vaccine.

To eliminate polio， its essential to maintain efficacy of the vaccines by ensuring a cold chain. However， it was impossible to provide a freezer for vaccines in?transit or in non?electrified rural areas in those days.

Gus team solved the challenge by developing a sugar?coated pill that tasted good and was also easy to preserve. The sugar pill concept killed two birds with one stone—the sweet taste made it easy to administer the pills to the kids while making the vaccine affordable.

The moment of glory came in 2000 when Gu， then 74， signed Chinas confirmation report on polio eradication as a special representative. The WHO certified China “polio?free” the same year. Gu Fangzhou， known as Chinas polio terminator， passed away at 92 on January 2， 2019.

Fill in each blank with a proper word or with the word given in its proper form.

Gu Fangzhou 1.               （regard） as “the father of sugar pills” in China. In 1944， he was 2.               to the department of medicine， Peking University. A significant 3.               was achieved in 1959 when Gu succeeded in developing the first polio live vaccine. To test the efficacy and side effects of the vaccine， he 4.               the vaccine to himself. After extensive testing， he administered an oral vaccine to his one?month?old son. To better 5.               the vaccine， Gus team developed a sugar?coated pill that tasted good and was also easy to administer. In 2000， Gu， then 74， 6.               Chinas confirmation report on polio eradication. Gu Fangzhou passed away at age 92 on January 2， 2019.

Difficult sentence

The sugar pill concept killed two birds with one stone—the sweet taste made it easy to administer the pills to the kids while making the vaccine affordable.

【翻译】

【点石成金】本句中，“kill two birds with one stone”意为“一石二鸟;一举两得”。“make it +adj.+to do”意为“使得做某事……”。