篇章練習（上）

Chair,Secretary of State for Health and Human Services, Colleagues and Friends,

It is a great pleasure for me to be with you all here today. We gather with a sense of optimism. Firstly, because overall smoking figures are showing positive trends in the U.S. and in other industrialized countries; secondly, because the situation and terms of the fight against tobacco have changed dramatically.//

The battle has been underway for over 50 years. The first big change occurred thirty six years ago, when Luther Terry introduced his landmark Surgeon General report. The damaging health effects of tobacco were clearly stated1. Tobacco gives rise to cancer. Tobacco kills. This became the foundation for policies to curb the tobacco epidemic in a number of countries around the world2. //

The second big change took place in the last three years. Through a number of court verdicts and inquiries, another fundamental principle has emerged. Tobacco companies should be accountable for the harm caused by tobacco use. This principle will guide policy and public opinion in the future. It is also a principle which the tobacco companies will have to consider when they plan their future strategies.//

Unfortunately, optimism about progress is not universal3. Anyone who believes that we are winning the battle against tobacco should take a look at the global figures.What they will see is an emerging epidemic. As we have already heard, worldwide mortality from tobacco is likely to rise from about 4 million deaths a year in 1998 to about 10 million a year in 2030. In public health terms, this is comparable to the HIV epidemic. Over 70 percent of the deaths will be in the developing world. //

The implications are obvious4. Tobacco is not only a human tragedy. Tobacco also burdens our health systems. It costs taxpayers money. It hampers the productivity of our economies. We have seen this happening in the U.S. and in Europe. But now, these burdens are hitting developing countries, countries which need all their resources to build their social and physical infrastructure. They have no money to spend on the unnecessary costs of a man-made epidemic. //

Yet, the picture is far from bleak. Globally, we have seen a sea-change over the past few years. A groundswell of local, national and global actions is moving the public health agenda ahead. This is occurring through the development of innovative partnerships, networks and alliances. //

今天同各位共聚一堂感到十分高興。我們懷著樂觀的心情聚集在此，這是因為美國和其他工業(yè)化國家的總吸煙率在日漸好轉。再有，我們同煙草斗爭的形勢和條件已產生了巨大的變化。//

這場斗爭已長達50年之久。首次重大的改變發(fā)生在36年前，當時盧瑟•泰瑞發(fā)表了劃時代的衛(wèi)生總監(jiān)研究報告。報告詳細說明了煙草對健康的損害。煙草導致腫瘤。煙草致死。報告為世界上一些國家制定抑制煙害的有關政策奠定了基礎。//

第二個重大的改變發(fā)生在最近3年。經過一系列法庭裁決和調查之后，形成了另一個重要的原則。這就是煙草公司要為煙草使用造成的損害負責。這項原則將會為今后的政策和民意產生影響，同時也會迫使煙草公司在制定將來的戰(zhàn)略時必須考慮這一問題。//

不幸的是，全球的情況并不容樂觀。任何認為我們與煙草的戰(zhàn)斗已經勝利在望的人，應該看一看全球的有關數(shù)字。他們將看到的是，煙害正日趨嚴重。正如我們所知，全球煙草致死人數(shù)可能從1998年的每年400萬人增加到2030年的每年1000萬。從公共衛(wèi)生角度看，這種危害已相當于艾滋病。超過70%的死亡者將在發(fā)展中國家。//

煙草帶來的后果是顯而易見的。煙草不僅給人類造成悲劇，而且加重了我們衛(wèi)生系統(tǒng)的負擔。 它不僅耗費納稅人的金錢，而且削弱經濟生產力。我們在美國和歐洲已目睹這一切。如今，這種負擔嚴重影響 著發(fā)展中國家，而這些國家卻需要將全部的資源用于社會和各種基礎工程的建設，他們在財政上無力承受煙害這種人為災難所造成的高額代價。//

然而，全球情況遠不是暗淡無光。世界局勢近幾年已發(fā)生了翻天覆地的變化。各個地區(qū)，各個 國家乃至全球都采取了強有力的行動，通過富有創(chuàng)造性的合作、聯(lián)網和聯(lián)盟，共同推動公共衛(wèi)生的進程。//