阿摩線上測驗
46. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE of the chickenpox virus?
(A) It leads to a potentially deadly disease in adults.
(B) It is associated with a possibly permanent rash and fever.
(C) It has been completely eradicated in the modern world.
(D) It is easily transmittable by an infected individual.
答案：登入後查看
統計： A(15), B(31), C(8), D(119), E(0) #3432207
統計： A(15), B(31), C(8), D(119), E(0) #3432207
詳解 (共 2 筆)
愛喝錫蘭紅茶
#7131251
Chickenpox is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by the Varicella zoster virus; sufferers develop a fleeting itchy rash that can spread throughout the body.
水痘是一種由水痘帶狀疱疹病毒引起的高度傳染性疾病；患者會出現短暫的搔癢性皮疹，並可能擴散至全身。
The disease can last for up to 14 days and can occur in both children and adults, though the young are particularly vulnerable.
這種疾病可持續長達14天，無論兒童或成人都可能罹患，但年幼者特別容易受到感染。
Individuals infected with chickenpox can expect to experience a high but tolerable level of discomfort and a fever as the disease works its way through the system.
感染水痘的人通常會經歷程度較高但尚可忍受的不適感，並在疾病於體內發展期間出現發燒症狀。
The ailment was once considered to be a "rite of passage" by parents in the U.S. and thought to provide children with greater and improved immunity to other forms of sickness later in life.
這種疾病曾被美國的家長視為一種「成長必經之路」，並認為能為兒童在日後的生活中提供更強大且更完善的免疫力，以抵抗其他形式的疾病。
This view, however, was altered after additional research by scientists demonstrated unexpected dangers associated with the virus.
然而，在科學家進行的進一步研究揭示了與該病毒相關的意外危險後，這種觀點發生了改變。
Over time, the fruits of the research have transformed attitudes toward the disease and the utility of seeking preemptive measures against it.
隨著時間推移，研究成果已經轉變了人們對這種疾病的態度，以及尋求預防措施的實用性認知。
**第二段：**
A vaccine against chickenpox was originally invented by Dr. Michiaki Takahashi, who began his work to isolate and grow the virus in 1965 and began clinical trials in 1972 with a live but weakened form of the virus that caused the human body to create antibodies.
水痘疫苗最初是由高橋理明博士發明的，他於1965年開始進行病毒分離和培養工作，並於1972年開始臨床試驗，使用一種活性但減弱的病毒形式來促使人體產生抗體。
Japan and several other countries began widespread chickenpox vaccination programs in 1974.
日本和其他幾個國家於1974年開始推行大規模的水痘疫苗接種計畫。
However, it took over 20 years for the chickenpox vaccine to be approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), and the U.S. government's approval for widespread use in 1995.
然而，水痘疫苗花了超過20年的時間才獲得美國食品藥物管理局（FDA）的批准，美國政府直到1995年才核准其廣泛使用。
Yet parents did not immediately choose to vaccinate their children against this disease.
然而，家長們並未立即選擇為他們的孩子接種這種疫苗。
Mothers and fathers typically cited the notion that chickenpox did not constitute a serious enough disease against which a person needed to be vaccinated.
父母們通常持有的觀念是，水痘並不構成嚴重到需要接種疫苗的疾病。
**第三段：**
Strong belief in that view eroded when scientists discovered the link between Varicella zoster, the virus that causes chickenpox, and shingles, a far more serious, harmful, and longer-lasting disease in older adults that impacts the nervous system.
當科學家發現引起水痘的水痘帶狀疱疹病毒與帶狀疱疹（一種在老年人身上更為嚴重、更有害且持續時間更長、會影響神經系統的疾病）之間的關聯時，人們對那種觀點的堅定信念便開始動搖。
They reached the conclusion that Varicella zoster remains dormant inside the body, making it significantly more likely for someone to develop shingles.
他們得出結論：水痘帶狀疱疹病毒會在體內保持休眠狀態，使得某人罹患帶狀疱疹的可能性顯著增加。
As a result, the U.S. medical community encouraged the use of a vaccine against chickenpox to the public.
因此，美國醫學界開始鼓勵民眾使用水痘疫苗。
Although the appearance of chickenpox and shingles within one person can be many years apart—generally many decades—the increased risk in developing shingles as a younger adult (30-40 years old) proved to be enough to convince the medical community that immunization should be preferred to the traditional alternative.
儘管同一個人出現水痘和帶狀疱疹的時間可能相隔多年——通常是數十年——但在較年輕的成年期（30至40歲）罹患帶狀疱疹的風險增加，已足以說服醫學界認為免疫接種應優於傳統的替代方案。
**第四段：**
Another reason that the chickenpox vaccine was not immediately accepted and used by parents in the U.S. centered on observations made by scientists that the vaccine simply did not last long enough and did not confer a lifetime of immunity.
美國家長未立即接受並使用水痘疫苗的另一個原因，主要是基於科學家的觀察發現，即疫苗的效力持續時間不夠長，無法提供終身免疫。
In other words, scientists considered the benefits of the vaccine to be temporary when given to young children.
換句話說，科學家認為疫苗在施打於幼童時的效益只是暫時性的。
They also feared that it increased the odds that a person could become infected with chickenpox later as a young adult, when the rash is more painful and prevalent and can last up to three or four weeks.
他們也擔心這會增加一個人在稍後的青年時期感染水痘的機率，而在那個階段，皮疹會更加疼痛且更為廣泛，並可能持續長達三到四週。
Hence, allowing young children to develop chickenpox rather than to take a vaccine against it was believed to be the "lesser of two evils."
因此，讓幼童自然罹患水痘而非接種疫苗被認為是「兩害相權取其輕」的選擇。
This idea changed over time as booster shots of the vaccine elongated immunity and countered the perceived limits on the strength of the vaccine itself.
隨著疫苗的加強劑延長了免疫力，並克服了疫苗本身效力的既有限制，這種想法逐漸改變了。
**第五段：**
Today, use of the chickenpox vaccine is common throughout the world.
如今，水痘疫苗的使用在全世界已相當普遍。
Pediatricians suggest an initial vaccination shot after a child turns one year old, with booster shots recommended after the child turns eight.
兒科醫師建議在兒童滿一歲後接種第一劑疫苗，並建議在兒童滿八歲後接種加強劑。
The vaccine is estimated to be up to 90% effective and has reduced worldwide cases of chickenpox infection to 400,000 cases per year from over 4,000,000 cases before vaccination became widespread.
該疫苗的有效性估計高達90%，並已將全球水痘感染病例從疫苗接種普及前的每年超過400萬例減少至每年40萬例。
In light of such statistics, most doctors insist that the potential risks of developing shingles outweigh the benefits of avoiding rare complications associated with inoculations.
鑑於這些統計數據，大多數醫師堅持認為罹患帶狀疱疹的潛在風險，遠大於避免接種疫苗相關罕見併發症所帶來的好處。
Of course, many parents continue to think of the disease as an innocuous ailment, refusing to take preemptive steps against it.
當然，許多家長仍然將這種疾病視為無害的小病，拒絕採取預防措施。
As increasing numbers of students are vaccinated and the virus becomes increasingly rarer, however, even this trend among parents has failed to halt the decline of chickenpox among the most vulnerable populations.
然而，隨著接種疫苗的學生人數不斷增加，病毒變得越來越罕見，即使是家長中的這種趨勢也未能阻止水痘在最脆弱族群中的下降趨勢。
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