一項由英國政府委托調研的報告結果顯示，如果人們再不行動起來對抗“超級病菌”的話，那么到 2050 年，平均每三秒鐘，超級病菌就會奪走一個人的生命。英國醫生建議人們減少抗生素的使用。本期內容討論人類對越來越多的細菌產生抗藥性的擔憂。

課文內容

詞匯: medicine 藥物

If you live in England and have a mild infection, don't ask your GP to recommend antibiotics. He'll probably say 'no' and give you something else. This is part of an initiative to put a stop to harmful infections becoming resistant to these drugs.

Recent figures from the NHS have shown that the number of prescriptions for all types of antibiotics were down by 7.3% on the previous year to about 34 million in 2015 and 2016, which is considered a success by the authorities.

Peter Taylor, Professor of Microbiology, UCL School of Pharmacy, says that antibiotics are probably "the safest and most effective drugs ever produced, but they have an Achilles heel - every time we use an antibiotic it alters the levels of bacteria out there in the environment and engenders resistance in a way that is very similar to Darwinian natural selection".

The power of these substances was discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928 almost by chance. The Scottish bacteriologist returned to his laboratory after a holiday to find a bacteria-free circle around a growth of mould on a Petri dish. It gave us our first antibiotic: penicillin.

The availability of these drugs revolutionised the treatment of infections. In the past STIs spread by bacteria were often incurable and deadly. Today all it takes to treat them is a trip to the clinic and a course of antibiotics. Childbirth was very dangerous and routinely ended in death for both mother and baby. Now the risk of a woman dying in England and Wales during labour is between 40 and 50 times lower than 60 years ago.

Bacteria will continue to evolve to seek survival and we have to up our game. There hasn't been a new class of antibiotics since the 1980s and pharmaceutical companies are looking into a wide-range of alternatives – from compound from insects to nanotechnology - to develop new weapons in the continuous war against superbugs.

詞匯表

infection  感染
GP (general practitioner)  全科醫生，普通醫師
antibiotics  抗生素
NHS (National Health Service)  全民醫療服務制度
prescription  處方，藥方
microbiology  微生物學
pharmacy  藥店，（此處指）藥劑學
Achilles heel  致命弱點，致命傷
Darwinian natural selection  達爾文的自然選擇（學說）
bacteriologist  細菌學家
mould  霉，霉菌
Petri dish  皮氏培養皿
penicillin  盤尼西林，青霉素
STI (sexually-transmitted infections)  性傳播疾病
incurable  無法治愈的
labour  分娩
pharmaceutical  制藥的
nanotechnology  納米技術
superbug  超級病菌

測驗與練習

1.  閱讀課文并回答問題。

1. Why won't doctors give you antibiotics if your illness is not very serious?

2. How does Professor Peter Taylor describe the weakness in antibiotics?

3. True or false? Alexander Fleming expected the fungus to kill bacteria when he returned to his laboratory.

4. How much safer has childbirth become in the last few decades?

5. Which two words in the text include prefixes meaning "very small"?

2.  請你在不參考課文的情況下完成下列練習。選擇一個意思合適的單詞填入句子的空格處 。

1. My brother is going to university. He wants to study __________. 

bacteriologist      pharmaceutical      pharmacy      a course of antibiotics

2. I've got a bad rash on my elbow. The doctor will give me a __________ for a very effective ointment.

antibiotic      Petri dish      mould      prescription

3. In the past it was very difficult to cure __________.

childbirth      penicillin      STIs      labour

4. The doctor told me he has to operate on me tomorrow. That's the only way to treat my illness - there's no __________.

availability      Achilles heel      resistance      alternative

5. Mark spent his first year at university partying and having fun. If he wants to get a diploma he has to __________ and study more.

up his game      be my game      game up      win the game

答案

1.  閱讀課文并回答問題。

1. Why won't doctors give you antibiotics if your illness is not very serious?
Because the constant use of antibiotics make bacteria develop a resistance to them.

2. How does Professor Peter Taylor describe the weakness in antibiotics?
He says they have an "Achilles heel".

3. True or false? Alexander Fleming expected the fungus to kill bacteria when he returned to his laboratory.
False. He discovered the bacteria-killing power of the fungus by chance.

4. How much safer has childbirth become in the last few decades?
The risk of a woman dying in England and Wales during childbirth is between 40 and 50 times lower than 60 years ago.

5.Which two words in the text include prefixes meaning "very small"?
MICRObiologist, NANOtechnology.

2.  請你在不參考課文的情況下完成下列練習。選擇一個意思合適的單詞填入句子的空格處 。

1. My brother is going to university. He wants to study pharmacy.

2. I've got a bad rash on my elbow. The doctor will give me a prescription for a very effective ointment.

3. In the past it was very difficult to cure STIs.

4. The doctor told me he has to operate on me tomorrow. That's the only way to treat my illness - there's no alternative.

5. Mark spent his first year at university partying and having fun. If he wants to get a diploma he has to up his game and study more.