The father of sugar pills saved millions of children

题材 体裁 文章词数 难度 建议用时医学技术 记叙文 336 ★★★ 6 分钟

难词探意

1. the oral polio vaccine 口服脊髓灰质炎疫苗

2. polio /΄pəʊliəʊ/ n. 小儿麻痹症

3. paralysis /pə΄ræləsɪs/ n. 麻痹；瘫痪

4. appall /ə΄pɑːl/ v. 使震惊

5. casualty /΄kæʒuəlti/ n. （事故或战争中的）伤亡人员

6. certify /΄sзːtɪfaɪ/ v. 证明；证实

7. terminator /΄tзːmɪˌneɪtə/ n. 终结者

He was regarded as “the father of sugar pills” in China forthe oral polio vaccinehe developed, which saved millions of children from cripplingparalysisfrom 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,Gu's family faced a difficult time with the sudden death of his father.

Overcoming bad conditions, he secured admission to the Peking University's medical department in 1944. In 1955, a disastrous outbreak of polio in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu Province, paralyzed 1,680 people,mostly children in the age below seven.Appalledby massivecasualty, 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 Gu's 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, it's 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.

Gu's 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 China's confirmation report on polio eradication as a special representative.The WHOcertifiedChina “polio-free” the same year. Gu Fangzhou, known as China's polioterminator,passed away at 92 on January 2,2019.

Reading Check

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, Gu's team developed a sugar-coated pill that tasted good and was also easy to administer. In 2000, Gu,then 74, 6. _________China's confirmation report on polio eradication. Gu Fangzhou passed away at age 92 on January 2, 2019.

Language Study

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……”。

Cultural background

中国脊髓灰质炎疫苗之父——顾方舟

1951 年8 月至1955 年9 月，当时还是博士的顾方舟就读于苏联医学科学院病毒学研究所；1958 年7 月至1964 年8 月， 顾方舟任中国医学科学院病毒学研究所脊髓灰质炎研究室主任和副研究员；1964 年9 月至1971 年10 月，顾方舟任中国医学科学院医学生物学研究所副所长和副研究员；1985 年11 月至1993 年12 月，任中国医学科学院院长、中国协和医科大学校长和研究员。

2019 年9 月17 日，国家主席习近平签署主席令，授予顾方舟“人民科学家”国家荣誉称号。 12 月18 日，顾方舟入选“中国海归70 年70 人”榜单。 顾方舟对脊髓灰质炎的预防及控制的研究长达42 年，是中国组织培养口服活疫苗的开拓者之一，被称为“中国脊髓灰质炎疫苗之父”。