2014英语四级听力练习慢速4.1(2)_大学英语听力

2014英语四级听力练习慢速4.1(2)

　　From Learning English, this is Science in the News.

　　Im Anna Matteo.

　　And Im Christopher Cruise.

　　Today we will tell about malaria and efforts to defeat it.

　　Scientists say progress in medical research could reduce the number and severity of malaria cases worldwide. The World Health Organization reported recently that there has been great progress in the fight against the disease.

　　World Malaria Day

　　Many countries are organizing activities in honor of World Malaria Day this Monday, April 7th. The events will call attention to malaria and international efforts against it. The World Health Organization reports there were about 207 million cases of the disease and an estimated 627,000 malaria deaths in . Most deaths were among children living in Africa. The WHO says a child there dies every minute from the disease.

　　Most cases of malaria are in African countries, south of one of the worlds biggest deserts -- The Sahara. Malaria also is a health threat to people living in parts of Asia, Central and South America, the Middle East, and southeastern Europe. People from malaria-free countries who visit areas with high rates of malaria are also very much at risk. This is because their bodies have little or no resistance to the disease.

　　The cause of malaria is a parasite called plasmodium. Mosquitoes infected with plasmodium spread the disease to human beings through mosquito bites. The parasites reproduce in the human liver, and then infect red blood cells. After they enter the blood cells, they reproduce again. As they do this, they destroy the cells.