1. For most of the human history, people didn't know that viruses and bacteria exist, much less understand how these pathogens spread disease.

就人類歷史大部分而言，人們不知道有病毒和細(xì)菌存在，更不用說理解這些病原體是如何傳播疾病的。

2. In the 1800s, sanitary conditions in most cites were terrible. 

在19世紀(jì)，多數(shù)城市的衛(wèi)生條件非常糟糕。

3. Streets overflowed with the garbage that provided perfect homes for germs. 

街道上滿地的垃圾，為病菌提供了極好的滋生之地。

4. Food frequently contained bacteria that cause diseases like dysentery.

食物常常含有細(xì)菌，引起像痢疾之類的疾病。

5. Up until the late 1800s, even doctors had little comprehension of how diseases were transmitted.

直到19世紀(jì)后期前，甚至醫(yī)生也很少理解疾病是如何傳播的。

6. Many surgeons, for example, didn’t bother to wash their hand before an operation. 

例如，許多外科醫(yī)生在手術(shù)前不會(huì)費(fèi)心去洗手。

7. As a consequence, doctors who were supposed to cure their patients often infected them with deadly pathogens instead.

結(jié)果，那些本來是去治病救人的醫(yī)生，卻常常用致命的病菌感染了病人。

8. Today, doctors know more about how germs cause disease. They routinely wash their hands before and after examining their patients.

今天，醫(yī)生對(duì)病菌如何引起疾病了解更多了。他們養(yǎng)成習(xí)慣，在對(duì)病人檢查前后都洗手。

9. Most people also take simple common sense steps to avoid being infected with germs or infecting others. 

多數(shù)人也采取常識(shí)性的簡(jiǎn)單步驟，避免受到病菌感染或感染他人。

10. For example, they wash their hands before handling food or after using the bathroom and cover themselves when they sneeze or cough.

例如，他們?cè)谟|摸食品前或使用廁所后洗手，在打噴嚏或咳嗽時(shí)捂住自己。

11. And if they are sick, they try to stay away from other people, to whom they can pass germs. 

如果生病了，他們會(huì)盡量避開其他人，以免把病菌傳給他們。

12. But these precautions, while important, are not enough to totally protect us, no matter what we do, we are still surrounded by an environment full of pathogens.

但是，這些預(yù)防措施雖然重要，還不足以完全保護(hù)我們。不管我們做些什么，我們依然處在充斥病原體的環(huán)境中。

責(zé)任編輯：admin