关于降低死亡率的研究

今日清明，我们追忆往昔，更好前行。

🤔️小作业：

1. What was the primary outcome observed in countries implementing cash grant programs, according to the study?

A) Increase in national income

B) Decrease in crime rates

C) Reduction in deaths among women and young children

D) Improved educational outcomes

A) Fear of causing inflation

B) Concern about funds being spent on nonessential items

C) Worry that grants would discourage work

D) Anxiety over the potential increase in population

无注释原文：

How to Lower Deaths Among Women? Give Away Cash.

From: The New York Times, May 31, 2023

Cash grants made directly to poor families or individuals have led to fewer deaths among women and young children, according to a new analysis of more than 7 million people in 37 countries.

In countries that began making such payments, deaths among women fell by 20 percent, and deaths among children younger than 5 declined by 8 percent, researchers reported on Wednesday in the journal Nature. The impact was apparent within two years of the programs' start and grew over time.

The reductions in death rates were similar whether the funds came with certain conditions, such as school attendance, or whether they had no strings attached, the analysis found. Programs that covered bigger shares of the population or distributed larger amounts of cash produced even greater benefits.

Countries with poor health care and high death rates had the biggest drop in deaths.

In 2019, more than 8 percent of the world's population lived in extreme poverty, subsisting on less than $2.15 per day, and about half the world on less than $6.85 per day. Poverty has insidious effects on housing stability, education, health and life expectancy.

The pandemic drove 97 million additional people into extreme poverty in 2020, according to a World Bank estimate, prompting more countries to start cash transfer programs. Of 962 such programs worldwide, 672 were introduced during the pandemic.

The new study is the first to examine the effect of cash transfers on death rates worldwide, the researchers said. They collected information on these programs between 2000 to 2019 in 29 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, one in northern Africa, four in the Asia-Pacific region and three in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The data included information on more than 4 million adults and nearly 3 million children. Roughly 300,000 deaths were recorded during the study. Recipients received between 6 percent and 13 percent of the per capita income in a particular country, often much less than $100.

Donors often worry that beneficiaries may misuse the funds to buy alcohol, junk food or other nonessential items, but “the data just doesn't back that up,” said Audrey Pettifor, a social epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The findings suggest that cash transfers may be helpful not just to women, but to families and entire communities.

- ◆ -

注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为纽约时报官方译文，仅供参考

含注释全文：

How to Lower Deaths Among Women? Give Away Cash.

From: The New York Times, May 31, 2023

Cash grants made directly to poor families or individuals have led to fewer deaths among women and young children, according to a new analysis of more than 7 million people in 37 countries.

根据一项对37个国家超过700万人展开的研究，直接向贫困家庭或个人提供现金补助可以减少妇女和幼儿的死亡人数。

grant /ɡrɑːnt/ 作名词，浙大博士生和蜜橘商家的聊天记录火了文中，表示“（尤指政府为特殊目的给予个人或组织的）拨款，补助金”，英文解释为“an amount of money given especially by the government to a person or organization for a special purpose”如：a student/research grant 助学金/研究拨款，举个🌰：They'd got a special grant to encourage research 他们已得到了一笔用来支持研究的特别补助金。

作动词，表示“（通常指官方）同意，准予，授予”，英文解释为“to give or allow someone something, usually in an official way”举个🌰：They granted her an entry visa. 他们发给她入境签证。

In countries that began making such payments, deaths among women fell by 20 percent, and deaths among children younger than 5 declined by 8 percent, researchers reported on Wednesday in the journal Nature. The impact was apparent within two years of the programs' start and grew over time.

《自然》杂志发表的一篇报告显示，在开始支付此类费用的国家中，女性死亡率下降了20%，五岁以下儿童的死亡率下降了8%。这种影响在项目开始后的两年内就已经明显显现，并随着时间的推移而增加。

The reductions in death rates were similar whether the funds came with certain conditions, such as school attendance, or whether they had no strings attached, the analysis found. Programs that covered bigger shares of the population or distributed larger amounts of cash produced even greater benefits.

分析发现，无论资金是否附带某些条件（如要求小孩上学），死亡率的降低都很相似。覆盖更多人口或发放更多现金的项目得到的效果更好。

表示“（协议等的）附加条件，限制条款”，英文解释为“If something such as an agreement has strings attached, it involves special demands or limits.”举个🌰：Most of these so-called special offers come with strings attached. 这些所谓的特价品大都带有附加条件。

Countries with poor health care and high death rates had the biggest drop in deaths.

卫生保健条件差、死亡率高的国家死亡人数下降最多。

In 2019, more than 8 percent of the world's population lived in extreme poverty, subsisting on less than $2.15 per day, and about half the world on less than $6.85 per day. Poverty has insidious effects on housing stability, education, health and life expectancy.

2019年，全球超过8%的人口生活在极端贫困中，每天的生活费不到2.15美元，全球大约一半的人口每天的生活费不到6.85美元。贫困对住房的稳定性、教育、健康和预期寿命都有潜在影响。

subsist /səbˈsɪst/ 表示“维持生计；勉强生存”，英文解释为“to get enough food or money to stay alive, but no more”举个🌰：The prisoners were subsisting on a diet of bread and water. 犯人们靠面包和水勉强度日。

insidious /ɪnˈsɪdɪəs/ 表示“潜伏的；隐袭的；隐伏的；暗中为害的”，英文解释为“spreading gradually or without being noticed, but causing serious harm”举个🌰：The changes are insidious, and will not produce a noticeable effect for 15 to 20 years. 变化是悄然发生的，15到20年间不会产生明显效果。

🎬电影《灵书妙探》（Castle）中的台词提到：within the vast and insidious conspiracy behind all this, 其背后巨大狡猾的阴谋中。

life expectancy表示“（尤指人的）预期寿命”，英文解释为“the length of time that a living thing, especially a human being, is likely to live”举个🌰：Life expectancy in Europe increased greatly in the 20th century. 欧洲人的预期寿命在20世纪大幅增长。

The pandemic drove 97 million additional people into extreme poverty in 2020, according to a World Bank estimate, prompting more countries to start cash transfer programs. Of 962 such programs worldwide, 672 were introduced during the pandemic.

据世界银行估计，2020年，新冠疫情使全球9700万人陷入极端贫困，促使更多国家启动现金发放计划。在全球962个此类项目中，有672个是在大流行期间推出的。

韦氏词典2020年度词汇：Pandemic. pandemic /pænˈdem.ɪk/ 1）作名词，表示“（全国或全球性）流行病；大流行病”，英文解释为“a disease that spreads over a whole country or the whole world”；

2）作形容词，表示“（疾病）大规模流行的，广泛蔓延的”，英文解释为“(of a disease) existing in almost all of an area or in almost all of a group of people, animals, or plants”举个🌰：In some parts of the world malaria is still pandemic. 在世界上一些地区疟疾仍在大规模流行。

对比：

📍epidemic表示“流行病”，英文解释为“a large number of cases of a particular disease happening at the same time in a particular community”，如：the outbreak of a flu epidemic 流感的爆发。

prompt /prɒmpt/ 作名词，1）表示“（计算机屏幕上的）提示符（显示计算机已经准备好接受指令）”，英文解释为“a sign on a computer screen that shows that the computer is ready to receive your instructions”

📍在ChatGPT火热的今天，prompt通常指的是给模型的输入，用来激发或引导模型生成特定的输出或回答。简而言之，prompt是指用户提供给语言模型的一段文字或命令，以便模型据此理解用户的需求并给出相应的响应或信息。例如，在与像ChatGPT这样的大语言模型交互时，用户提出的问题或指令就是一个“prompt”。模型会根据这个prompt的内容分析、处理并生成回答或执行相关的任务。Prompt对于大语言模型来说是非常关键的，因为它直接决定了模型如何理解和回应用户的需求。

📍prompt中文里有译为“提示词”，prompt engineering 就是“提示工程/提示词工程”。

2）表示“（给演员的）提词，提白”，英文解释为“words that are spoken to an actor who has forgotten what he or she is going to say during the performance of a play”

3）作动词，表示“促使；导致；激起”，英文解释为“to make sb decide to do sth; to cause sth to happen”举个🌰：His speech prompted an angry outburst from a man in the crowd. 他的讲话激起了人群中一男子的愤怒。

📺美剧《斯巴达克斯：血与沙》（Spartacus: Blood and Sand）中的台词提到：One cannot but wonder what would prompt such an act 不知他们为何遭此不幸。

4）作动词，表示“（尤指）给（演员）提词”，英文解释为“to help someone, especially an actor, to remember what they were going to say or do”举个🌰：I forgot my line and had to be prompted. 我忘词了，只好让人提词。

The new study is the first to examine the effect of cash transfers on death rates worldwide, the researchers said. They collected information on these programs between 2000 to 2019 in 29 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, one in northern Africa, four in the Asia-Pacific region and three in Latin America and the Caribbean.

研究人员表示，这项新研究首次检验了发放现金对全球死亡率的影响。他们在2000年至2019年间收集了29个撒哈拉以南非洲国家、一个北非国家、四个亚太地区国家及三个拉丁美洲和加勒比地区国家的此类项目的信息。

Caribbean /ˌkær.ɪˈbiː.ən/ 表示“加勒比海地区的；加勒比海地区人的”，英文解释为“belonging to or relating to Caribbean islands and countries, or their people”如：Caribbean food 加勒比海食物。

The data included information on more than 4 million adults and nearly 3 million children. Roughly 300,000 deaths were recorded during the study. Recipients received between 6 percent and 13 percent of the per capita income in a particular country, often much less than $100.

他们共录得超过400万成年人和近300万儿童的信息，研究期间有大约30万人死亡。受助人会获得特定国家人均收入6%到13%的现金，通常远低于100美元。

recipient /rɪˈsɪp.i.ənt/ 表示“接受者；领受者；承受者”，英文解释为“a person who receives something”举个🌰：He was a recipient of the Civilian Service Award. 他被授予平民服务奖章。

per capita /pə ˈkæp.ɪ.tə/ 表示“人均（地）”，英文解释为“If you express an amount per capita, you mean that amount for each person.”举个🌰：France and Germany invest far more per capita in public transport than Britain. 法国和德国在公共交通上的人均投入远高于英国。

Donors often worry that beneficiaries may misuse the funds to buy alcohol, junk food or other nonessential items, but “the data just doesn't back that up,” said Audrey Pettifor, a social epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

捐赠者经常担心受助人可能会滥用资金购买酒精、垃圾食品或其他非必需品，但“数据并没有证明这一点”，北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校的社会流行病学家奥黛丽·佩蒂弗说。

beneficiary /ˌben.əˈfɪʃ.ər.i/ 表示“受益人”，英文解释为“a person or group who receives money, advantages, etc. as a result of something else”举个🌰：Her wife was the chief beneficiary of her will. 她丈夫是她的遗嘱的主要受益人。

junk food /ˈdʒʌŋk ˌfuːd/ 表示“垃圾食品”，英文解释为“food that is unhealthy but is quick and easy to eat”

nonessential /ˌnɒnɪˈsɛnʃəl/ 表示“非必要的”，英文解释为“Nonessential means not absolutely necessary.”

epidemiologist /ˌepɪˌdiːmiˈɑːlədʒɪst/ 表示“流行病学家”，英文解释为“Epidemiologists are scientists who study diseases within populations of people. In essence, these public health professionals analyze what causes disease outbreaks in order to treat existing diseases and prevent future outbreaks.”

The findings suggest that cash transfers may be helpful not just to women, but to families and entire communities.

此外，研究结果表明，现金发放可能不仅对女性有帮助，对家庭和整个社区都有帮助。

- 词汇盘点 -

- 词汇助记 By ChatGPT -

LearnAndRecord

2015年2月8日

2024年4月4日

第3344天

每天持续行动学外语