VOA常速英语2017--:药物过量成美国人意外死亡的罪魁祸首

The United States is in the midst of its most severe drug epidemic 1 since the 1980s. Today, more people are dying from drug overdoses than from gun homicides and motor vehicles combined, said President Donald Trump 2:

美国正面临着自20世纪80年代以来最严重的药物泛滥问题。如今，死于药物过量的人数要多于死于因枪击死亡和车祸死亡的人数总和，特朗普总统如是说道。

Last year, we lost at least 64,000 Americans to overdoses. That's 175 lost American lives per day. That's seven lost lives per hour in our country. Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of unintentional death in the United States by far.

去年，有至少6.4万美国民众死于药物过量，也就是说平均每天有175条人命、每小时有7条人命死于这个原因。药物过量如今已经成为美国意外死亡的罪魁祸首。

Ending the epidemic will require mobilization of government, local communities, and private organizations. It will require the resolve of our entire country, said President Trump.

扼制这种泛滥的趋势需要动员政府、当地各社群以及民间组织，还需要我们整个国家的决心，特朗普如是说道。

The U.S. Department of State plays a key role in this effort. That's because the crisis is fueled by heroin 3 and synthetic 4 opioids that were produced overseas, while transnational criminal organizations move this deadly product into the United States. For these reasons, the national strategy to respond to this crisis must include an international component 5, said Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics 6 and Law Enforcement Affairs, Jim Walsh.

美国国务院在这方面的工作中发挥着重要作用，这是因为药物过量的危机是由海外生产的海洛因和合成阿片类药物加剧的，很多跨国犯罪组织将这种致命药物带进了美国境内。由于上述原因，我们国家应对药物过量危机的策略必须也要包括国际社会的努力，负责国际麻醉品和执法事务的代理助理国务卿吉姆 瓦什(Jim Walsh)如是说道。

Already, we are seeing some successes. At the request of the United States, the United Nations recently placed two chemicals used to make the drug fentanyl on an international list of controlled substances.

我们已经见到一些进展了。应美国的要求，联合国最近将两类用来制作芬太尼的化学药物列入了国际受控物质的清单中。

Since 2015, due in part to U.S. requests, China has taken unprecedented 8 action, controlling 138 narcotic 7 substances.

自2015年以来，在美国要求的部分影响之下，中国史无前例地采取了行动，控制了138种麻醉药物。

The State Department is also using foreign assistance to strengthen Mexico's capacity to interdict 9 illegal drugs. This helps improve security along our shared border against the cross-border distribution of heroin and synthetic drugs.

国务院还将利用境外援助来加强墨西哥禁止非法药物的能力，这将助力提升我们两国共同边境上的安全，避免跨境散播海洛因和合成药物的情况发生。

These efforts, along with a slew 10 of new tools developed by the International Narcotics And Law Enforcement Bureau, which address addiction 11 and demand for drugs, will also help address the opioid crisis domestically, said Deputy Assistant Secretary Walsh:

上述工作加之由国际麻醉品和执法事务局采用的一系列新工具（旨在解决毒品上瘾和毒品供应的问题）的利用，也将助力解决美国国内阿片类药物导致的危机，代理助理国务卿瓦什如是说道。

With over 64,000 Americans dead from overdoses in 2016, with drug traffickers taking advantage of new ways to move and sell their product, including through the dark web, and rogue 12 chemists developing assiduous new synthetic drugs at an alarming rate, we must constantly be adapting our approach in responding to new and deadly realities.

鉴于2016年有6.4万多美国民众死于药物过量、毒枭利用新方法传送售卖阿片类药物的情况（比如通过暗网）、包藏祸心的药剂师费尽心机以惊人的速度生产新的合成类药物的情况，我们必须持续不断地根据新的现实危险情况来调整我们的应对方法。

This challenge is a dire 13 one, said Deputy Assistant Secretary Walsh, and it will continue to be a top priority for the department.

代理助理国务卿瓦什表示，这是一个严峻的挑战，它依然将会在国务院首要解决的问题之列。