美科学家称武汉绝不是新冠病毒源头
今天，@央视新闻 的一则题为「美科学家称武汉绝不是新冠病毒源头」的消息引发广泛关注。
我们首先来看看这则消息中援引的美国广播公司（ABC）的报道。
无注释原文：
Sorry, conspiracy theorists. Study concludes COVID-19 'is not a laboratory construct'
ABC NEWS
Conspiracy theories claiming COVID-19 was engineered in a lab as part of a biological attack on the United States have been gaining traction online in recent weeks, but a new study on the origins of the virus has concluded that the pandemic-causing strain developed naturally.
An analysis of the evidence, according to the findings first published in the scientific journal Nature Medicine, shows that the novel coronavirus "is not a laboratory construct or a purposefully manipulated virus," with the researchers concluding "we do not believe that any type of laboratory-based scenario is plausible."
"There’s a lot of speculation and conspiracy theories that went to a pretty high level," Dr. Robert Garry, a professor at the Tulane University School of Medicine and one of the authors of the study, told ABC News, "so we felt it was important to get a team together to examine evidence of this new coronavirus to determine what we could about the origin."
Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, supported the study’s findings, writing on his blog, "This study leaves little room to refute a natural origin for COVID-19."
Researchers concluded that the novel coronavirus is not a human creation because it does not share any "previously used virus backbone." It likely arose, the study said, from a recombination of a virus found in bats and another virus, possibly originating from pangolins, otherwise known as scaly anteaters.
COVID-19 is 96% identical to a coronavirus found in bats, researchers said, but with a certain variation that could explain what has made it so infectious.
"We know from the study of other coronaviruses that they’re able to acquire this [variation] and they can then become more pathogenic," Garry told ABC News. "This is a good explanation as to why this virus is so transmittable and has caused this pandemic."
The mutation in surface proteins, according to Garry, could have triggered the outbreak of the pandemic, but it’s also possible that a less severe version of the illness was circulating through the population for years, perhaps even decades, before escalating to this point.
"We don’t know if those mutations were picked up more recently or a long time ago," Garry told ABC News. "It’s impossible to say if it actually was a mutation that triggered the pandemic, but either way, it would have been a naturally occurring process."
And while many believe the virus originated at a fish market in Wuhan, China, Garry said that is also a misconception.
"Our analyses, and others too, point to an earlier origin than that," Garry said. "There were definitely cases there, but that wasn’t the origin of the virus."
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Understanding the virus
含注释全文：
Sorry, conspiracy theorists. Study concludes COVID-19 'is not a laboratory construct'
ABCNEWS
Conspiracy theories claiming COVID-19 was engineered in a lab as part of a biological attack on the United States have been gaining traction online in recent weeks, but a new study on the origins of the virus has concluded that the pandemic-causing strain developed naturally.
conspiracy
表示“合谋；密谋策划；阴谋”，英文解释为“Conspiracy is secret planning by a group of people to do something illegal.”举个🌰：
Seven men, all from France, admitted conspiracy to commit arson.
全都来自于法国的七名男子承认了合谋纵火。
conspiracy theories 阴谋论
traction
1）原意表示“牵引；拖拉；牵引力；拉力”，英文解释为“the action of pulling sth along a surface; the power that is used for doing this”；
2）表示“（观点或产品等）变得流行（或被接受）”，英文解释为“the fact of an idea, product, etc. becoming popular or being accepted”举个🌰：
In our digital age, it takes less time for new words and phrases to gain traction than it did in the past.
在当前数码时代，新词或词组流行起来要过去快得多。
类似的还有一个出镜率更高的go viral，go viral字面意思就是“像病毒一样传播、扩散”，引申为表示“走红，十分流行，疯狂传播”，比如朋友圈xxx刷屏了，也可以说go viral，英文解释为“to become very popular very quickly”。
strain
1）表示“（动植物的）品系，株系，品种”，英文解释为“an animal or plant from a particular group whose characteristics are different in some way from others of the same group”举个🌰：
Scientists have discovered a new strain of the virus which is much more dangerous.
科学家们已经发现了一种危险得多的新病毒。
2）表示“压力；重负；重压之下出现的问题（或担忧等）”，英文解释为“pressure on sb/sth because they have too much to do or manage, or sth very difficult to deal with; the problems, worry or anxiety that this produces”举个🌰：
Their marriage is under great strain at the moment.
眼下他们的婚姻关系非常紧张。
3）表示“压力；拉力；张力；应力”，英文解释为“the pressure that is put on sth when a physical force stretches, pushes, or pulls it”举个🌰：
The hurricane put such a strain on the bridge that it collapsed.
在飓风强大的作用力下，桥塌了。
An analysis of the evidence, according to the findings first published in the scientific journal Nature Medicine, shows that the novel coronavirus "is not a laboratory construct or a purposefully manipulated virus," with the researchers concluding "we do not believe that any type of laboratory-based scenario is plausible."
根据科学杂志《自然医学》发表的证据分析表明，新冠病毒“不是在实验室中构建的，也不是有目的性的人为操控的病毒”。（央视新闻）
scenario
前几天刚在安倍提议东京奥运会延期一年！一文中出现过，scenario /sɪˈnɑːrɪˌəʊ/表示“设想；可能的情况”，英文解释为“If you talk about a likely or possible scenario, you are talking about the way in which a situation may develop.”举个🌰：
There are several possible scenarios.
有几种可能出现的局面。
"There’s a lot of speculation and conspiracy theories that went to a pretty high level," Dr. Robert Garry, a professor at the Tulane University School of Medicine and one of the authors of the study, told ABC News, "so we felt it was important to get a team together to examine evidence of this new coronavirus to determine what we could about the origin."
作为论文的作者之一，杜兰大学医学院教授罗伯特·加里认为，目前阴谋论在网络上风行，非常有必要利用整个团队的力量来探究这种新型冠状病毒的起源。（央视新闻）
Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, supported the study’s findings, writing on his blog, "This study leaves little room to refute a natural origin for COVID-19."
refute
1）表示“驳斥；批驳”，英文解释为“to prove that sth is wrong”，如： to refute an argument/a theory 驳斥一个论点/理论；
2）表示“反驳；否认”，英文解释为“to say that sth is not true or fair”，举个🌰：
She refutes any suggestion that she behaved unprofessionally.
谁要是表示她不在行，她都予以反驳。
Researchers concluded that the novel coronavirus is not a human creation because it does not share any "previously used virus backbone." It likely arose, the study said, from a recombination of a virus found in bats and another virus, possibly originating from pangolins, otherwise known as scaly anteaters.
研究人员发现，新冠病毒并不具有“之前使用的病毒主干结构”，因此并非人类创造，可能是一种在蝙蝠体内发现的病毒和另一种穿山甲携带的病毒结合发展而成。（央视新闻）
backbone
1）表示“支柱；骨干；基础”，英文解释为“the most important part of a system, an organization, etc. that gives it support and strength”举个🌰：
Agriculture forms the backbone of the rural economy.
农业是农村经济的基础。
2）表示“脊梁骨；脊柱”，英文解释为“the row of small bones that are connected together down the middle of the back”；
3）表示“毅力；骨气”，英文解释为“the strength of character that you need to do sth difficult”，举个🌰：
He doesn't have the backbone to face the truth.
他没有面对现实的勇气。
bat 蝙蝠
pangolin = scaly anteater 穿山甲
COVID-19 is 96% identical to a coronavirus found in bats, researchers said, but with a certain variation that could explain what has made it so infectious.
新冠病毒与在蝙蝠中发现的冠状病毒有96％的类似性，正是4%的变异解释了为何它有如此高的传染性。（央视新闻）
"We know from the study of other coronaviruses that they’re able to acquire this [variation] and they can then become more pathogenic," Garry told ABC News. "This is a good explanation as to why this virus is so transmittable and has caused this pandemic."
加里说：“我们从对其他冠状病毒的研究中得知，病毒能够获得这种变异，然后它们会变得更具致病性。这很好地解释了为什么这种病毒如此容易传播并导致了目前的大流行。（央视新闻）
pathogenic
表示“发病的；病原的：致病的”，英文解释为“A pathogenic organism can cause disease in a person, animal, or plant.”
The mutation in surface proteins, according to Garry, could have triggered the outbreak of the pandemic, but it’s also possible that a less severe version of the illness was circulating through the population for years, perhaps even decades, before escalating to this point.
mutation
表示“（生物物种的）变异，突变”，英文解释为“a process in which the genetic material of a person, a plant or an animal changes in structure when it is passed on to children, etc., causing different physical characteristics to develop; a change of this kind”。
"We don’t know if those mutations were picked up more recently or a long time ago," Garry told ABC News. "It’s impossible to say if it actually was a mutation that triggered the pandemic, but either way, it would have been a naturally occurring process."
And while many believe the virus originated at a fish market in Wuhan, China, Garry said that is also a misconception. "Our analyses, and others too, point to an earlier origin than that," Garry said. "There were definitely cases there, but that wasn’t the origin of the virus."
加里在接受美国广播公司（ABC）采访时表示，尽管许多人认为该病毒起源于中国武汉的一个海鲜市场，但这是一个错误观点。 “我们的分析以及其他一些分析都指向了比那更早的起源。武汉那里肯定有一些病例，但绝不是该病毒的源头。”（央视新闻）
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