抗生素是一项伟大的发明，它帮助人类控制住了很多传染病。但是近几十年来，抗生素的滥用越来越严重，这是个很大的问题。
The huge antibiotic problem
by Sara Chodosh
A new study in the British Medical Journal estimates that roughly one in four antibiotic prescriptions in the U.S. are unnecessary – and that's being conservative.
medical /ˈmedɪk(ə)l/ adj. 医疗的
journal /ˈdʒɜːn(ə)l/ n. 期刊
estimate /ˈestɪmeɪt/ v. 估计、估算
roughly /ˈrʌfli/ adv. 大约
antibiotic /ˌæntibaɪˈɒtɪk/ n. 抗生素、抗菌素
prescription /prɪˈskrɪpʃ(ə)n/ n. 处方
unnecessary /ʌnˈnesəseri/ adj. 不必要的、不需要的（由necessary加上表示否定的前缀un-）
conservative /kənˈsɜːvətɪv/ adj. 保守的
To figure this out, researchers dug into health insurance claims data to see what kinds of diagnoses patients were prescribed antibiotics for. Some illnesses – like streptococcal（链球菌的） tonsillitis（扁桃体炎） and bacterial pneumonia（肺炎） – they determined would pretty much always require an antibiotic prescription. Other ailments don't always merit them, though. Inflamed sinuses（鼻窦） and lower respiratory tract infections are just a few of those deemed to only sometimes require antibiotics.
figure /ˈfɪɡə(r)/ out 弄清、查明
researcher /rɪˈsɜːtʃə(r)/ n. 研究者（由research加上表示人的后缀-er）
insurance /ɪnˈʃʊər(ə)ns/ n. 保险
claim /kleɪm/ n. 索赔
data /ˈdeɪtə/ n. 数据
diagnosis /ˌdaɪəɡˈnəʊsɪs/ n. 诊断（diagnoses是复数）
prescribe /prɪˈskraɪb/ v. 开处方
bacterial /bækˈtɪəriəl/ adj. 细菌性的
determine /dɪˈtɜːmɪn/ v. 确定
pretty much 基本上
ailment /ˈeɪlmənt/ n. 疾病
merit /ˈmerɪt/ v. 值得
inflamed /ɪnˈfleɪmd/ adj. 发炎的、红肿的
lower /ˈləʊə(r)/ adj. 下方的、下部的
respiratory /rɪˈspɪrət(ə)ri/ tract /trækt/ 呼吸道
infection /ɪnˈfekʃ(ə)n/ n. 感染
deem /diːm/ v. 视为、看做
Finally, there was the never category – those diagnoses that shouldn't ever be associated with an antibiotic prescription. Upper respiratory tract infections and asthma（哮喘） were all in this last group. They note in the study that they erred on the side of assuming a prescription might be necessary such that their estimate would be conservative.
category /ˈkætəɡ(ə)ri/ n. 种类、类别
associate /əˈsəʊʃɪeɪt/ v. 联系、关联
upper /ˈʌpə(r)/ adj. 上方的、上部的
err /ɜː(r)/ v. 犯错（err on the side of意思是“宁可错在…方面”）
assume /əˈsjuːm/ v. 假设、假定
such that 到了这样的程度以至于
estimate /ˈestɪmət/ n. 估计、估算（注意它做名词和做动词时发音不同）
Of the 15,455,834 total antibiotic prescriptions they looked at, 23.2 percent were for illnesses in the never-needed category, making the prescriptions themselves inappropriate. A full 35.5 percent more were deemed potentially appropriate, being for diseases that might feasibly require an antibiotic. Only 12.8 percent were for ailments that always need one. Perhaps most horrifyingly, 28.5 percent of the prescriptions weren't associated with any recent diagnosis.
inappropriate /ˌɪnəˈprəʊpriət/ adj. 不合适的、不恰当的（由appropriate加上表示否定的前缀in-）
potentially /pəˈtenʃ(ə)li/ adv. 潜在地、可能地（由potential加后缀-ly变成副词）
appropriate /əˈprəʊpriət/ adj. 合适的、恰当的
feasibly /ˈfiːzəbli/ adv. 切实可行地
horrifyingly /ˈhɒrɪfaɪɪŋli/ adv. 令人恐惧地、令人震惊地
The actual number of extraneous（没有直接关系的） prescriptions might be much higher. For example, the authors point out in the study that 34 percent of those were for sinusitis（鼻窦炎）, which has a high rate of unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions.
rate /reɪt/ n. 率、比率
The question of why doctors over-prescribe antibiotics is a much more complex issue. A 2014 study found that over half of physicians surveyed felt pressure from their patients to give them antibiotics. Another piece of research from 2014 found that prescription rates increased throughout the day, suggesting that decision fatigue might also be contributing to the problem.
over- 前缀，表示过度
complex /ˈkɒmpleks/ adj. 复杂的
physician /fɪˈzɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 内科医生
survey /səˈveɪ/ v. 问卷调查
pressure /ˈpreʃə(r)/ n. 压力
throughout /θruːˈaʊt/ prep. 从…的开始到结束
suggest /səˈdʒest/ v. 表明
fatigue /fəˈtiːɡ/ n. 疲劳
contribute /kənˈtrɪbjuːt/ v. 做贡献（contribute to something意思是“是某事的原因之一”）
A 2003 survey found that it may be an issue of caution. Doctors often prescribed antibiotics for particularly nasty sore throats – knowing full well that viruses, which antibiotics can't kill, cause most sore throats – and said they were hoping to avoid complications later on.
survey /ˈsɜːveɪ/ n. 问卷调查（注意它做名词和做动词时发音不同）
caution /ˈkɔːʃ(ə)n/ n. 小心、谨慎
particularly /pəˈtɪkjuləli/ adv. 特别地、格外地
nasty /ˈnɑːsti/ adj. 糟糕的、令人不快的
sore /sɔː(r)/ adj. 疼痛的
know full well 非常清楚、心知肚明
virus /ˈvaɪərəs/ n. 病毒
cause /kɔːz/ v. 造成
complication /ˌkɒmplɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 并发症
later on 以后、过后
But sometimes physicians also just don't realize they may be part of the problem. One 2011 study that surveyed physicians found that although 94 percent of senior doctors said antibiotics are overused nationally and 63 percent said that other doctors over-prescribed, only 10 percent thought that they themselves were over-prescribers.
senior /ˈsiːniə(r)/ adj. 资深的、高级别的
overuse /ˌəʊvəˈjuːz/ v. 过度使用（由use加上表示过度的前缀over-）
nationally /ˈnæʃ(ə)n(ə)li/ adv. 全国范围地（由national加后缀-ly变成副词）
over-prescriber /ˌəʊvəprɪˈskraɪbə(r)/ n. 过度开药者（由over-prescribe加上表示人的后缀-er）
None of these are the definitive answer to why and how we've ended up with such a massive antibiotic problem, but the authors hope this new methodology they've come up with will help other researchers identify ways to solve it.★
definitive /dɪˈfɪnɪtɪv/ adj. 决定性的
end up 以…而告终
massive /ˈmæsɪv/ adj. 巨大的（由mass加后缀-ive变成形容词）
methodology /ˌmeθəˈdɒlədʒi/ n. 研究方法
come up with 想出、提出
identify /aɪˈdentɪfaɪ/ v. 识别、辨认出
★ 这句话里they've come up with是省略了引导词的定语从句，修饰之前的methodology
（如果您使用的是火狐浏览器，可能会发现某些行的最后一个单词被分成两半了，这是简书系统的Bug，换成Chrome或其他浏览器就能正常显示了。）
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