中國網站品牌欄目（頻道）
英語學習論壇的“聽力練習區”正式與大家見面啦。歡迎大家來這里練習聽力，交流經驗，共同進步。
本練習區的音頻文件選自英語點津的“聽中國日報”、“VOA常速”、“流行金曲”及“名人演講”等欄目，題材豐富，難度各異，適合不同階段的英語學習者。
英語點津會定期發布音頻材料，大家可以在跟帖中貼出自己聽寫出的音頻文字稿。每個音頻材料的標準文字稿會在帖子發布兩天后公布。
This is the VOA Special English Development Report.
Snakes bite an estimated five and a half million people worldwide each year. Experts say tens of thousands of people die from venom poisoning.
An untreated or incorrectly treated bite might require the removal of a bitten foot, for example, or an arm. Each year around 400,000 amputations are the result of snakebites.
Last year, for the first time, the World Health Organization added snakebites to its list of "neglected tropical diseases." This recognition aims to bring greater attention to the problem.
Scientists know of about 3,000 kinds of snakes. About 600 of them are venomous. These are most often found in rural areas in tropical climates.
Asia and Africa have the highest number of snakebites -- together about four million a year. Latin America and islands in the South Pacific follow.
The highest number of victims are agricultural workers. Snakebites are also common among fishermen, hunters and children. Many victims live in areas with poor or non-existent health care systems and where antivenom treatments are often not available.
Antivenom is the only cure. But experts say antivenom technologies and their use need to be improved. Problems include a shortage of manufacturers and the high cost of treatment.
Also, there is a widespread lack of knowledge among local health workers about how to use antivenoms. The treatments can cause dangerous and even deadly reactions if not used carefully.
Antivenom contains proteins from animals such as horses or sheep. The animals are injected repeatedly with one or more different snake venoms to produce immunity.The Lancet medical journal recently published a series of reports on snakebite prevention and treatment. David Warrell at the University of Oxford in England co-wrote one of them. He praised efforts by the W.H.O. to establish common practices for the production, regulation and control of antivenom. But he says more must be done.
The authors say community education programs could help prevent snakebites by teaching people how to avoid them. They also suggest actions like providing protective boots to wear while working in fields, and not sleeping on the ground.
Also important is providing information about where dangerous snakes are most likely to live and when they are most active.
And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms. MP3s, transcripts and broadcasts of our reports are available at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Christopher Cruise.
（來源：VOA 編輯：陳丹妮）
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