文本选自：The New York Times（纽约时报）
作者：Benjamin Mueller and Gina Kolata
原文标题：Covid Vaccine Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize
原文发布时间：2 Oct. 2023
Covid Vaccine Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize
Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, who together identified a chemical tweak to messenger RNA, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday. Their work enabled potent Covid vaccines to be made in less than a year, averting tens of millions of deaths and helping the world recover from the worst pandemic in a century. The approach to mRNA the two researchers developed has been used in Covid shots that have since been administered billions of times globally and has transformed vaccine technology, laying the foundation for inoculations that may one day protect against a number of deadly diseases like cancer.
The slow and methodical research that made the Covid shots possible has now run up against a powerful anti-vaccine movement, especially in the United States. Skeptics have seized in part on the vaccines' rapid development — among the most impressive feats of modern medical science — to undermine the public's trust in them. But the breakthroughs behind the shots unfolded little by little over decades, including at the University of Pennsylvania, where Dr. Weissman runs a lab.
Dr. Weissman said that he found out about the prize at 4 a. m. when Dr. Karikó texted him, asking if he had heard from Thomas yet. "No. Who's Thomas?" he replied. Dr. Kariko told him that Thomas Perlmann was from the Nobel committee. He was looking for Dr. Weissman's phone number.
新冠疫苗科学家荣获诺贝尔奖
精听党背景导读
北京时间10月2日晚，2023年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖揭晓，匈牙利裔科学家卡塔林.卡里科(Katalin Karikó) 与美国科学家德鲁.韦斯曼( Drew Weissman)荣获2023年度诺贝尔奖，此次奖金为1100万瑞典克朗（约合715万元人民币）。
文本选自：The New York Times（纽约时报）作者：Benjamin Mueller and Gina Kolata原文标题：Covid Vaccine Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize原文发布时间：2 Oct. 2023关键词：新冠 诺贝尔 mRNA
精听党带着问题听
1.“稍稍改进”用英语可以怎么表达？2. 如何理解段一中的“potent”？3. 这两位研发者有哪些成就？
精听党选段赏析
标题解读
Covid Vaccine Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize
新冠疫苗科学家荣获诺贝尔奖
Covid Vaccine 新冠疫苗；
award vt. 授予；奖励；
段一
Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, who together identified a chemical tweak to messenger RNA, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday. Their work enabled potent Covid vaccines to be made in less than a year, averting tens of millions of deaths and helping the world recover from the worst pandemic in a century. The approach to mRNA the two researchers developed has been used in Covid shots that have since been administered billions of times globally and has transformed vaccine technology, laying the foundation for inoculations that may one day protect against a number of deadly diseases like cancer.
identify vt. 识别；辨认；1. It's important to identify the main causes of the problem. 找出问题的主要原因是很重要的。
tweak n. 稍稍改进；扭，拧；微调，稍微调整；
messenger n. 信使；1. Messenger RNA plays a crucial role in protein synthesis. 信使RNA在蛋白质合成中起着关键作用。
Physiology n. 生理学；
enable vt. 使能够；使有机会；1. Education can enable individuals to pursue their dreams. 教育可以使个人追求自己的梦想。
potent adj. 有强效的；有力的；1. This medicine is known for its potent healing properties. 这种药以其有效的治疗功效而闻名。
avert vt. 防止，避免（危险、坏事）；1. They were able to avert a crisis by addressing the issue early. 他们及早解决了这个问题，从而避免了一场危机。
shot n. 注射；
administer vt. 施行；执行；1. The nurse will administer the medication to the patient. 护士将给病人服药。
lay the foundation 奠定基础；
inoculation n. 接种；1. Inoculations have greatly reduced the incidence of certain diseases. 接种疫苗大大降低了某些疾病的发病率。2. Children receive a series of inoculations to protect them from common illnesses. 孩子们接受一系列的疫苗接种，以保护他们免受常见疾病的侵害。
deadly adj. （可能）致命的，致死的；
参考译文
Katalin Karikó和Drew Weissman因共同识别出使信使RNA发生化学变化的方法，于周一被授予诺贝尔生理学或医学奖。他们的工作使得强效的新冠疫苗在不到一年的时间内被成功研制，从而预防了数千万人的死亡，帮助世界从一个世纪以来最严重的大流行中恢复过来。这两位研究者开发的mRNA技术已经在全球范围内被数十亿次用于新冠疫苗接种，并已改变疫苗技术，为可能有朝一日针对多种致命疾病（如癌症）的疫苗接种奠定了基础。
段二
The slow and methodical research that made the Covid shots possible has now run up against a powerful anti-vaccine movement, especially in the United States. Skeptics have seized in part on the vaccines' rapid development — among the most impressive feats of modern medical science — to undermine the public's trust in them. But the breakthroughs behind the shots unfolded little by little over decades, including at the University of Pennsylvania, where Dr. Weissman runs a lab.
methodical adj. 有条理的，做事有条不紊的；
run up against 面临；遭遇；
anti-vaccine movement 反疫苗运动；
skeptic n. 惯持怀疑态度的人；怀疑论者；1. The skeptic in the group raised doubts about the new scientific discovery. 组中的怀疑论者对这一新的科学发现提出了怀疑。
seize vi. 抓住；夺取；占领；1. The army managed to seize control of the city after days of fighting. 经过几天的战斗，军队终于控制了这座城市。
in part 在某种程度上；部分地；1. His success was due in part to his dedication and hard work. 他的成功在某种程度上归功于他的奉献和努力。
impressive adj. 令人印象深刻的；威风的；
feat n. 壮丽业绩；英勇事迹；1. Her athletic feats in the Olympics earned her several gold medals. 她在奥运会上的优异成绩为她赢得了几枚金牌。
undermine vt. 削弱；破坏；损害；1. The constant criticism began to undermine her confidence in her abilities. 不断的批评开始削弱她对自己能力的信心。
unfold vt. 展开；逐渐呈现；1. As the story unfolds, the mystery deepens, keeping readers engaged. 随着故事的展开，谜团加深，让读者着迷。2. The events of that day slowly unfolded before our eyes. 那一天的事件在我们眼前逐渐展开。
little by little 一点一点；逐渐地；1. She rebuilt her life little by little after the devastating loss. 在经历了毁灭性的损失后，她逐渐重建了自己的生活。
参考译文
使得新冠疫苗成为可能的缓慢且系统的研究现在面临着强大的反疫苗运动的挑战，尤其是在美国。怀疑者部分地依赖于疫苗的快速研发——这是现代医学科学最令人印象深刻的壮举之一——来削弱公众对它们的信任。但这些疫苗背后的突破是在几十年的时间里逐步展开的，包括在宾夕法尼亚大学，那里Dr. Weissman经营着一个实验室。
段三
Dr. Weissman said that he found out about the prize at 4 a.m. when Dr. Karikó texted him, asking if he had heard from Thomas yet. "No. Who's Thomas?" he replied. Dr. Kariko told him that Thomas Perlmann was from the Nobel committee. He was looking for Dr. Weissman's phone number.
text vt. (用手机) 给…发短信；
committee n. 委员会；
参考译文
Weissman博士说，他是在早上4点时从Karikó博士那里得知这个奖项的，当时Karikó发短信问他是否已经从Thomas那里得知消息了。他回答说：“没有。Thomas是谁？”Kariko博士告诉他，Thomas Perlmann是诺贝尔奖委员会的成员。他正在寻找Weissman博士的电话号码。
精听党每日单词
Covid Vaccine
新冠疫苗；
award
/əˈwɔːrd/ vt. 授予；奖励；
identify
/aɪˈdentɪfaɪ/ vt. 识别；辨认；
tweak
/twiːk/ n. 稍稍改进；扭，拧；微调，稍微调整；
messenger
/ˈmesɪndʒər/ n. 信使；
Physiology
/ˌfɪziˈɑːlədʒi/ n. 生理学；
enable
/ɪˈneɪb(ə)l/ vt. 使能够；使有机会；
potent
/ˈpoʊt(ə)nt/ adj. 有强效的；有力的；
avert
/əˈvɜːrt/ vt. 防止，避免（危险、坏事）；
shot
/ʃɑːt/ n. 注射；
administer
/ədˈmɪnɪstər/ vt. 施行；执行；
lay the foundation
奠定基础；
inoculation
/ɪˌnɑːkjuˈleɪʃn/ n. 接种；
deadly
/ˈdedli/ adj. （可能）致命的，致死的；
methodical
/məˈθɑːdɪkl/ adj. 有条理的，做事有条不紊的；
run up against
面临；遭遇；
anti-vaccine movement
反疫苗运动；
skeptic
/ˈskeptɪk/ n. 惯持怀疑态度的人；怀疑论者；
seize
/siːz/ vi. 抓住；夺取；占领；
in part
在某种程度上；部分地；
impressive
/ɪmˈpresɪv/ adj. 令人印象深刻的；威风的；
feat
/fiːt/ n. 壮丽业绩；英勇事迹；
undermine
/ˌʌndərˈmaɪn/ vt. 削弱；破坏；损害；
unfold
/ʌnˈfoʊld/ vt. 展开；逐渐呈现；
little by little
一点一点；逐渐地；
text
/tekst/ vt. (用手机) 给…发短信；
committee
/kəˈmɪti/ n. 委员会；
精听党文化拓展
60年代:发现mRNA
1961年法国生物学家弗朗索瓦·雅各布( François Jacob)和雅克·莫诺(Jacques Monod)在研究大肠杆菌时，首次实验性地证明了mRNA的存在。
70年代:使用脂质体包裹mRNA
科学家想利用mRNA分子达到治疗疾病的目的，但mRNA分子非常不稳定、容易被人体的核酸酶降解，无法将mRNA分子送到特定的靶细胞并产生需要的蛋白质。科学家发现基于脂质体的递送系统能够包裹mRNA分子，这样一来mRNA可以更好地更完整地进入到体细胞内，诱导出一定的免疫反应。
80年代初:人工合成mRNA
1984年，生物学家Paul Krieg和生物学家Douglas·Melton及分子生物学家Tom·Maniatis等人利用从病毒中提取的RNA合成酶等在实验室得到了具有生物活性的mRNA
90年代，证明mRNA可产生免疫反应
科学家 Jon Wolff的团队将体外合成的mRNA注射至小鼠骨骼肌内，通过检测发现其在细胞内可表达特定蛋白生成，产生免疫反应，这一发现震惊学术界。整个90年代，匈牙利裔科学家卡塔林.卡里科(Katalin Karikó) 一直在实验室辛勤工作，目标是将 mRNA 转化为药物。1997年他遇到了德鲁.魏斯曼( Drew Weissman)，两人开发了一种基于 mRNA 的 HIV/AIDS 疫苗，但 mRNA 注射到小鼠体内后，引发了大规模的炎症反应。
2005年:mRNA疫苗概念的提出
卡塔林.卡里科(Katalin Karikó) 和德鲁.魏斯曼( Drew Weissman)发表了一篇论文，介绍了如何通过修改mRNA分子，使其不再引起免疫系统的强烈反应，这为mRNA疫苗上市奠定了基础。
2010，mRNA疫苗展开临床研究
人们熟悉的mRNA三巨头CureVac、BioNtech、Moderna先后在这十年间成立，mRNA 疫苗相关的临床研究工作也相继展开，为mRNA 疫苗的成功铺平了道路。这三家公司还与世界老牌药企建立了合作关系，例如BioNtech与辉瑞宣布研发基于mRNA技术的流感疫苗。
精听党每日美句
"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work." - Steve Jobs
"你的工作将占据你生活的很大一部分，而真正满足的唯一方式就是做你认为伟大的工作。" - 史蒂夫·乔布斯