文本选自：The Economist（经济学人）
作者：Unknown
原文标题：New drugs could spell an end to the world’s obesity epidemic
原文发布时间：3 Mar. 2023
New drugs could spell an end to the world's obesity epidemic
A new type of drug is generating excitement among the rich and the beautiful. Just a jab a week, and the weight falls off. Elon Musk swears by it; influencers sing its praises on TikTok; suddenly slimmer Hollywood starlets deny they have taken it. But the latest weight-loss drugs are no mere cosmetic enhancements. Their biggest beneficiaries will be not celebrities in Los Angeles or Miami but billions of ordinary people around the world whose weight has made them unhealthy.
Treatments for weight loss have long ranged from the well-meaning and ineffective to the downright dodgy. The new class of drugs, called GLP-1 receptor agonists, seems actually to work. Semaglutide, developed by Novo Nordisk, a Danish pharmaceutical firm, has been shown in clinical trials to lead to weight loss of about 15%. It is already being sold under the brand name Wegovy in America, Denmark and Norway and will soon be available in other countries; Ozempic, a lower-dose version, is a diabetes drug that is also being used "off label" for weight loss.
A rival GLP-1 drug, made by Eli Lilly, an American firm, is due to come on sale later this year and is more effective still. Analysts think the market for GLP-1 drugs could reach $150bn by 2031, not far off the market for cancer drugs today. Some think they could become as common as beta blockers or statins. The drugs could not have arrived at a better time. In 2020 two-fifths of the world's population were overweight or obese.
新药物可能会终结全球肥胖流行
精听党背景导读
随着全球肥胖问题越来越严重，世界卫生组织将“肥胖症”确定为十大慢性疾病之一，防治肥胖成为国际性的重大事件。为此，世界卫生组织将每年的5月11日定为“世界防治肥胖日”。
2022年世界卫生组织欧洲区域肥胖报告显示，肥胖在欧洲已达到“流行病”比例——59%的成年人和约1/3的儿童（男孩占29%、女孩占27%）存在超重现象，甚至患有肥胖症。
文本选自：The Economist（经济学人）作者：Unknown原文标题：New drugs could spell an end to the world’s obesity epidemic原文发布时间：3 Mar. 2023关键词：肥胖 减肥药 GLP-1受体
精听党带着问题听
1. 如何理解标题中的“spell”？2.“一线希望”用英语可以怎么表达？3. 丹麦制药公司诺和诺德开发的索马鲁肽的疗效如何？
精听党选段赏析
标题解读
New drugs could spell an end to the world’s obesity epidemic
新药物可能会终结全球肥胖流行
spell vt. 意味着；1. to spell disaster (for sb.) （对某人来说）意味着灾难；2. to spell an end 终结，结束；
The vaccine spells an end to the coronavirus. 这种疫苗意味着冠状病毒的终结。
obesity n. 过度肥胖，肥胖症；1. the problem of obesity among children 儿童肥胖问题；
epidemic n. 流行病，传染病；蔓延；1. an epidemic of influenza 流行性感冒的流行；2. An epidemic of crime has infected the town. 犯罪活动在城里泛滥成灾。3. adj. 流行的；泛滥的；
The problem has reached epidemic proportions. 该问题已到了泛滥成灾的程度。
段一
A new type of drug is generating excitement among the rich and the beautiful. Just a jab a week, and the weight falls off. Elon Musk swears by it; influencers sing its praises on TikTok; suddenly slimmer Hollywood starlets deny they have taken it. But the latest weight-loss drugs are no mere cosmetic enhancements. Their biggest beneficiaries will be not celebrities in Los Angeles or Miami but billions of ordinary people around the world whose weight has made them unhealthy.
generate vt. 产生；带来；生成；创造；引起；1. to generate electricity from fossil fuels 用矿物燃料发电；2. ChatGPT generates conversation. ChatGPT生成对话。
jab n. 打针；1. to have a jab 打一针；2. to give sb. a jab 给某人打针；
fall off 减少；下降；1. Business is falling off. 生意越来越惨淡。2. Production fell off drastically during the strike. 罢工期间产量急剧下降。
swear vi. 郑重承诺，发誓；保证（所说属实）；1. swear by 极其信赖；对…推崇备至；对…发誓；
influencer n. 有影响力者；有影响力的人；1. influence n. 影响力；影响，作用；
to be under the influence of sb./sth. 受到某人/某事物的影响；to have a good/bad influence (on sb.) （对某人）有好/坏的影响；
slim adj. 苗条的，纤细的；单薄的；些许的；1. a slim volume of poems 薄薄的诗集；2. a slim hope of sth./of doing sth. 某事物/做某事的一线希望；
starlet n. 尚未成名的年轻女演员；初涉影坛的演员；
enhancement n. 提高；改善；增加；1. Various enhancements have been made to the school facilities by the government. 政府对学校设施进行了各种改进。
beneficiary n. 受惠者；受益人；1. recipient n. 接受者，领受者；
参考译文
一种新型的药物在富人和美女中引起了欢呼。每周只需注射一针，体重就会下降。埃隆·马斯克对它推崇备至；网红们在TikTok上为它唱赞歌；突然变瘦的好莱坞女明星否认服用过它。但是，最新的减肥药带来的可不只是外貌上的提升。最大的受益者将不是洛杉矶或迈阿密的名人，而是全世界数十亿被体重拖累健康的普通人。
段二
Treatments for weight loss have long ranged from the well-meaning and ineffective to the downright dodgy. The new class of drugs, called GLP-1 receptor agonists, seems actually to work. Semaglutide, developed by Novo Nordisk, a Danish pharmaceutical firm, has been shown in clinical trials to lead to weight loss of about 15%. It is already being sold under the brand name Wegovy in America, Denmark and Norway and will soon be available in other countries; Ozempic, a lower-dose version, is a diabetes drug that is also being used “off label” for weight loss.
well-meaning adj. 善意的；出于好心的；
downright adj. 完全的；彻头彻尾的，十足的；断然的；1. a downright fool 十足的傻瓜；2. a downright lie 彻头彻尾的谎言；3. a downright refusal 断然的拒绝；
dodgy adj. 可疑的；存在风险的；不佳的；1. He's a dodgy bloke. 他是个狡猾的家伙。2. I ate some dodgy prawns last night. 我昨晚吃了一些坏虾。3. The weather looks a bit dodgy. 天气看起来有点不太好。
receptor n. 感受器；受体；
agonist n. 兴奋剂，激动剂；1. agonize v. 感到极度痛苦；挣扎；
to agonize over or about sth. 为某事物犯愁；
pharmaceutical adj. 药物的；制药的；1. pharmaceutical products 药品；药物；2. n. 药物；
off label 标签外的；未经批准；
参考译文
长期以来，减肥的治疗方法从善意的、无效的到完全不可靠的都有。新的一类药物，称为GLP-1受体激动剂，似乎确实有效。由丹麦制药公司诺和诺德（Novo Nordisk）开发的索马鲁肽（Semaglutide），已经在临床试验中被证明可以使体重减轻约15%。它已经以Wegovy的品牌名称在美国、丹麦和挪威销售，并将很快在其他国家上市；Ozempic是一种低剂量的糖尿病药物，也被“非标”用于减肥。
段三
A rival GLP-1 drug, made by Eli Lilly, an American firm, is due to come on sale later this year and is more effective still. Analysts think the market for GLP-1 drugs could reach $150bn by 2031, not far off the market for cancer drugs today. Some think they could become as common as beta blockers or statins. The drugs could not have arrived at a better time. In 2020 two-fifths of the world’s population were overweight or obese.
beta blocker β-受体阻滞药（治高血压和心脏病的药物）；
statin n. 他汀类；抑制素；
obese adj. 肥胖的，臃肿的；
参考译文
由美国礼来公司生产的一种竞争性GLP-1药物将于今年晚些时候上市，而且更加有效。分析师认为，到2031年，GLP-1药物的市场可能达到1500亿美元，与今天的癌症药物市场相差不远。一些人认为它们可能会变得像β受体阻滞剂或他汀类药物一样普遍。这些药来得正是时候。2020年，全球五分之二的人口超重或肥胖。
精听党每日单词
spell
/spel/ vt. 意味着；
obesity
/oʊˈbiːsəti/ n. 过度肥胖，肥胖症；
epidemic
/ˌepɪˈdemɪk/ n. 流行病，传染病；蔓延；
generate
/ˈdʒenəreɪt/ vt. 产生；带来；生成；创造；引起；
jab
/dʒæb/ n. 打针；
fall off
减少；下降；
swear
/swer/ vi. 郑重承诺，发誓；保证（所说属实）；
influencer
/ˈɪnfluənsə(r)/ n. 有影响力者；有影响力的人；
slim
/slɪm/ adj. 苗条的，纤细的；单薄的；些许的；
starlet
/ˈstɑːrlət/ n. 尚未成名的年轻女演员；初涉影坛的演员；
enhancement
/ɪnˈhænsmənt/ n. 提高；改善；增加；
beneficiary
/ˌbenɪˈfɪʃieri/ n. 受惠者；受益人；
well-meaning
/ˌwel ˈmiːnɪŋ/ adj. 善意的；出于好心的；
downright
/ˈdaʊnraɪt/ adj. 完全的；彻头彻尾的，十足的；断然的；
dodgy
/ˈdɑːdʒi/ adj. 可疑的；存在风险的；不佳的；
receptor
/rɪˈseptər/ n. 感受器；受体；
agonist
/ˈæɡənɪst/ n. 兴奋剂，激动剂；
pharmaceutical
/ˌfɑːrməˈsuːtɪk(ə)l/ adj. 药物的；制药的；
off label
标签外的；未经批准；
beta blocker
β-受体阻滞药（治高血压和心脏病的药物）；
statin
/ˈstætn/ n. 他汀类；抑制素；
obese
/oʊˈbiːs/ adj. 肥胖的，臃肿的；
精听党文化拓展
肥胖症是指机体脂肪总含量过多和/或局部含量增多及分布异常，是由遗传和环境等因素共同作用而导致的慢性代谢性疾病。其病因和发展机制尚不明确，且减重后极易反弹。因此，需要运用多重干预手段和联合治疗方法，以阻止肥胖症的发生与发展。同时，对肥胖患者进行中心化管理和个体化治疗尤为重要，以达到改善代谢紊乱和预防肥胖并发症的最终目的。
荷兰马斯特里赫特大学医学中心NUTRIM营养与代谢转化研究学院人类生物学系副教授Gijs Goossens博士在接受Medscape Medical News采访时表示：“关于肥胖管理，目前逐渐转向个性化策略，从量身定制的生活方式干预（包括饮食和身体活动干预），到药物和手术的定制策略，这可能会提高干预措施的有效性。”
此外，布莱根妇女医院体重管理与健康中心的联合主任Caroline Apovian博士在Medscape会议中分享了关于肥胖症的新见解，并提出了其与肥胖症作斗争的希望。
“当我还是一名医学生时，我了解到脂肪组织只是储存脂肪，但现在得知，它还是一个内分泌器官。”Caroline Apovian博士说道。
Caroline Apovian博士认为，脂肪组织分泌激素如瘦素，以及对大脑、胰腺、心脏、肝脏和肌肉有一系列影响的物质。另外，脂肪组织可塑性强，具有变化能力，可随营养供需变化而不断调整人体的新陈代谢。然而，肥胖症可导致脂肪组织的可塑性下降，引出组织纤维化和炎症等问题，然后进一步损害脂肪组织的功能，从而发生代谢性疾病。但是，脂肪组织的核心作用及其动态性质为治疗提供了机会。
精听党每日美句
Nurture passes nature.
教养胜过天性。