John Snow defeats“King Cholera”

2020-07-30

疯狂英语·新悦读 2020年7期

关键词：难闻人物传记限制性

体裁文章词数难度建议用时人物传记 382 ★★★ 7 分钟

难词探意

1.miasma /mi'æzmə/ n.污浊难闻的空气

2.treatise /'triːtɪs/ n.(专题) 论文

3.agglomeration /ə,ɡlɒmə'reɪʃn/ n.(杂乱聚集的)团；块；堆

4.epidemiology /,epɪ,diːmi'ɒlədʒi/ n.流行病学

Born on March 15, 1813, in York, the United Kingdom, John Snow was the son of William and Frances Snow.His father worked as a labourer at a local coal yard before becoming a farmer in a small village to the north of York.

Growing up in one of the poorest neighbourhoods of the city, he witnessed unsanitary conditions and contamination in his hometown.Most of the streets were unclean, and the rivers had become polluted.

After graduating from the University of London， John Snow established his surgical and general practice at 54 Frith Street in Soho.

Throughout his career, Snow remained a critic of themiasmatheory, which proposed that the cause of diseases like cholera was pollution or a noxious form of “bad air”.

At that time, the germ theory of disease had not been established, so Snow had no idea about how these diseases spread.In his 1849 essay On the Mode of Communication of Cholera， he dismissed the theory of bad air.

In 1855, he put out a more comprehensivetreatise,in which he discussed his findings onhow contaminated water supply was responsible for the Soho epidemic of 1854.

Aided by Reverend Henry Whitehead, he spoke to various local residents and realised that the outbreak originated from a public water pump on Broad Street (now Broadwick Street).

While the chemical and microscope tests he conducted on a water sample from the pump did not provide a conclusive answer, his research on the pattern of the disease prompted the local council to disable the pump by taking out its handle or force rod.

Using a dot map, he demonstrated theagglomerationof cholera cases around the pump.He made use of statistics to showcase the link between the quality of the water source and cholera cases.

He proved that the Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company sent water from sewagepolluted sections of the Thames to people's homes.His study is considered as the founding event of the science ofepidemiology.

Snow was a lifelong bachelor.He resided at 18 Sackville Street, London, from 1852 to his death in 1858.On June 10, 1858, while he was in his office in London, he had a stroke.He passed away six days later, on June 16, 1858, at the age of 45.

Reading Check

1.What did John Snow's father do at last?

A.A teacher.B.A worker.C.A farmer.D.A doctor.

2.What's John Snow's attitude towards the miasma theory?

A.Suspicious.B.Positive.C.Critical.D.Indifferent.

3.At that time, why was Snow not clear how these diseases spread?

A.The germ theory of disease didn't come to exist.

B.He lacked enough experience in fighting diseases.

C.He didn't get support from the local council.

D.Statistics were not very precise.

4.How does the author develop the passage?

A.By giving examples.B.By offering comparisons.