1. For most of the human history, people didn't know that viruses and bacteria exist, much less understand how these pathogens spread disease.

就人类历史大部分而言，人们不知道有病毒和细菌存在，更不用说理解这些病原体是如何传播疾病的。

2. In the 1800s, sanitary conditions in most cites were terrible. 

在19世纪，多数城市的卫生条件非常糟糕。

3. Streets overflowed with the garbage that provided perfect homes for germs. 

街道上满地的垃圾，为病菌提供了极好的滋生之地。

4. Food frequently contained bacteria that cause diseases like dysentery.

食物常常含有细菌，引起像痢疾之类的疾病。

5. Up until the late 1800s, even doctors had little comprehension of how diseases were transmitted.

直到19世纪后期前，甚至医生也很少理解疾病是如何传播的。

6. Many surgeons, for example, didn’t bother to wash their hand before an operation. 

例如，许多外科医生在手术前不会费心去洗手。

7. As a consequence, doctors who were supposed to cure their patients often infected them with deadly pathogens instead.

结果，那些本来是去治病救人的医生，却常常用致命的病菌感染了病人。

8. Today, doctors know more about how germs cause disease. They routinely wash their hands before and after examining their patients.

今天，医生对病菌如何引起疾病了解更多了。他们养成习惯，在对病人检查前后都洗手。

9. Most people also take simple common sense steps to avoid being infected with germs or infecting others. 

多数人也采取常识性的简单步骤，避免受到病菌感染或感染他人。

10. For example, they wash their hands before handling food or after using the bathroom and cover themselves when they sneeze or cough.

例如，他们在触摸食品前或使用厕所后洗手，在打喷嚏或咳嗽时捂住自己。

11. And if they are sick, they try to stay away from other people, to whom they can pass germs. 

如果生病了，他们会尽量避开其他人，以免把病菌传给他们。

12. But these precautions, while important, are not enough to totally protect us, no matter what we do, we are still surrounded by an environment full of pathogens.

但是，这些预防措施虽然重要，还不足以完全保护我们。不管我们做些什么，我们依然处在充斥病原体的环境中。

责任编辑：admin