Doctors bring Sharon out of sedation
Edited by Kovis



Israeli citizens and journalists listen to the director of the Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem, Shlomo Mor-Yosef (L), as he briefs the press on Ariel Sharon's condition January 8, 2006.

Israel's Hadassah University Hospital in Jerusalem said on Sunday afternoon that the latest scan carried out on the brain of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon showed a "slight improvement," but that he is still in critical condition. Shlomo Mor- Yosef, director of the hospital said the latest brain scan showed brain swelling had gone down, intra-cranial and blood pressure were within normal ranges, and that cerebral spinal fluid was draining well.

Doctors tried to bring Sharon out of his medically induced coma on Monday morning to determine the extent of brain damage.

Soon after reducing the levels of medication Sharon was receiving, doctors reported that he had begun to breathe on his own. However Mor-Yosef warned, "This is a process that could take hours or even days."

Sharon underwent the scan on Sunday morning to help doctors decide when to start bringing him out of deep sedation, a key to determining how much brain damage he has suffered during his severe stroke and cerebral hemorrhage.

The hospital said that there had been no change overnight in Sharon's "critical but stable" condition. In the morning, specialists at the hospital also met to discuss the condition and future treatment of Sharon, who was admitted to the hospital last Wednesday evening after suffering the stroke and hemorrhage.

Until the prime minister regains consciousness, it will be impossible to determine the extent to which his brain has been damaged.

Israeli Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the cabinet on Sunday that he will "carry out the wishes" of Prime Minister Sharon, and get on with the job of running the country. Olmert told the ministers during the regular weekly cabinet meeting that if Sharon could speak, he would want everyone to return to work on the country's pressing security, social and economic issues.

Sharon's hospitalization cast uncertainty over the March 28 general elections in Israel, in which his newly founded Kadima party is poised to take a lead over the right-wing Likud and the center-left Labor party. Sharon left Likud in November.

Sharon's death or incapacitation will create a vacuum in Israeli politics and will dash hopes for peace raised by Israel's withdrawal of troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip in September under Sharon's disengagement plan.

 

 

2005 Top events
2005国际大事
Photo source: ImagineChina

	Bird flu spreads 全球面临禽流感危机 A worker catches a healthy duck that lives in an outdoor enclosure at the zoo in Berlin on October 20, 2005. German authorities ordered farmers across the country to keep poultry indoors as a precaution against the spread of bird flu after the virus was detected in western Russia on October 7. Bird flu is provoking fears across Asian, African and European countries.
	"No" vote on EU Constitution 欧盟宪法公投失败 A shadow on the European flag is seen during the last meeting promoting the "no" vote for the May 29 EU Constitution referendum, May 27, 2005 in Paris. Since the "no" votes in the referendums in France and the Netherlands, Vote "No" has ceased active campaigning.
	Hurricane Katrina 美国遭遇飓风袭击 A US Navy search and rescue (SAR) swimmer retrieves and evacuates a victim of Hurricane Katrina from a rooftop in New Orleans in an SH-60B Seahawk helicopter in New Orleans, Louisiana on September 5, 2005. Hurricane Katrina hit the city on August 29, and caused numerous deaths and severe property damage in Louisiana and Mississippi.
	London bombings 伦敦连环爆炸 Injured tube passengers are escorted away from Edgware Road Tube Station in London following an explosion, July 7, 2005. Several blasts went off on London subway trains and one double-decker bus during the morning rush hour, injuring riders and prompting officials to shut down the entire underground transport network.
	60th anniversary of end of WWII 全球纪念二战结束60周年 A woman holds a poppy at the ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the World War II at Kanchanaburi War Cemetary, around 110 kilometers west of Bangkok, Thailand, August 15, 2005. Commemorative events were held across Asia and Europe to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the end of the war.

 

 

World in Words
Collected & translated by Beverly

"The internet is the way people are looking these days. You don't have to meet a middleman or go to an actual dating agency office, which takes a lot of courage."
"互联网已经成为当前人们的求偶方式. 你再也不必鼓足勇气去见媒人或是前往婚介所了. "
Parship.co.uk, a British subsidiary of Europe's largest dating service, says that technology has revolutionized the dating game.
--希普英国站是欧洲最大的婚姻介绍机构在英国设立的子公司, 它指出互联网技术已经颠覆了传统的相亲形式.

"If you want to impress a lady, growing facial hair is not the way to do it."
"如果你想给一位女士留下好印象的话, 那可千万别蓄胡须. "
Bic, a razor firm, conducted a poll of 2,000 women in England and found that 8 out of 10 women reckon bearded blokes to be a complete turn-off.
--剃须刀生产商Bic公司对英国的2000名女性进行调查发现, 80%的女性认为胡茬男实在令人倒胃口.

"Space may soon open up to citizen explorers, businesses and tourists."
"在不久的将来, 太空游将向平民探险家, 商人和旅游爱好者开放. "
The US Federal Aviation Administration has issued draft regulations for pilots and passengers participating in privately run space ventures.
--美国联邦航空管理局近日公布了用于规范私人太空游的法规草案.

"Working women have sophisticated tastes, but buying an evening dress is a very expensive proposition, and most people don't want to wear the same dress more than once."
"白领女性都有着不俗的品味, 但买晚礼服对她们来说太贵了, 因为多数人都不愿意同一件衣服穿两次. "
Joanna Doniger, owner of a London-based eveningwear rental company, explains the rise of the luxury rental business.
--伦敦一晚礼服租赁公司的老板乔安娜·多尼哥对奢侈品租赁业的崛起发表了自己的看法.

 

Vocabulary
sedation 镇静
swell 肿大
induce 导致
coma 昏迷
cabinet 内阁
vacuum 真空
spinal fluid 脊髓液
poppy 罂粟花
cerebral hemorrhage 脑溢血