A five-year-old boy who had chickenpox (n.水痘) died yesterday morning from suspected (adj.懷疑的) scarlet (n.鮮紅、猩紅) fever (n.發熱).
      That came as the Centre for Health Protection (n.生防護中心) declared that Hong Kong (n.香港) is facing an epidemic (n.流行病、疫症) of scarlet fever - a childhood (n.童年) scourge (n.禍害) that has mutated (v.變異).
      "We are facing an epidemic because the bacteria (n.細菌) causing scarlet fever is widely circulating (v.流行) in this region - not only in Hong Kong but neighboring (adj.鄰近的) places such as the mainland (n.大陸) and Macau (n.澳門)," said centre controller (n.總監) Thomas Tsang Ho-fai (n.曾浩輝).
      He was referring (v.提到) to Streptococcus pyogenes (n.釀膿鏈球菌、甲類鏈球菌), the bacterium (n.細菌) that causes scarlet fever. Symptoms (n.症狀) include fever, body rashes (n.紅疹) and a strawberry(n.草莓)-colored tongue and the disease usually affects children between two and eight years of age.
      The boy had chickenpox, body rashes and fever from last Wednesday and had seen a doctor for chickenpox, the centre said. He was admitted (v.准許進入) to Prince of Wales Hospital (n.威爾斯親王醫院) on Sunday and transferred (v.轉移) within hours to Princess Margaret Hospital (n.瑪嘉烈醫院) after taking a turn (n.變化) for the worse. He then developed toxic (adj.中毒（性）的) shock (n.休克) syndrome (n.綜合症).
      (The Standard, June 22)

      一名患上水痘的五歲男孩，昨日早上懷疑因猩紅熱喪生。
      生防護中心公布，香港正面臨一場猩紅熱疫症，而這種兒童疾病已經變異。
      中心總監曾浩輝說：“我們正面臨一場疫症，因為引致猩紅熱的細菌已在區內廣泛流行——不但在香港，也包括大陸和澳門等鄰近地方。”
      他提到的細菌，是引致猩紅熱的甲類鏈球菌。患者出現的症狀包括發熱、全身出現紅疹，以及舌頭呈草莓色。此病通常會侵襲二至八歲的小童。
      中心透露，男童上周三出水痘、全身出疹和發熱，並看醫生診治水痘。他周日給送往威爾斯親王醫院，但由於病情轉壞，數小時後便轉往瑪嘉烈醫院，隨後他出現中毒性休克綜合症。
     （《英文虎報》，六月二十二日）

      閱讀指引
      1. scarlet (n)　/'sk?瑂:l?瑆t/，SCAR-lut　鮮紅、猩紅
      解讀：scarlet即是鮮紅，very bright read；在十三世紀，此字本指高貴的布匹，而由於當時很多名貴布料都是鮮紅色，scarlet遂指這種顏色；中文所謂“猩紅”，源於猩猩的血是鮮紅色的。
      2. claim (v)　/kle?笈m/，CLAY-m　索取、奪走
      解讀：claim可解作索取、要求領取，例如claim compensation是索取賠償、索償，claim from / on one's insurance是領取保險金；claim因而引申指奪走，尤其是生命，後面常用life / lives，例如the accident claimed four lives（這宗意外奪走了四條生命）。
      3. scourge (n)　/sk?捵:d?甝/，s-KUR-j　禍害、災禍
      解讀：scourge本解作舊時行刑用的鞭子，後來便引申指禍害、災禍；它雖可數，但大多用單數形式；the scourge of disease / drought / famine / flood / poverty / war是疾病／旱災／饑荒／水災／貧窮／戰爭的災害。