TE精读|The politics of pandemics

标题：

covid-19

The politics of pandemics

All governments will struggle. Some will struggle more than others

三个标题便能够看出如今全球抗疫的严峻，流行病政治中各国政府各种纠结和挣扎，究竟怎么样才算是好的？谁都不知道。

To see what is to come look to Lombardy, the affluent Italian region at the heart of the covid-19 outbreak in Europe. Its hospitals provide world-class health care. Until last week they thought they would cope with the disease—then waves of people began turning up with pneumonia. Having run out of ventilators and oxygen, exhausted staff at some hospitals are being forced to leave untreated patients to die.

Lombardy：意大利的伦巴底地区。

affluent adjective /ˈæf.lu.ənt/

having a lot of money or owning a lot of things富裕的；富足的

 turn up:突然出现

ventilator noun /ˈven.tɪ.leɪ.tər/ a machine that helps people breathe correctly by allowing air to flow in and out of their lungs人工呼吸器

这一段讲意大利Lombardy地区疫情的情况。

The pandemic, as the World Health Organisation (who) officially declared it this week, is spreading fast, with almost 45,000 cases and nearly 1,500 deaths in 112 countries outside China. Epidemiologists reckon Italy is one or two weeks ahead of places like Spain, France, America and Britain. Less-connected countries, such as Egypt and India, are further behind, but not much.

epidemiologist noun  /ˌep.ɪ.diː.miˈɒl.ə.dʒɪst/

someone who studies diseases and how they are found,

spread, and controlled in groups of people:病毒学家

 reckon verb /ˈrek.ən/

informalto think or believe想；认为，以为

病毒传播的现状。

Few of today’s political leaders have ever faced anything like a pandemic and its economic fallout—though some are evoking the financial crisis of 2007-09 (see next leader). As they belatedly realise that health systems will buckle and deaths mount, leaders are at last coming to terms with the fact that they will have to weather the storm. Three factors will determine how they cope: their attitude to uncertainty; the structure and competence of their health systems; and, above all, whether they are trusted.

fallout noun  /ˈfɔːl.aʊt/

the unpleasant results or effects of an action or event

不良影响，恶果

evoke verb /ɪˈvəʊk/

to make someone remember something or feel an emotion引起，唤起（记忆或感情）

That smell always evokes memories of my old school.

那种气味总能唤起我对母校的回忆。

belatedly adverb  /bɪˈleɪ.tɪd.li/

in a way that comes later than expected:

buckle verb  /ˈbʌk.əl/

to bend something or become bent, often as a result of force, heat, or weakness弯曲；变形

 mount verb  /maʊnt/

to gradually increase, rise, or get bigger增加；增长；上升

come to terms with sth

to gradually accept a sad situation, often the death of someone you love逐渐接受（常指所爱之人的死）I think he's still coming to terms with the death of his wife.我觉得他还没有完全接受妻子去世的事实。

determine verb /dɪˈtɜː.mɪn/

to control or influence something directly, or to decide what will happen  决定

weather the storm

If someone or something weathers the storm, they successfully deal with a very difficult problem.渡过难关

这一段主要讲有三个因素将决定这些国家领导人如何应对：他们对不确定性的态度；他们的卫生系统的结构和能力；最重要的是，他们是否被信任。

The uncertainty has many sources. One is that sars-cov-2 and the disease it causes, covid-19, are not fully understood (see Briefing). Another is over the status of the pandemic. In each region or country it tends to proliferate rapidly undetected. By the time testing detects cases in one place it will be spreading in many others, as it was in Italy, Iran and South Korea. By the time governments shut schools and ban crowds they may be too late.

status noun 状况，这里指流行病的状况

China’s solution, endorsed by the who, was to impose a brutal quarantine, bolstered by mass-testing and contact tracing. That came at a high human and economic cost, but new infections have dwindled. This week, in a victory lap, President Xi Jinping visited Wuhan, where the pandemic first emerged (see China section). Yet uncertainty persists even in China, because nobody knows if a second wave of infections will rise up as the quarantine eases.

endorse verb  /ɪnˈdɔːrs/

to make a public statement of your approval or support for something or someone（公开）赞同，认可，支持

 bolster verb  /ˈbəʊl.stər/ to support or improve something or make it stronger支撑；加固；提高；改善

brutal adjective /ˈbruː.təl/

cruel, violent, and completely without feelings

dwindle verb /ˈdwɪn.dəl/

to become smaller in size or amount, or fewer in number

减小；降低；减少

persist verb  /pəˈsɪst/

If an unpleasant feeling or situation persists, it continues to exist.持续；存留

In democracies leaders have to judge if people will tolerate China’s harsh regime of isolation and surveillance. Italy’s lockdown is largely self-policed and does not heavily infringe people’s rights. But if it proves leakier than China’s, it may be almost as expensive and a lot less effective (see International section).

 regime：管理组织方法

 surveillance noun   /səˈveɪ.ləns/

the careful watching of a person or place, especially by the police or army, because of a crime that has happened

or is expected（尤指警察或军队的）监视，盯梢

infringe verb   /ɪnˈfrɪndʒ/

to break a rule, law, etc.违反，违背（规定、法律等）

leaky adjective   /ˈliː.ki/ 遗漏的

leakier:更加遗漏的

上面三段主要讲了关于不确定性。这种不确定性有多种因素构成，中国和西方都采取了不同的措施来应对，相比来讲中国的隔离措施更有效。

Efficacy also depends on the structure and competence of health-care systems. There is immense scope for mixed messages and inconsistent instructions about testing and when to stay isolated at home. Every health system will be overwhelmed. Places where people receive very little health care, including refugee camps and slums, will be the most vulnerable. But even the best-resourced hospitals in rich countries will struggle.

efficacy noun /ˈef.ɪ.kə.si/

the ability, especially of a medicine or a method of

achieving something, to produce the intended result

功效，效力，效验

immense adjective /ɪˈmens/ extremely large in size or degree巨大的，无限的

scope  noun /skəʊp/

the range of a subject covered by a book, programme,

discussion, class, etc.范围

 slum noun  /slʌm/

a very poor and crowded area, especially of a city

（尤指城市中的）贫民窟，棚户区

vulnerable  adjective   /ˈvʌl.nər.ə.bəl/

able to be easily physically, emotionally, or mentally hurt,

influenced, or attacked

易受伤的；脆弱的

Universal systems like Britain’s National Health Service should find it easier to mobilise resources and adapt rules and practices than fragmented, private ones that have to worry about who pays whom and who is liable for what (see Britain section). The United States, despite its wealth and the excellence of its medical science, faces hurdles. Its private system is optimised for fee-paying treatments. America’s 28m uninsured people, 11m illegal immigrants and an unknown number without sick pay all have reasons to avoid testing or isolation. Red tape and cuts have fatally delayed adequate testing (see United States section).

mobilize  verb  /ˈməʊ.bɪ.laɪz/ to organize or prepare something, such as a group of people, for a purpose组织；动员；调动

adapt verb /əˈdæpt/

to change something to suit different conditions or uses

 hurdle noun/ˈhɜː.dəl/

a frame or fence for jumping over in a race

（跨栏比赛中的）栏架,引申为困难

optimize verb  (UK usually optimise)  /ˈɒp.tɪ.maɪz/

to make something as good as possible

uninsured adjective  /ˌʌn.ɪnˈʃɔːd/

not having any insurance to pay for medical expenses or for damage or injury while driving a car

没有保险的

red tape  noun  /ˌred ˈteɪp/ official rules and processes that seem unnecessary and delay results繁文缛节；官僚作风；拖拉费时的繁琐手续

We must cut through the red tape.我们必须要克服官僚文牍主义。

fatally adverb   /ˈfeɪ.təl.i/

in a way that causes death:

这两段主要讲了医疗系统的结构和能力决定了防疫效果。

Uncertainty will be a drag on the third factor—trust. Trust gives leaders licence to take difficult decisions about quarantines and social-distancing, including school closures. In Iran the government, which has long been unpopular, is widely suspected of covering up deaths and cases. That is one reason rebellious clerics could refuse to shut shrines, even though they spread infection (see Middle East & Africa section).

rebellious clerics ： /rəˈbel·jəs/ /ˈkler·ɪk/反叛的神职人员

 shrine noun /ʃraɪn/

a place for worship that is holy because of a connection

with a holy person or object  圣地；神龛；

Nothing stokes rumour and fear more than the suspicion that politicians are hiding the truth. When they downplay the threat in a misguided attempt to avoid panic,they end up sowing confusion and costing lives. Yet leaders have struggled to come to terms with the pandemic and how to talk about it. President Donald Trump, in particular, has veered from unfounded optimism to attacking his foes. This week he announced a 30-day ban on most travel from Europe that will do little to slow a disease which is already circulating in America. As people witness the death of friends and relatives, he will find that the pandemic cannot be palmed off as a conspiracy by foreigners, Democrats and CNN.

stoke verb /stəʊk/

to encourage bad ideas or feelings in a lot of people

煽动，激起（不良想法或情感）

downplay verb /ˌdaʊnˈpleɪ/

to make something seem less important or less bad than it really is对…轻描淡写；贬低；低估

 misgudied:误入歧途的，被误导的

sow verb  /səʊ/

to put seeds in or on the ground so that plants will grow

播种，种

veer verb   /vɪər/

to change direction改变方向；转向

foe noun  /fəʊ/

an enemy敌人

unfounded adjective /ʌnˈfaʊn.dɪd/

If a claim or piece of news is unfounded, it is not based

on fact.（断言或消息）捕风捉影的，无根据的

palm sth off     /pɑːm/

to give away something, or persuade someone to accept something, because you do not want it and you know it has no value

把（自己不想要或无价值的东西）硬塞给（或卖给）

conspiracy noun  /kənˈspɪr.ə.si/

the activity of secretly planning with other people to do something bad or illegal阴谋；密谋；谋划

这两段写了政府隐瞒实情丧失民众的信任。

What should politicians do? Each country must strike its own balance between the benefits of tracking the disease and the invasion of privacy, but South Korea and China show the power of big data and mass-testing as a way of identifying cases and limiting their spread. Governments also need to anticipate the pandemic, because actions to slow its spread, such as banning crowds, are more effective if they are early.

政治家应该如何做呢？预防病毒与侵犯隐私之间维系一个平衡，并利用大数据的作用。

The best example of how to respond is Singapore, which has had many fewer cases than expected. Thanks to an efficient bureaucracy in a single small territory, world-class universal health care and the well-learned lesson of sars, an epidemic of a related virus in 2003, Singapore acted early. It has been able to make difficult trade-offs with public consent because its message has been consistent, science-based and trusted.

consent  noun /kənˈsent/

permission or agreement许可，允许；同意

列举了新加坡的例子来说明政府正确做法应该是怎么样的。

In the West covid-19 is a challenge to the generation of politicians who have taken power since the financial crisis. Many of them decry globalisation and experts. They thrive on division and conflict. In some ways the pandemic will play to their agenda. Countries may follow America and turn inward and close their borders. In so far as shortages crimp the world economy, industries may pull back from globalisation—though they would gain more protection by diversifying their supply chains.

 decry   verb  /dɪˈkraɪ/

to criticize something as bad, without value, or unnecessary斥责，谴责，抨击

inward:向内

crimp verb  /krɪmp/

to press cloth, paper, etc. into small folds along its edges, or to press hair into a series of folds using a heated device

Yet the pandemic also puts doctors, scientists and policy experts once again at the heart of government. Pandemics are quintessentially global affairs. Countries need to work together on treatment protocols, therapeutics and, it is hoped, a vaccine. Worried voters may well have less of an appetite for the theatrical wrestling match of partisan politics. They need their governments to deal with the real problems they are facing—which is what politics should have been about all along.

quintessentially adverb /ˌkwɪn.tɪˈsen.ʃəl.i/

in a way that is the most typical example or most important part of something:典型的

treatment protocols：治疗方案

therapeutics：疗法

 vaccine：疫苗

theatrical  adjective /θiˈæt.rɪ.kəl/

戏剧性的

wrestling  noun  /ˈres.lɪŋ/

a sport in which two people fight and try to throw each other to the ground，摔跤比赛，角力赛

如今选民们对党派政治不感兴趣，只希望政府来处理真正的问题，做一些实事。