美国国家公共电台 NPR--How masks became a habit in Mexico City

How masks became a habit in Mexico City

Transcript¹

In Mexico City, the federal government has never issued a mask mandate². Even so, masks seem to have become a habit.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

In Mexico, the federal government never issued a mask mandate. In fact, the president has rarely worn a mask. But in Mexico City, masks are still everywhere. Many residents wear them indoors and outdoors. NPR's Eyder Peralta reports on why.

EYDER PERALTA, BYLINE³: On a crisp morning at a flower market in Mexico City, I notice about half of the people here are wearing masks. It's not crowded. It's mostly open air. But Reina Lopez (ph), who's 74, is wearing a KN-95.

REINA LOPEZ: (Non-English language spoken).

PERALTA: "They tell us that the danger is over," she says, "but it's not true." During the pandemic, she saw neighbors and family members die. She says this pandemic is not over. And who knows? Maybe there's even some other virus lurking⁴.

LOPEZ: (Through interpreter) And now we're protected. And on top of that, we're used to wearing masks.

PERALTA: Across the market, we hear variations of the same thing. The government says drop the masks, but the fear lingers. Alejandra Miguel Perez (ph) says she wears a mask because she keeps hearing different things - that you're OK with the vaccine⁵, that now there is a new variant⁶ that is dangerous.

ALEJANDRA MIGUEL PEREZ: (Non-English language spoken).

PERALTA: She's heard so much, she says, she doesn't know what to believe. Also, as the pandemic wore on, she noticed that the masks also protected her from Mexico City's pollution.

PEREZ: (Through interpreter) Maybe we're stuck with masks because if we don't get sick with COVID, we could still get sick from the pollution.

PERALTA: Mexico suffered a lot during this pandemic. Officially, more than 300,000 people have died of COVID. To epidemiologist Alejandro Macias, that trauma⁷ explains why, in Mexico City, masks are still worn even outside.

ALEJANDRO MACIAS: It seems that people have suffered such a high degree of these things that I think they are trying to do something.

PERALTA: The Mexican government took a notably⁸ hands-off approach to COVID. They communicated best practices. But they didn't impose curfews or even a national mask mandate. And at the very top, the mood has always been relaxed.

MACIAS: The president, being very popular as he is, he never used the face mask. But people use the face masks.

PERALTA: Macias says a deep change has happened in Mexico City. Maybe, he says, it has become like Seoul, where citizens turn to masks when there are respiratory diseases or when there's pollution. And he doesn't see it changing any time soon. At the flower market, I find Marcos Reyes (ph) in a corner, breathing easy without his mask.

MARCOS REYES: (Non-English language spoken).

PERALTA: "The mask is uncomfortable," he says, especially because he works pushing hundreds of pounds of flowers on a handcart.

REYES: (Non-English language spoken).

PERALTA: "You need air," he says, "and this mask makes it harder."

REYES: (Non-English language spoken).

PERALTA: He's from the countryside. No one wears masks there, he says. And few people got sick. Reyes says he hates wearing a mask. He's not even convinced it stops COVID from spreading.

REYES: (Non-English language spoken).

PERALTA: But at the end of the day, he says, we have to respect others. So out of courtesy, he's wearing one anyway.

Eyder Peralta, NPR News, Mexico City.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE CACTUS CHANNEL'S "STAY A WHILE")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 lurking   

潜在

参考例句：

• Why are you lurking around outside my house? 你在我房子外面鬼鬼祟祟的，想干什么？
• There is a suspicious man lurking in the shadows. 有一可疑的人躲在阴暗中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

6 variant   

adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体

参考例句：

• We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。
• In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。

7 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

8 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。