伊德里斯·埃尔巴从新冠病毒中康复后想帮助他人

Idris Elba says he and his wife had their lives "turned around" after they became infected with the new coronavirus.

The two only had mild symptoms after getting infected. Yet the British actor called the experience "definitely scary and unsettling and nervous."

"You know, everyone's sort of feeling the way we have been feeling," he told The Associated Press (AP).

But Elba feels that there are life lessons to be learned, and the health crisis¹ shows that the world does not move on your time.

"I think that the world should take a week of quarantine every year just to remember this time. Remember each other. I really do," he said.

The actor and his wife, model Sabrina Elba, spoke² last week as they began working with the United Nations on a project. Its aim is to lessen³ the effects of COVID-19 – the disease caused by the coronavirus -- on farmers in rural areas.

"People forget that 80 percent of the poor population live in these rural areas." Sabrina Elba said. "What we are really worried about at the moment, and why we are launching this fund is that those people are being forgotten."

In their new positions as U.N. Goodwill⁴ Ambassadors⁵, Elba and his wife joined with the Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to launch the new $40 million fund. IFAD hopes to raise up to $200 million more from governments around the world.

The actor believes people in rural and poor areas are likely to suffer more during the coronavirus pandemic.

"If you imagine being in a village where no one even knows the name of your village or your population, and that you live in a slum⁶ where there is one room and six of you live in it," he said. "Social distancing is almost laughable."

Both Elba and his wife have roots in Africa. His parents are from Sierra Leone and Ghana. Sabrina Elba's parents are from Somalia. The Elbas went to Sierra Leone in December to see how IFAD has helped people there.

Idris said he was especially concerned about what the pandemic could do in African countries already suffering economically.

"We have to think about the forward planning," about what the bad effects may be, he said.

The two have been recovering in the western United States, where the actor was filming when he got sick. Elba said he had to miss his 6-year-old son's birthday because of shelter-in-place orders but he is hoping to see the boy as soon as he can.

He added that he and his wife have been lucky. "We have been staying in a lovely place that's been very comfortable for the time. But we're looking forward to going home."

Words in This Story

mild - adj. not strong in action or effect

symptom - n. a change in the body or mind which indicates that a disease is present

lesson - n. something learned through experience

quarantine - n. the situation of being kept away from others to prevent a disease from spreading

fund - n. an amount of money that is used for a special purpose

pandemic - n. an occurrence⁷ in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area

slum - n. an area where poor people live and the buildings are in bad condition

comfortable - adj. not causing any physically unpleasant feelings

1 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

4 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

5 ambassadors   

大使( ambassador的名词复数 )； （派驻联合国等国际组织的）代表； 特使； [比喻]使者

参考例句：

• Kennedy, greatly admiring, rated him very high among his ambassadors. 肯尼迪十分赏识他，在所有大使中对他评价很高。
• Many countries were represented by their ambassadors at the Independence Day celebrations. 庆祝美国独立纪念日时，许多国家都派其大使代表参加。

6 slum   

n.贫民窟，贫民区；vi.（因好奇而）逛贫民区

参考例句：

• These children came from a slum area.这些孩子来自贫民窟区。
• What a wretched existence the people in the slum lead!这个贫民窟里的人们过着多么令人悲惨的生活啊！

7 occurrence   

n.发生，出现，事件，发生的事件

参考例句：

• Two things account for its occurrence.发生这件事的原因有两个。
• For a military commander，winning or losing a battle is a common occurrence.胜败乃兵家常事。