VOA慢速英语2020 美国新学年开启 教师感染新冠死亡敲响警钟

Teachers in at least three American states have died since the start of the new school year after getting the coronavirus.

自新学年开学以来，美国至少有3个州有教师在感染新冠病毒之后死亡。

AshLee DeMarinis was just 34 years old when she died this month after three weeks in a Missouri hospital. A third-grade teacher died Monday in South Carolina, and two other educators died recently in Mississippi.

埃诗里·迪玛丽尼斯这个月在密苏里州的一家医院住了3周后死亡，时年34岁。周一，南卡罗来纳州有一名三年级教师死亡，还有两名教育工作者最近在密西西比州去世。 

It is unclear how many teachers in the U.S. have become ill with COVID-19 since the new school year began. But the state of Mississippi alone has reported 604 cases among school teachers and workers.

目前尚不清楚自新学年开学以来，美国有多少教师感染新冠肺炎。但是仅密西西比州就报告了604例学校教职员工的感染病例。

Randi Weingarten is president of the American Federation¹ of Teachers. She said schools need guidelines such as required face coverings and strict social distancing rules to reopen safely.

兰迪·温加顿是美国教师联合会的主席。她说，学校需要出台一些指导方针，例如要求戴口罩以及严格的社交隔离规定，才能安全地返校复课。

"If community spread is too high, as it is in Missouri and Mississippi, if you don't have the infrastructure² of testing, and if you don't have the safeguards that prevent the spread of viruses in the school, we believe that you cannot reopen in person," Weingarten said.

温加顿表示：“如果社区传播速度过高，例如在密苏里州和密西西比州，如果你不具备检测基础，并且如果你不具备防止病毒在校内传播的防护措施，那么我们认为你就无法返校复课。”

Johnny Dunlap is a 39-year-old teacher at Dodge³ City High School in Kansas. He said he considered resigning before the district made face coverings required for teachers and students. Still, his history of cancer and high blood pressure make him worried about being around so many people. Existing health conditions can put people at higher risk for severe illness and death from the virus.

约翰尼·邓拉普是堪萨斯州道奇市高中一名39岁的教师。他说，在该学区要求教师和学生佩戴口罩之前，他曾考虑辞职。尽管如此，他的癌症和高血压病史仍让他担心周围人太多。既有病情可能会让人们更容易因为这种病毒导致严重疾病和死亡。

"I'm at a high school with close to 2,000 students so it kind of runs against the advice we have been given for half a year now," Dunlap said.

邓拉普表示：“我在一所有近2000名学生的高中，所以这跟近半年给我们的建议背道而驰。”

The early part of the health crisis claimed the lives of many teachers. The New York City Department of Education alone lost 31 teachers.

这场健康危机的初期夺走了许多教师的生命。仅纽约市教育局就有31名教师去世。

Across the country, the American Federation of Teachers lists 210 union members who have died. The list includes support workers and retirees as well as teachers.

在全国范围内，美国教师联合会列出了210名工会成员死亡。这份名单包括周边工作人员、退休人员和教师。

Start of new school year brings new deaths

新学年开启带来新的死亡

The start of the new school year brought with it new deaths.

新学年的开启带来了新的死亡。

In Oxford⁴, Mississippi, 42-year-old Nacoma James was a middle school teacher who also helped coach high school football. He died on August 6 during the first week of classes.

在密西西比州牛津市，42岁的纳科马·詹姆斯是一名中学教师，他还协助指导高中足球队。他于8月6日死亡，这是上课的第一周。

He was already self-quarantining when teachers and students returned to the classroom, said Lafayette County School District Superintendent⁵ Adam Pugh. James worked with football players during summer workouts, but an investigation⁶ found no new cases linked to him, Pugh said.

拉斐特县学区负责人亚当·普格表示，当老师和学生们返校时，他已经在自我隔离。普格表示，詹姆斯在暑假锻炼期间曾跟足球运动员一起工作，但是调查发现没有跟他相关的新病例。

Another Mississippi teacher, Tom Slade, died on September 6. The history teacher recently wrote on Facebook about his battle with a severe lung infection caused by the coronavirus.

密西西比州另一位教师汤姆·斯莱德于9月6日去世。这位历史老师最近在Facebook上写到了他跟新冠病毒引发的严重肺部感染作斗争。

Slade was teaching in-person when the school year started on August 6, Principal Raina Holmes said. He began quarantining after he had contact with someone outside of school who was confirmed to have the virus. His last day of teaching was August 21.

校长雷娜·霍尔姆斯表示，当8月6日新学年开启时斯莱德在上面授课。他在接触了校外的新冠确诊人员之后开始隔离。他最后一天上课是在8月21日。

In South Carolina, 28-year-old Demetria "Demi" Bannister died three days after being confirmed to have COVID-19, her school district said in a news release. The district said Bannister was at Windsor Elementary School on August 28 for a teacher work day, before classes began.

在南卡罗来纳州，28岁的德米崔亚·德米·班尼斯特所在的学区在新闻发布会表示，她在确诊新冠肺炎3天之后死亡。该学区称，班尼斯特在正式上课前的8月28日在温莎小学参加了教师工作日。

‘I thought it would be me, not her'

我以为会是我，不会是她

Back in Missouri, in-person classes started August 24 at John Evans Middle School in Potosi, about 115 kilometers southwest of St. Louis. AshLee DeMarinis was already hospitalized by then. But she had been in the school preparing for the year a couple of weeks earlier, said her sister, Jennifer Heissenbuttel.

回到密苏里州，圣路易斯市西南115公里左右的波托西市约翰·埃文斯中学于8月24日开始复课。当时迪玛丽尼斯已经住院。但她的姐姐詹妮弗·海森布特尔表示，她几周前已经在学校为这一年做准备。

A school official said contact tracing found DeMarinis had not had close contact with any teachers, students or workers.

一名学校官员表示，接触调查发现迪玛丽尼斯没有跟任何教师、学生和职工密切接触。

DeMarinis had asthma⁷, which can put someone more at risk of severe illness from COVID-19. After developing a high body temperature and shortness of breath, she was tested for the coronavirus and soon hospitalized.

迪玛丽尼斯患有哮喘，这种病会让人更容易患上新冠肺炎重症。她在发烧和呼吸急促之后接受了新冠病毒检测，并很快入院。

It is unclear where and how DeMarinis got the virus.

目前尚不清楚迪玛丽尼斯在什么地方以及怎么感染上了这种病毒。

Heissenbuttel is a nurse who works in a New York area hospital's intensive care unit. She has avoided the illness that her sister could not.

海森布特尔是一名护士，她在纽约地区医院的重症监护室工作。海森布特尔躲过了她妹妹没躲过去的新冠。

"I thought it would be me, not her," Heissenbuttel said.

海森布特尔表示：“我以为感染的会是我，不会是她。”

1 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

2 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

3 dodge   

v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计

参考例句：

• A dodge behind a tree kept her from being run over.她向树后一闪，才没被车从身上辗过。
• The dodge was coopered by the police.诡计被警察粉碎了。

4 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

5 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

6 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

7 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。