密歇根新闻广播 疫情期间松口气

 

As hard as this time is, some have found the experience of physical distancing offers unexpected opportunities. Detroit writer Desiree Cooper is riding out the virus as the full-time¹ caregiver for two parents with dementia in Virginia Beach. She recently wrote an essay about what slowing down and staying home has meant for her.

Once again, race and class have become the divide between life and death as the black community bears the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic. Low-wage workers and working poor—many of whom are people of color—are stuck in “essential” undervalued jobs, having to risk it all for the convenience of the rest of us. Meanwhile, those of means are watching Netflix, stockpiling goods and keeping a social distance in a comfortable bubble.

So, it’s not easy for the luckiest to admit that what they are feeling in this time of terror. It’s not fear, but a tremendous sense of relief. For some, world has finally stopped its mad spinning, they are not sorry for the chance to jump off.

I have a relative with several chronic² illnesses, including high blood pressure, diabetes³, and obesity⁴. Over the course of only three weeks working from home, his vitals have improved and his need for medication has dropped.

“Working from home has changed everything,” he said. “I was too busy before to plan and cook meals. Now that I’m not just grabbing convenience foods, my blood sugar has leveled off and I’m losing weight.”

There is much pain in our lives these days. But for many, there’s a respite⁵ from a toxic⁶ life.

Another dear friend could barely stand going to work every day. For her, the quarantine has been a game changer. She is working from home, but not having to actually show up to the office has made the work more tolerable. Her stress is down, and productivity is up.

“I’m pampering⁷ myself,” she said. For her, pampering includes working on a project she’d shoved aside for years. “I’m doing lots of self-care. I’ve even taken a couple of baths rather than showers. What a luxury.”

Another friend is very dedicated⁸ to her job—so much so that taking time off was problematic. Last month, she was facing the daunting⁹ task of transitioning her parents into assisted living. Even after the emotional move, she still had to go through their old apartment and empty its contents before mid-April. She’s one of countless¹⁰ women for whom finding a work/family balance has been impossible.

“There was no way I was going to be able to do it while working,” she said. “But, suddenly, we didn’t have to go in, and a way opened up. For a moment, I have been able to breathe easier.”

Although we are all haunted by the specter of death, we are also forging a new way to live. We are going back to planting gardens. Some are dispensing¹¹ with the weaves, wigs¹² and straighteners to get acquainted with their natural hair. (Maybe in addition to stocking up on toilet paper, we should be hoarding¹³ hair moisturizer!) Some are seeing this moment as a way to break from negative—even dangerous relationships. Some are becoming our own barbers. As the work stress goes down, blood pressures are, too. We are rediscovering the crock pot. Once, we were too busy to listen to that little voice that said, “Call your mother. Check on your friend.” Now, we hear that voice and obey.

We are seeing how toxic our pre-pandemic lives have been, how stress is killing¹⁴ us, how “important” pressures really don’t matter, and how, all this time, our priorities have been upside down.

Even as a society, our values have transformed overnight. Appreciation¹⁵ for what teachers endure day-in and day-out has skyrocketed. Some of our lowest-paid workers—fast food employees, grocery store cashiers, nurse aides, cleaning staff, garbage collectors, warehouse¹⁶ workers—are understood as the engines of our way of life. We now see the internet as a public utility that must be made available to all. We are recognizing the need for some version of socialized medicine.

I know I am writing this from a place of privilege. I am not homeless. I have no chronic medical conditions. I have access to food, water and electricity. And, although I’m sheltering in place with people who need caregiving, none of them are children who can make this ordeal¹⁷ particularly challenging. I am an introvert¹⁸, so social distancing is not the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

But the difference between my life now and the life I had prior to the pandemic is that I am more keenly aware of my privilege and infinitely¹⁹ more grateful. And, unlike before, I am aware that at any moment, that privilege can be erased²⁰. Those of us who have survived thus far have experienced a monumental reset²¹. We are being called upon to reexamine our priorities, ambitions, sense of worth, and our responsibilities to others. No matter how this ends I know I can’t go back to the same way of living again.

I pray that we all will emerge on the other side of this pandemic. And, if God sees us through, I pray that we never go back to normal.

1 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

2 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

3 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

4 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

5 respite   

n.休息，中止，暂缓

参考例句：

• She was interrogated without respite for twenty-four hours.她被不间断地审问了二十四小时。
• Devaluation would only give the economy a brief respite.贬值只能让经济得到暂时的缓解。

6 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

7 pampering   

v.纵容，宠，娇养( pamper的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• But you need to make an appointment because these people are usually very busy pampering pets. 但是你需要先预约，因为这些人通常都在忙于照顾宠物们。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• He had been pampering, and coaxing, and indulging that individual all his life. 他一生都在姑息、迁就、纵容那家伙。 来自辞典例句

8 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

9 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

10 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

11 dispensing   

v.分配( dispense的现在分词 )；施与；配（药）

参考例句：

• A dispensing optician supplies glasses, but doesn't test your eyes. 配镜师为你提供眼镜，但不检查眼睛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The firm has been dispensing ointments. 本公司配制药膏。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 wigs   

n.假发，法官帽( wig的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They say that wigs will be coming in again this year. 据说今年又要流行戴假发了。 来自辞典例句
• Frank, we needed more wigs than we thought, and we have to do some advertising. 弗兰克，因为我们需要更多的假发，而且我们还要做点广告。 来自电影对白

13 hoarding   

n.贮藏；积蓄；临时围墙；囤积v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• After the war, they were shot for hoarding. 战后他们因囤积而被枪决。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Actually he had two unused ones which he was hoarding up. 其实他还藏了两片没有用呢。 来自英汉文学

14 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

15 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

16 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

17 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

18 introvert   

n.性格内向的人

参考例句：

• You are very much an introvert.你是一位地道的内向性格者。
• The same conversation that energizes the extravert also drains the introvert.同样的交谈能让外向者荣光焕发，却让内向者精神颓靡。

19 infinitely   

adv.无限地，无穷地

参考例句：

• There is an infinitely bright future ahead of us.我们有无限光明的前途。
• The universe is infinitely large.宇宙是无限大的。

20 erased   

v.擦掉( erase的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；清除

参考例句：

• He erased the wrong answer and wrote in the right one. 他擦去了错误答案，写上了正确答案。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He removed the dogmatism from politics; he erased the party line. 他根除了政治中的教条主义，消除了政党界限。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 reset   

v.重新安排，复位；n.重新放置；重放之物

参考例句：

• As soon as you arrive at your destination,step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.你一到达目的地，就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
• He is recovering from an operation to reset his arm.他做了一个手臂复位手术，正在恢复。