纽约时报 疫情下的美国 总有人不信邪(1)

Deniers and Disbelievers: "If I Get Corona¹, I Get Corona."

否认之辈与不信邪之辈：“我要得了新冠肺炎？那得就得呗。”

A climbing destination on the remote eastern side of the snow-capped Sierra Nevada, Bishop², Calif., was packed last weekend, as crowded as any holiday,

积雪覆盖的内华达山脉位于加州毕晓普市。上周末，尽管新冠疫情预计不日便将爆发，为此有关方面已经加紧呼吁民众自我隔离，

despite growing calls for isolation³ in advance of a predicted wave of coronavirus cases.

位于山脉相对偏远的东岭的一条登山路线依旧熙熙攘攘，热闹景象不输以往任何一个假期。

"People were like, 'Social distancing? I'm going to Bishop. Can't get any more distant than that,'" resident and climber Jeff Deikis said.

“大家似乎都觉得，‘远离社交？我就去个毕夏普。再远（你让我去）我也不去了，”当地居民、登山爱好者杰夫·戴基斯说道。

It turned out the coffee shops and the brewery⁴ were jammed.

事后证明，毕夏普的咖啡馆和酒吧早就已经人满为患了。

Outside of Bishop, a four-hour drive from Los Angeles and six hours from San Francisco,

距离洛杉矶四小时车程，旧金山六小时车程的毕夏普市郊，

climbers scaled the nearby boulders⁵ and canyons⁶, sharing fresh air and, perhaps, infectious disease.

登山爱好者已经登上了附近的巨石，徜徉在附近的峡谷，一起呼吸着新鲜空气，说不定也一起呼吸着新冠病毒。

"Climbers from around the country have descended⁷ upon Bishop

“全国各地的登山者铺天盖地地涌入毕夏普，

as though a global pandemic were some sort of hall pass from responsibility and nobility," a climbing blog reported.

就好像这次波及全球的大流行是大家免于责任与德行的某种特权通行证一样，”一篇登山博客报道称。

Across the United States, from Florida beaches to California mountains, casinos to national parks,

过去一周，新冠病毒逐渐在全国各地蔓延，制动了社会生活的方方面面，

legions dismissed the growing demands this past week to isolate⁸ themselves and stop congregating⁹

民众自我隔离的需求与停止聚集的需求日益迫切，尽管如此，整个美国，从佛罗里达的海滩到加州的山野，

as the coronavirus spread through the country and shut down nearly all facets¹⁰ of American life.

从赌场到国家公园，依然到处有人群无视这一形势。

They were the defiers and the disbelievers.

他们便是那些叛逆之辈与不信邪之徒。

They were those eager to flout¹¹ authority or those afflicted¹² with cabin fever, if not Covid-19.

他们要么急于挑战权威，要么就患有幽闭症——如果不是患了新冠肺炎的话。

They were the officials crowded on the podium of the White House briefing room, doing not as they say.

他们便是挤在白宫吹风会的讲台上的那些言行不一的官员。

They were all people who dismissed the calls for isolation, seeing more reward than risk in gathering¹³.

他们均无视了隔离的号召，认为聚集的好处大于风险。

They conflated confidence with immunity¹⁴.

他们将自信与免疫混为一谈。

As in other times of national crisis,

和在其他国难期间一样，

they exposed the relationship between individuals and society and our responsibility to others.

他们将个体与社会的关系，将我们对他人的责任弃置于不顾。

"If I get corona, I get corona," a reveler in Florida said in a widely-shared television interview.

“我要得了新冠肺炎？那得就得呗，”佛罗里达州一名狂欢者在一则被广泛转发的电视采访中说道。

"At the end of the day, I'm not going to let it stop me from partying."

“但我终究是不会因为病毒放弃跟朋友找乐子的。”

Under pressure, both social and governmental, their numbers shrink by the day.

迫于压力，既有社会压力也有政府压力，这群人的数量总算日渐少了起来。

Their impact on spreading the virus may never be known.

他们对疫情造成的影响或许永远都不得而知了。

The most dismissive were mostly young, freed from the structures of school and work,

他们中间最突出的大多是些年轻人，刚从学校或工作的桎梏中解放出来，

perhaps new to the concept of social responsibility.

对社会责任这一概念或许还很陌生。

But plenty were older, trusting that the dwindling¹⁵ number of places still open to the public could be sanitized enough to keep sickness away.

但也有为数不少的老年人，他们以为数量已经越来越少，但仍在对外开放的那些场所能够做足卫生，将疾病挡在门外。

Some did not want to cancel long-set plans for things like weddings.

一些人不愿取消婚礼等已经筹谋已久的计划。

Others just wanted to get to the outdoors, only to find they were far from alone.

还有一些人一心只想去室外，结果却发现这么想的远非只有他们自己。

For others, gathering wasn't a choice.

对另外一些人而言，聚会并不是他们自己的决定。

It was a requirement from an employer more afraid of missed revenues than of spreading viruses.

而是比起病毒扩散，更担心收入流失的用人单位的硬性要求。

While many grocery stores, gas stations and takeout restaurants remained open,

尽管许多杂货店，加油站和外卖店仍在营业，

the definition of "essential business" was open to interpretation¹⁶.

“基本业务”一词的理解却有待商榷了。

1 corona   

n.日冕

参考例句：

• The corona gains and loses energy continuously.日冕总是不断地获得能量和损失能量。
• The corona is a brilliant,pearly white,filmy light,about as bright as the full moon.光环带是一种灿烂的珠白色朦胧光，几乎像满月一样明亮。

2 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

3 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

4 brewery   

n.啤酒厂

参考例句：

• The brewery had 25 heavy horses delivering beer in London.啤酒厂有25匹高头大马在伦敦城中运送啤酒。
• When business was good,the brewery employed 20 people.在生意好的时候，这家酿造厂曾经雇佣过20人。

5 boulders   

n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾

参考例句：

• Seals basked on boulders in a flat calm. 海面风平浪静，海豹在巨石上晒太阳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The river takes a headlong plunge into a maelstrom of rocks and boulders. 河水急流而下，入一个漂砾的漩涡中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 canyons   

n.峡谷( canyon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This mountain range has many high peaks and deep canyons. 这条山脉有许多高峰和深谷。 来自辞典例句
• Do you use canyons or do we preserve them all? 是使用峡谷呢还是全封闭保存？ 来自互联网

7 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

8 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

9 congregating   

（使）集合，聚集( congregate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The spatial distribution patterns of larvae and pupae are congregating distribution. 幼虫和蛹的空间分布均为聚集分布。
• He says victims of violence are congregating there because they feel safer. 他说暴力的受害者聚集在这里因为他们觉得更安全。

10 facets   

n.（宝石或首饰的）小平面( facet的名词复数 )；（事物的）面；方面

参考例句：

• The question had many facets. 这个问题是多方面的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A fully cut brilliant diamond has 68 facets. 经过充分切刻的光彩夺目的钻石有68个小平面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 flout   

v./n.嘲弄，愚弄，轻视

参考例句：

• Parents who flout Family Court orders may be named in the media in Australia.在澳洲父母亲若是藐视家庭法庭的裁定可能在媒体上被公布姓名。
• The foolish boy flouted his mother's advice.这个愚蠢的孩子轻视他母亲的劝告。

12 afflicted   

使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• About 40% of the country's population is afflicted with the disease. 全国40%左右的人口患有这种疾病。
• A terrible restlessness that was like to hunger afflicted Martin Eden. 一阵可怕的、跟饥饿差不多的不安情绪折磨着马丁·伊登。

13 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

14 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

15 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

16 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。