PBS高端访谈:疫情带来的经济损失波及全球

JUDY WOODRUFF: Big new numbers keep coming in the COVID-19 pandemic. The coronavirus has now killed more than 75,000 people in the United States and infected well over 1.2 million people, including someone whose work in the White House has brought him near President Trump¹. And millions more jobs have been destroyed. William Brangham begins our coverage².

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In a tsunami³ of closings, more than 33 million Americans have now lost their jobs to the pandemic. That includes 3.2 million just in the last week. Some would have been working in places like Ocean City, Maryland, usually packed with visitors and beachgoers, but now a virtual ghost town. Anna Dolle Bushnell owns a candy shop on the boardwalk.

ANNA DOLLE BUSHNELL, Co-Owner, Dolle's Candyland: We went from 35 employees down to five. We had to lay off pretty much everybody. Anybody that was in manufacturing, anybody that was waiting on customers, they're all gone just because our doors are all shuttered.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Small businesses aren't the only casualty. Major retailers⁴ Neiman Marcus and J. Crew have now filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy⁵ protection. And one of the country's oldest department stores, Lord & Taylor, announced it will liquidate⁶ its stores when they reopen. All that lost business is also robbing states of tax revenue. California today projected a budget shortfall of more than $54 billion this year, after running a $21 billion surplus a year ago.

Governor Gavin Newsom: GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): We really need the federal government to do more and to help us through this moment. We will do everything we are responsible for doing and more. We punch above our weight in this state, and we will come back stronger, more vibrant⁷, more resilient than ever.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: But exactly when states expect to reopen for business differs from region to region. So far, about half of all states have begun easing restrictions⁸. Much of the West Coast and Northeast remain shuttered, while many states in the Southeast and Midwest have partially⁹ reopened. In Montana, students at a handful of small rural schools were back in the classroom today. They're among the first in the country to open back up. The Associated Press reported the Trump administration shelved a 17-page document from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that offered guidelines to states, cities and businesses for how to safely reopen. It was seen as a blueprint¹⁰ for making site-specific decisions for everything from schools and churches to restaurants and day care centers. The recommendations were to have been published last Friday, but the AP reported, CDC scientists were told it would "never see the light of day". White House officials said today the CDC's guidance had not yet been approved by CDC leadership. Separately, the White House confirmed today that one of the president's personal valets had tested positive for the coronavirus. Officials said both the president and vice¹¹ president have now been tested again, and are still negative for the virus. President Trump was asked about it during an afternoon event.

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: So, we test once a week. Now we're going to go testing once a day. I have had very little contact, personal contact, with this gentleman. I know who he is, good person. But I have had very little contact. Mike has had very little contact with him.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Overseas today, the Bank of England warned that the British economy faces its sharpest economic downturn since 1706, back when Europe was engulfed¹² in the War of the Spanish Succession. Russia reported yet another record daily spike¹³ in infections, with more than 11,000 new cases. For the PBS NewsHour, I'm William Brangham.

朱迪·伍德拉夫：新冠死亡人数还在持续上升。新冠现已导致美国7.5万多人死亡，120多万人感染。其中包括白宫里特朗普的贴身工作人员。还有数百万人丢掉了工作。请听威廉·布朗汉姆发回的报道。

威廉·布朗汉姆：很多企业关停，3300多万美国人因疫情失业。这其中包含了上周的320万失业人员。这些失业的人中有些是在海洋城马里兰工作，那里通常都是游客络绎不绝，很多人去海滩，但现在是一座名副其实的死城了。安娜是木板路上一家糖果店的店主。

安娜，多丽糖果城的店主：我们的雇员从35名缩减到5名。我基本上不得不解雇所有人。制造业和服务业的人都一片萧条，很多企业都门厅紧锁。

威廉·布朗汉姆：小企业并非唯一遭到重创的。大型零售商内曼和克鲁也都申请了破产保护。该国年代最久远的百货商店罗德与泰勒百货也宣布将在重开时清算债务。企业的这番景象也导致联邦税收大幅减少。今天，加州预计今年有540亿美元的预算短缺，而一年前的他们又210亿美元的盈余。

州长加文·纽森：我们真的需要联邦政府出更多力，帮我们度过这场难关。我们会竭尽所能完成我们的责任并尽力做更多事情。加州遭受了出其不意的重创，等我们回归时必然更强、更有活力、更有韧性。

威廉·布朗汉姆：但企业复工的具体时间各地都不同。目前为止，近半数州已经放松了限制性措施。西海岸和东北部的很多地区依然没有复工，而东南部和中西部的很多州都已经重新开放了。在蒙大纳州，一些农村的小学校里有很多学生今天已经回到学校上课了。他们是全国的首批。美联社报道，特朗普政府对疾病控制和预防中心长达17页的报告置之不理，该报告为各州、各城市、各企业提供了安全复工的指南。这份报告是一份蓝图，为各方因地制宜做决策提供了范本，比如学校、教堂、餐厅、日托中心。这份报告本来是要上周五发布的，但美联社报道称，CDC的科学家们被告知这份报告将永无见天日的可能。白宫的工作人员今天表示，CDC的指南并未经过CDC领导层的审批。而另一边，白宫今天确认称总统的一个贴身工作人员被检测为新冠阳性。工作人员表示，总统和副总统现已经过再次检测，依然显示为阴性。在下午的一次活动上，特朗普接受了采访。

特朗普，美国总统：我们每周检测一次。现在每天检测一次。我跟这位绅士接触的很少，很少有私人接触。我知道他是个好人。但我们接触的很少。彭斯他也没怎么跟这个人接触过。

威廉·布朗汉姆：关于海外的消息——英格兰英航警示称英国经济现在正面临自1706年以来最严重的经济衰退。1706年的时候，欧洲正处于西班牙王位继承战争的漩涡中。据报道，俄罗斯新冠感染人数达到每日新高——1.1万多个新病例。感谢收听威廉·布朗汉姆发回的报道。

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

3 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

4 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

5 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

6 liquidate   

v.偿付，清算，扫除；整理，破产

参考例句：

• A unanimous vote was taken to liquidate the company.全体投票一致通过停业清理公司。
• They have not hesitated in the past to liquidate their rivals.过去他们曾毫不犹豫地铲除对手。

7 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

8 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

9 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

10 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

11 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

12 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。