纽约时报 疫情下的美国 总有人不信邪(1)（在线收听）

Deniers and Disbelievers: "If I Get Corona, 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, Bishop, 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 isolation 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 brewery 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 boulders and canyons, 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 descended 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 isolate themselves and stop congregating

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 facets 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 flout authority or those afflicted 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 gathering.

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 immunity.

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 dwindling 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 interpretation.

“基本业务”一词的理解却有待商榷了。