随着夏令营的关闭，美国家庭将在室内度过夏天

Welcome to summer in the great indoors!

Parents across the United States are learning children's summer camps will be canceled, delayed or moved online because of the coronavirus health crisis.

Public safety measures will affect how boys and girls spend their summer vacation. From New Hampshire to California, families and the camps themselves are struggling. Online campfires and "virtual" fun and games in the living room are becoming more likely.

It is a sharp blow for children — and their parents — who have spent weeks at home during school closures. Many had hoped attending summer camp would be a prize following weeks of homeschooling and social distancing.

The move is also a sharp blow to nonprofit groups that depend on the money they earn from camps.

Young people who were looking forward to working at summer camp jobs have also been affected¹.

"When we finally found out that schools were going to be closed for the rest of the year, I was like, ‘Well, there's always summer camp.' I was really holding out for that," said Rasha Habiby of California. She had planned to send her 10-year-old daughter to her first sleep-away camp. But that is not possible anymore.

Habiby and her husband have demanding jobs. But they chose to keep their children away from her parents to avoid possibly spreading the virus. Now, she said the couple may be forced to ask her parents to watch the children during work hours.

Summer camps as big business

An estimated 20 million American children attend one or more summer camps each year. Their camp fees fuel an $18-billion industry that employs over a million seasonal² workers. That information comes from the American Camp Association, which represents more than 3,100 camps.

The association has asked independent health experts to make suggestions for camps. Many camps still hope to open, said Tom Rosenberg, the group's president. Camps are awaiting guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as state and local health officials, he added.

"Most camps are not asking if they're going to open but how they're going to open," Rosenberg said.

Camp Walt Whitman offers a seven-week overnight camp in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Camp officials sent parents a letter with three proposals: canceling all activities, postponing³ them or going forward with social distancing and other safety measures. Officials will decide after May 20, director Jed Dorfman said.

For smaller camps, cancelations could lead to financial ruin. Many nonprofits use the money that camps raise for their budgets and to pay for service contracts.

Organizers of some canceled camps have urged parents to donate all or part of this year's camp fees or put the money toward next year's camp.

That led to problems for Galileo Learning, a camp near San Francisco, California. It canceled its camp this summer and credited families for next year.

That angered some parents. The company then asked parents whether they would like all or part of their money returned or whether they would like a credit for future use. In a statement, Galileo said it had stopped paying or dismissed more than 80 percent of its year-round workers.

Other camps are racing⁴ to move online.

Interlochen Arts Camp usually has 2,800 young people from 50 countries attend its summer program in Michigan. But this year the camp will move to virtual programs. The camp will be shorter than usual, president Trey Devey said.

The changes are proving difficult for many Americans, including young people.

Delia Graham was looking forward to spending six weeks at Willowbrook Arts Camp, where she has been going since age 5. Now, 10 years later, she is old enough to work as a half-day counselor⁵ at the camp near Portland, Oregon.

Graham and her five camp friends have talked in a FaceTime group meeting about what might happen before getting the bad news, she said.

"I didn't think it would get so bad, that it would last this long," she said of the coronavirus pandemic. "I really miss my friends."

I'm Pete Musto.

Words in This Story

virtual – adj. not physically⁶ existing, but made by software programs to appear to do so

fee – n. a payment made to someone with expertise⁷ in exchange for advice or services

hold out – phrasal verb

contract – n. a business agreement

outcry – n. a shout or cry

counselor – n. someone who supervises children at a camp; a person who provides guidance

pandemic – n.

1 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

2 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

3 postponing   

v.延期，推迟( postpone的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He tried to gain time by postponing his decision. 他想以迟迟不作决定的手段来争取时间。 来自辞典例句
• I don't hold with the idea of postponing further discussion of the matter. 我不赞成推迟进一步讨论这件事的想法。 来自辞典例句

4 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

5 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

6 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

7 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。