2021 年 6 月 CATTI 英语一级笔译实务真题练习
“Social distancing” is, in fact, an umbrella term that comprises several very complex interventions for keeping healthy people spaced apart from anyone who could be infectious. Measures range from telling people to avoid crowds to issuing wholesale stay-at-home orders, with just about endless variations and possible combinations. Each of these may work to differing degrees, and they come with varying social and economic costs. When we ask whether social distancing “works,” we’re collapsing all these boundaries.
实际上,“社交隔离”是一个范畴词,包含多种复杂干预手段,目的是让健康人群远离可能具有传染性的人群,手段轻的包括告诫人们不要聚众,重的包括颁布居家隔离行政命令,两者之间可以有多种不同的可行组合,用以应对不同程度的疫情,造成的社会经济损失也不一样。当我们讨论社交隔离“是否有效”的时候,其实是模糊了不同手段之间的界限。
In general, once it’s clear the spread of a new virus as dangerous as this one has not been contained by testing and contact tracing, and for which there isn’t any treatment or vaccine, more drastic forms of social distancing are the only options left to slow it down. But the body of knowledge about social distancing in all its forms is changing rapidly in real time, as the pandemic brings a blizzard of new data, research, and analysis. Say anything on some subjects, and there’s quite a good chance it could be out of date in hours, if not minutes.
通常而言,当一种像新冠肺炎一样危险的新病毒开始传播时,如果未能通过检测和轨迹跟踪对其进行有效控制,也没有任何治疗手段和疫苗,采取更严格的社交隔离措施就成了延缓疫情传播的唯一途径。不过,伴随疫情中积累的海量新数据和研究分析,对不同类型社交隔离的认知也在实时发生快速变化。对各类防疫问题的论断,可能几小时甚至几分钟内就会过时。
First, on the question of large gatherings, and the degree to which their prohibition slows viral spread. Covid-19 outbreaks appear to have spiraled out from large religious meetings both in South Korea and in France, each resulting in thousands of infections. A soccer match was at the epicenter of Italy’s devastating wave. Avoiding crowded living conditions, though, isn’t always feasible.
首先是大规模集会以及限制集会能否有效缓解病毒扩散的问题。可以看到,韩国、法国的大型宗教集会都带来了新冠病毒的传播,各造成数千例感染。意大利的一场足球赛也造成了当地疫情的一轮大爆发。不过,限制集会有时候并不可行。
What about travel restrictions? Taken together, the studies suggest that domestic travel restrictions can delay influenza outbreaks for about a week; while international border closures may extend that window to 2 months.
那么出行限制呢?综合各项研究可以看出,限制国内旅行可将疫情爆发延缓一周左右,而关闭国境可将窗口期延长至2个月。
The question of school closures has been especially contentious, given the major social costs of the intervention.
而关于封校,考虑到其社会成本过大,一直是特别有争议的问题。
In addition to the known benefits to social distancing, there are devastating costs. Confined living, unemployment, and other pandemic pressures can increase the already high burden of family abuse and violence, for example. Reports from several countries already suggest that an epidemic of interpersonal violence could be traveling alongside the virus. Studies confirm that being quarantined or in isolation takes a heavy psychological toll, sometimes even long after it’s over.
社交隔离除了带来上述好处之外,也会造成极大的损失。居家隔离、失业以及疫情带来的其他压力正在让家暴进一步升级。多个国家的报告显示,随着病毒蔓延,人身暴力也在不断加剧。研究表明,防疫隔离会带来严重的心理负担,造成的影响有时在隔离结束后仍将长期持续。
That doesn’t mean we face a trade-off between protection from Covid-19 and protection of the economy: Both are necessary. A 2005 analysis of the potential economic impact of a pandemic stressed that mass deaths damage the economy, too.
但这并不是说我们要在控制疫情和维持经济之间做选择:两者同样重要。2005年,一份报告研究了疫情可能对经济造成的影响,指出人口的大量死亡也会影响经济。
We don’t know at what scale, and for how long, social distancing measures will be needed or can be sustained. According to an Australian modeling study, we need at least 70 percent of the population to stick to social distancing rules to make a serious difference. When people aren’t committed to the measures, cannot comply, or don’t understand critical aspects of what they are supposed to do, then it can be a struggle to maintain community-wide social distancing. When solidarity and trust have been high, though, and enough people believed it was essential, it has been sustained.
社交隔离措施究竟要采取多大规模,维持多长时间,我们不得而知。澳大利亚的一项模拟研究表明,至少要有70%的人口严格遵守社交隔离规定,才能形成实际效果。如果民众不遵守要求、服从安排,不理解究竟要怎么做,想要维持社区水平的社交隔离就会非常困难。如果人人都能不聚集,对防疫措施保持高度信任,有足够多的人能意识到社交隔离的重要性,隔离措施就能持续下去。