外刊閱讀:Life goes on in lockdown

不久前,一種新型冠狀病毒突然襲擊我國。疫情從武漢開始,慢慢傳播到全國各地。爲了控制疫情,武漢封城了。而對於武漢的普通市民來說,生活還是要繼續。

Life goes on in lockdown

by Nectar Gan

For the millions of residents trapped in an unprecedented lockdown in Wuhan, the epicenter(中心) of China's deadly coronavirus outbreak, life has not been easy – but some are trying to make the best of a bad situation.

resident /ˈrezɪd(ə)nt/ n. 居民
trap /træp/ v. 困住
unprecedented /ʌnˈpresɪdentɪd/ adj. 史無前例的、沒有先例的
lockdown /ˈlɒkdaʊn/ n. 活動限制、封鎖
deadly /ˈdedli/ adj. 致命的、致死的
coronavirus /kəˈrəʊnəˌvaɪərəs/ n. 冠狀病毒
outbreak /ˈaʊtbreɪk/ n. (戰爭、疾病等)爆發
make the best of 充分利用(不利情況)以獲得最大好處

The city of 11 million people in central China's Hubei province has been in lockdown for over a week as Chinese authorities struggle to contain the spread of the deadly new coronavirus that has killed at least 170 people and sickened more than 7,700.★

province /ˈprɒvɪns/ n. 省
authorities /ɔːˈθɒrətiz/ n. 有關部門
struggle /ˈstrʌɡ(ə)l/ v. 艱難地做某事
contain /kənˈteɪn/ v. 遏制
spread /spred/ n. 傳播、擴散
sicken /ˈsɪk(ə)n/ v. 生病、使生病(由sick加後綴-en變成動詞)
注:這是截止1月29日24時的死亡和確診數字

Flights, trains and buses leaving Wuhan have been canceled, highways out of the city blocked and all intra-city public transports suspended. On Sunday, the city even banned private vehicles from the roads to discourage people from moving around.

highway /ˈhaɪweɪ/ n. 幹線公路、高速公路
block /blɒk/ v. 阻擋、攔截
intra- 前綴,表示“在內部”(intra-city就是“市內的”)
transport /ˈtrænspɔːt/ n. 交通、運輸
suspend /səˈspend/ v. 暫停
ban /bæn/ v. 禁止
vehicle /ˈviːɪk(ə)l/ n. 車輛
discourage /dɪˈskʌrɪdʒ/ v. 勸阻

There is no doubting the severity of this outbreak, but amid the fear of contagion(接觸傳染), many residents are finding ways to amuse themselves within the confines of their homes. Videos show people coming up with all kinds of activities to kill time: playing ping pong on the dining table, playing badminton with a rope tied between the television and a closet, as well as people pretending to fish in fish tanks.

doubt /daʊt/ v. 懷疑
severity /sɪˈverəti/ n. 嚴重性(由severe加後綴-ity變成名詞)
amid /əˈmɪd/ prep. 在…當中
amuse /əˈmjuːz/ v. 逗樂、提供消遣
confines /ˈkɒnfaɪnz/ n. 界限、範圍
come up with 想出
activity /ækˈtɪvəti/ n. 活動、娛樂活動
ping pong 乒乓球
badminton /ˈbædmɪnt(ə)n/ n. 羽毛球
rope /rəʊp/ n. 繩子
as well as = and also
pretend /prɪˈtend/ v. 假裝、裝作
fish /fɪʃ/ v. 釣魚
tank /tæŋk/ n. 水箱(fish tank就是魚缸)

Others are taking a more sedentary approach. "I've stayed at home for five days. Every day, apart from eating I'm sleeping. I slept so much that my back and my neck hurt," said one man surnamed Zhang, who said he was a resident of Wuhan. "Suddenly I understand why people walk their dogs every day – I also want to go out for a walk."

sedentary /ˈsed(ə)nt(ə)ri/ adj. 不運動的
approach /əˈprəʊtʃ/ n. 方法
apart from 除了
surname /ˈsɜːneɪm/ v. 給予姓氏(one man surnamed Zhang就是“一個姓張的男子”)

On Monday evening, residents could be heard shouting "Go, Wuhan!" and singing the national anthem from their high-rise buildings, according to cellphone video circulating online. But not all Wuhan residents support the practice. There was a counter call online to boycott(抵制) the plan, warning that it is too dangerous as droplets(小滴) of bodily fluids carrying the coronavirus could be passed from one floor to another as people shouted over balconies.

national anthem /ˈænθəm/ 國歌
high-rise (建築)高層的
cellphone /ˈselfəʊn/ n. 手機
circulate /ˈsɜːkjʊleɪt/ v. 流傳、傳播
practice /ˈpræktɪs/ n. 做法
counter /ˈkaʊntə(r)/ adj. 反面的、對立的
call /kɔːl/ n. 呼籲
bodily /ˈbɒd(ə)li/ adj. 身體的(由body加後綴-ly變成形容詞)
fluid /ˈfluːɪd/ n. 流體、液體(bodily fluid就是體液)
balcony /ˈbælkəni/ n. 陽臺

Some Wuhan residents are also chronicling(詳細記錄) their daily lives on video shared with the outside world. A video filmed by Wuhan resident Lin Chen last Friday, the day after the lockdown was imposed, showed vacant central shopping streets, deserted underground car parks and empty roads. "I know some shots look like scenes from a movie – completely empty streets, a city suddenly sealed off, but we all know this is not a movie," he said in the video.

film /fɪlm/ v. 拍攝
impose /ɪmˈpəʊz/ v. 強制施行
vacant /ˈveɪk(ə)nt/ adj. 空的
deserted /dɪˈzɜːtɪd/ adj. 無人的、冷清的
underground /ˌʌndəˈɡraʊnd/ adj. 地下的
car park 停車場
shot /ʃɒt/ n. (影片的)鏡頭
scene /siːn/ n. 場景
seal off 封閉、封鎖

"From my point of view, people in the city are still going about orderly. I see everyone using their own strength to keep the city functioning as normal. Everyone wants to do the right thing, to make things better," Lin said at the end of the video. "This is Wuhan at its fewest people, and among the most orderly times, I've seen in more than 10 years. Because no matter what, it is still home to 11 million people."

go about 指和平常一樣做事
orderly /ˈɔːd(ə)li/ adv. 有秩序地
strength /streŋθ/ n. 力量
function /ˈfʌŋkʃ(ə)n/ v. 運作
orderly /ˈɔːd(ə)li/ adj. 有秩序的

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(如果您發現某些行的最後一個單詞被分成兩半了,請把您使用的瀏覽器升級到最新版本就能正常顯示了。)

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