本文翻译来自：考研英语笔记

考研英语笔记

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The pandemic is still far from over, but glimpses of its legacy are emerging.

疫情远未结束，但其后遗症正在显现。

legacy  遗产，后遗症

far from: 远非…；完全不…

glimpse: a short experience of sth that helps you to understand it 短暂的感受（或体验、领会）

legacy: a situation, especially a bad one, that exists as a result of things that happened before 遗留下来的局面（尤指糟糕的局面）

the legacy of the Vietnam war  越南战争的后遗症

WHEN WILL it end? For a year and a half, covid-19 has gripped one country after another. Just when you think the virus is beaten, a new variant comes storming back, more infectious than the last. And yet, as the number of vaccinations passes 3bn, glimpses of post-covid life are emerging. Already, two things are clear: that the last phase of the pandemic will be drawn-out and painful; and that covid-19 will leave behind a different world.

疫情何时结束？一年半以来，新冠肺炎疫情已经席卷一个又一个国家。就在你认为病毒被打败时，一种新的变异病毒卷土重来，比上一种（病毒）更具传染性。然而，随着疫苗接种数量超过30亿，后疫情时代的生活正在显现。目前，有两件事已很清楚：疫情的最后阶段将是漫长而痛苦的；新冠疫情将留下一个不同的世界。

grip: 对…具有强烈影响；紧握；支配

storm (v.) 气冲冲地走，猛攻

variant: 变体

infectious: 传染性的

vaccination: 接种

vaccination against typhoid  伤寒疫苗的接种

phase: one part of a process in which sth develops or grows 阶段; 时期

drawn-out: taking more time than usual or more time than you would like 拖长了的；冗长的

This week The Economist publishes a normalcy index, which reflects both these realities. Taking the pre-pandemic average as 100, it tracks such things as flights, traffic and retailing across 50 countries comprising 76% of Earth’s population. Today it stands at 66, almost double the level in April 2020.

这周，《经济学人》发布了一份反映上述两种现实的常态指数。以疫情前的平均水平为100，它追踪了涵盖全球人口76%的50个国家的航班，交通和零售等数据。如今，这一数字仅为66，几乎是2020年4月水平的两倍。

normalcy 常态

comprise: to have sb/sth as parts or members 包括；包含；由…组成

Yet the ravages of covid-19 are still apparent in many countries. Consider our index’s worst performer, Malaysia, which is suffering a wave of infections six times more deadly than the surge in January and scores just 27. The main reason for this is that vaccination remains incomplete.

然而，疫情在许多国家的肆虐仍然明显。考虑我们指数中表现最差的马来西亚，正遭受新一波新冠肺炎疫情，感染数比1月份高出六倍，（常态指数）得分仅为27。主要原因是疫苗接种尚未完成。

ravages 破坏，蹂躏

the ravages of: damage or destruction caused by sth such as war, disease, or time 某事物（如战争、疾病或时间）造成的破坏性后果

In sub-Saharan Africa, suffering a lethal outbreak, just 2.4% of the population aged over 12 has had a single dose. Even in America, where vaccines are plentiful, only around 30% of Mississippians and Alabamans are fully protected. Although the world is set to produce around 11bn doses of vaccine this year, it will be months before all those jabs find arms, and longer if rich countries hog doses on the off-chance that they may need them.

在撒哈拉以南正在爆发致命疫情的非洲地区，12岁以上的人口中，接种过一剂疫苗的人数仅占2.4%。即使在疫苗充足的美国，也只有大约30%的密西西比人和阿拉巴马人得到了充分保护。尽管全球今年将生产大约110亿剂疫苗，但在找到应接种的人员之前还需要数月的时间，如果富裕国家为了以防万一而独占疫苗，那需要的时间会更长。

lethal: causing or able to cause death 致命的；可致死的

dose: a measured amount of sth such as medicine 一剂

a dose of penicillin 一剂青霉素

jab: 预防针

hog: to keep, use, or have all of sth that should be shared 攫取；把…占为己有；独占

on the off-chance: 希望（某事）会发生；碰碰运气；抱有一线希望

The lack of vaccination is aggravated by new variants. Delta, first spotted in India, is two to three times more infectious than the virus that came out of WH. Cases spread so fast that hospitals can rapidly run out of beds and medical staff (and sometimes oxygen), even in places where 30% of people have had jabs. Today’s variants are spreading even among the vaccinated. No mutation has yet put a dent in the vaccines’ ability to prevent almost all severe disease and death. But the next one might.

疫苗缺乏问题由于新变种病毒的出现而变得更加严峻。Delta病毒，首先在印度发现，其感染性是之前病毒的两到三倍。病例传播如此之快，以致于医院迅速用光了病床和医护人员（有时还有氧气），即使在30%的人已注射疫苗的地方也是如此。现在的变异病毒甚至在已接种疫苗的人群中蔓延。目前还没有（病毒）突变能削弱疫苗预防几乎所有严重疾病和死亡的能力。但下一个突变可能会。

aggravate: to make a bad situation worse 使加剧；使恶化

The doctors say her condition is aggravated by stress. 

mutation 突变；变异

run out of 用光

put a dent in 减少；使有凹痕，使吃紧，占据一席之地

None of this alters the fact that the pandemic will eventually abate, even though the virus itself is likely to survive. For those fortunate enough to have been fully vaccinated and to have access to new treatments, covid-19 is already fast becoming a non-lethal disease. In Britain, where Delta is dominant, the fatality rate if you become infected is now about 0.1%, similar to seasonal flu: a danger, but a manageable one. If a variant required a reformulated vaccine, it would not take long to create.

所有这些都不能改变这一事实：疫情最终会减弱，即使病毒本身很可能存活下来。对于那些有幸完全接种疫苗的人以及能够获得新的治疗手段的人来说，新冠肺炎已经迅速成为一种非致命性疾病。在Delta病毒占主导地位的英国，被感染后的致死率现在大约是0.1%，与季节性感冒类似：危险但可控。如果一种变异需要重新配制疫苗，不需要花费很长时间就可以研制出来。

abate: to become less strong or decrease 减弱，减轻；减少

fatality rate: 死亡率

seasonal flu: 季节性流感

reformulated: 再制订；再规划；再准备

However, as vaccines and treatments become more plentiful in rich countries, so will anger at seeing people in poor ones die for want of supplies. That will cause friction between rich countries and the rest. Travel bans will keep the two worlds apart.

然而，随着富裕国家的疫苗和治疗手段越来越丰富，人们看到贫穷国家的人因为缺乏疫苗而死亡将会愤怒。这将引起富裕国家与其他国家的摩擦。旅行禁令将这两个世界分隔开来。

for want of: 由于缺乏某物

friction: a lack of friendship or agreement among people who have different opinions about sth 争执；分歧；不和；摩擦

Eventually flights will resume, but other changes in behaviour will last. Some will be profound. Take America, where the booming economy surged past its pre-pandemic level back in March, but which still scores only 73 on our index—partly because big cities are quieter, and more people work from home.

航班最终会恢复，但其他行为的变化将持续。其中一些将影响深远。以美国为例，蓬勃发展的经济3月份超过了疫情前水平，但在我们的指数中得分仅为73，部分原因是大城市更安静，更多的人在家里办公。

resume: 重新开始；（中断后）继续

profound: having a strong influence or effect （影响）深刻的；极大的

So far it looks as if the legacy of covid-19 will follow the pattern set by past pandemics. Nicholas Christakis of Yale University identifies three shifts: the collective threat prompts a growth in state power; the overturning of everyday life leads to a search for meaning; and the closeness of death which brings caution while the disease rages, spurs audacity when it has passed. Each will mark society in its own way.

到目前为止，新冠疫情的后遗症似乎遵循以往流行病确立的模式。耶鲁大学的Nicholas Christakis指出三个转变：共同威胁促使国家权力的增长；日常生活的颠覆导致对意义的探寻；疾病肆虐时，死亡的临近带来了谨慎，瘟疫过后则激发了胆大妄为。每种转变都将以自己的方式为社会打上烙印。

prompt: 促使; 激励

overturning: 颠覆

audacity: 鲁莽（的行为）；胆大妄为（的行为）

When people in rich countries retreated into their houses during lockdowns, the state barricaded itself in with them. During the pandemic governments have been the main channel for information, the setters of rules, a source of cash and, ultimately, providers of vaccines. Very roughly, rich-country governments paid out 90 cents for every dollar of lost output. Slightly to their own amazement, politicians who restricted civil liberties found that most of their citizens applauded.

当富裕国家的人们在*期间躲进自己的房屋时，国家就把自己和他们一道关在里面。在疫情期间，*是信息的主要渠道，规则制定者，现金来源，并最终成为疫苗提供者。粗略地说，富裕国家每损失1美元的产出，*就要支付90美分。令他们自己略感惊讶的是，限制公民*的政治家发现，他们获得了大多数公民的赞许。

retreat: to go away to a place that is quiet or safe 退隐；躲避

barricade sb/oneself in/into sth: 躲在…里

pay out: to pay a lot of money for something 花费（大笔钱）

applaud: to express strong approval of an idea, plan etc 称赞；赞许

There is a vigorous academic debate about whether lockdowns were “worth it”. But the big-government legacy of the pandemic is already on display. Just look at the spending plans of the Biden administration. Whatever the problem—inequality, sluggish economic growth, the security of supply chains—a bigger, more activist government seems to be the preferred solution.

关于*是否“值得”，有一场激烈学术辩论。但疫情留下的大*遗产已经显现。仅看拜登*的支出计划即可知道。无论问题是什么，比如不平等，缓慢的经济增长，供应链安全，一个更大、更积极的*似乎是首选的解决方案。

sluggish: moving or reacting more slowly than normal 行动缓慢的；反应迟缓的

There is also evidence of a renewed search for meaning. This is reinforcing the shift towards identity politics on both the right and the left, but it goes deeper than that. Roughly one in five people in Italy and the Netherlands told Pew, a pollster, that the pandemic had made their countries more religious. In Spain and Canada about two in five said family ties had become stronger.

也有证据表明，人们开始重新找寻生命的意义。这加强了左翼和右翼向认同政治的转变，但它比这更深刻。在意大利和荷兰，大约五分之一的居民告诉民意测验机构Pew，疫情让他们的国家更加笃信宗教。在西班牙和加拿大，大约五分之二的人表示家庭关系变得更加紧密。

identity politics 认同政治，人们在社会政治生活中产生的一种感情和意识上的归属感。当某一特定群体的成员为了影响政治或社会变革而联合起来时，其结果通常被称为“认同政治”。

Pollster 民意调查人，民意测验机构

family ties: 家庭关系

Leisure has been affected, too. People say they have had 15% more time on their hands. In Britain young women spent 50% longer with their nose in a book. Literary agents have been swamped with first novels. Some of this will fade: media firms fear an “attention recession”. But some changes will stick.

休闲活动也受到影响。人们说他们手上的时间多了15%。在英国，年轻女性在读书上的时间增加了50%。文学代理人为小说新作忙得不可开交。有些休闲活动会逐渐消失：媒体公司担心出现“注意力衰退”。但一些变化将持续下去。

bury one’s nose in a book 一头钻进书本

keep one's nose to the grindstone 埋头苦干

swamp   使不堪承受，使疲于应对；淹没

be swamped with work 工作忙得一塌糊涂

For example, people may decide they want to escape pre-pandemic drudgery at work, and tight labour markets may help them. In Britain applications to medical school were up by 21% in 2020. In America business creation has been its highest since records began in 2004. One in three Americans who can work from home wants to do so five days a week, according to surveys. Some bosses are ordering people into the office; others are trying to entice them in.

例如，人们可能决定摆脱疫情前的苦差事，劳动力紧张的市场可能对他们有益。在英国，2020年医学院的申请人数增加了21%。在美国，商业创新已达到自2004年有记录以来的最高水平。调查显示，三分之一的能在家工作的美国人想这样一周工作五天。有些老板命令员工回到办公室；其它老板则尝试劝诱他们回到办公室。

Drudgery 单调乏味的苦差事；繁重无聊的工作

entice 诱使；怂恿

Those who don’t die roll the dice

未死之人孤注一掷

roll the dice: to gamble or take a chance on sth or sb 碰运气；冒险

It is still unclear whether the appetite for risk is about to rebound. In principle, if you survive a life-threatening disease, you may count yourself as one of the lucky ones and the devil may care. In the years after the Spanish flu a century ago, a hunger for excitement burst onto the scene in every sphere, from sexual licence to the arts to the craze for speed. This time the new frontiers could range from space travel to genetic engineering, artificial intelligence and enhanced reality.

目前尚不清楚风险偏好是否会反弹。原则上，如果你幸存于一种威胁生命的疾病，你可能认为自己是幸运的，将无所顾忌。一个世纪前，西班牙流感之后的数年，对刺激的渴望在各个领域爆发，从性许可到艺术到对速度的*。这次，新的前沿领域可能涉及从太空旅行到基因工程，人工智能和增强现实。

the appetite for risk 风险偏好。风险偏好是决策者心理上对待风险的一种态度。不同的人对待风险的态度存在显著的个体差异。风险偏好对决策有着至关重要的影响和作用。

rebound: 反弹

devil-may-care  不顾一切的，漫不经心的，无所顾忌的

the devil may care 英语里有一个形容词是devil-may-care，意思是不顾一切的，漫不经心的，这里虽然变成了短句，但为同样的含义。

a devil-may-care attitude 毫无顾忌的轻松态度

burst onto the scene 突然出现，亮相

sphere: an area of activity, influence or interest; a particular section of society 范围；领域；阶层；界

Even before the coronavirus came along, the digital revolution, climate change  and China’s rise  seemed to be bringing the post-second-world-war, Western-led order to an end. The pandemic will hasten the transformation. 

甚至在疫情出现之前，数字变革，气候变化和我们崛起仍乎正在终结二战之后西方国家主导的秩序。疫情将加速这种转变。

hasten: to make sth happen faster or sooner 加速；加紧         

“王不留说” 

精读一篇原汁原味的外刊对语言能力的提升，胜过阅读多篇文章。只有自己把译文稿写下之后，才能体会薄弱的知识点在哪里，从而查遗补漏。

本篇翻译来自：考研英语笔记