冠狀病毒求生術｜EF ENGLISH LIVE部落格

從網路視訊的對話內容，就知道冠狀病毒在歐洲是如何被輕忽的。

2020年初，Gordon在群組裡提醒英國親友要戴口罩和勤洗手，

得到的回應卻是：

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快速提升你的英語力，讓你成為合格的地球村公民哦！

“ A mask is for sick people and I’m NOT sick.”

「口罩是給生病的人，我 沒 病。」

“ Wearing a mask shows that you are weak.”

「出門戴口罩是虛弱的表現。」

“ People will turn heads if I put on a mask in the supermarket.”

「如果我在超市戴口罩，這會引人側目的。」

“ I asked your dad to sanitize his hands.

He became annoyed and yelled at me.”

「我要你爸消毒雙手，搞的他很煩，還對我大小聲。」

兩個星期後，台灣人戴口罩有效防疫的新聞傳到歐美國家，

他們對口罩的堅持開始鬆動，但是問題來了。

“ I checked around all the chemists’ stores and couldn’t see a single one.”

「我到處查看藥局，一個口罩都沒看到。」 (美語的藥局是drugstore.)

“One of the chemists even gave me a plastic mask for inhaling oxygen.”

「其中一個藥師還給我氧氣罩。」 (美語的藥師是pharmacist.)

“Your cousins had no choice but to make masks by themselves.

They covered their faces completely with a piece of cloth,

except for their eyes. They look like living mummies to me. ”

「你表弟們別無選擇只好自製口罩，他們用一條布把臉全包起來

只剩眼睛，在我看來，他們活像木乃伊。」公公在疫情中，仍不忘挖苦親友。

又過了兩個星期，英國政府決定採取封城和隔離的政策

大家只好儘量待在家裡，無奈的事情卻越來越多…

(待在家裡  守護健保制度  拯救生命)

“All the ball games on TV are re-runs, your dad is bored to death.

I wonder how he could survive? ”

「所有電視球賽都是重播，你爸無聊死了，我不知道他怎麼活得下去？」

因為很無聊，Gordon的爸媽開始互相找碴。婆婆也因無事可做，打電話到台灣找兒子說話的次數越來越多，從地上的螞蟻聊到樹上的貓咪，真是欲罷不能啊。

Gordon這個孝順的兒子，總是耐心的一邊工作，一邊嗯哦啊的回應。

再兩個星期後，The worst-case scenario has been realized.

最糟糕的設想情況實現了。

“ More people in our community just died of coronavirus.”

「我們社區有更多的人死於冠狀病毒了。」

“ Two of them are young lawyers, who were probably infected by their clients.”

「其中兩個是年輕的律師，大概被他們的客戶感染的。」

其實我們也很擔心長輩的健康，不斷這樣提醒他們：

“Don’t take it lightly, mom. You can never be too careful with a viral infection.”

「不要小看這件事，媽。對病毒感染，你再小心也不為過。」

如果你也關心全球公共衛生，一起來學學有關冠狀病毒的常用語：

1. 超前佈署 take early preventative measures

The government has decided to take early preventative measures to contain the spread of corona virus.
政府已經決定超前佈署以抑制冠狀病毒的傳播。

2. 保持社交距離 practice social distancing

People are required to practice social distancing to avoid becoming infected.
人們被要求保持社交距離以避免被感染。

3. 封城 lockdown ，隔離 quarantine

It is an aggressive policy to put some cities in lockdownand many people in quarantine.
封城和隔離多人是一項激進的政策。

4. 大規模流行病 pandemic

高度傳染和致死 highly transmissible and highly lethal

This coronavirus pandemic is highly transmissible and highly lethal.
冠狀病毒流行病是高度傳染和致死的。