Covid-19：为什么美国的死亡人数如此之高？：英语精读讲义

America is now the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. 用詞

美国现在是冠状病毒大流行的震中。

America has passed the grim milestone of 20,500 deaths to overtake Italy as the world's worst hit nation. 短語搭配

美国已经跨过了20,500人死亡这一沉重节点，超过意大利成为全球受灾最严重的国家。

Many blame the president for the scale of the crisis.

许多人将危机的严重程度归咎于总统。

These are the lonely times for a president.

对总统来说，这些是孤独的时刻。

All the decisions come to you.

所有的决定都要由你来做。

Uh and he's made just about all of them wrong.

呃，而他几乎把所有的决定都做错了。

But the causes of America's failings in dealing with the virus run far deeper. 習語

但美国在应对病毒方面遭遇失败的深层原因远不止于此。

Independent of Donald Trump,

撇开唐纳德·特朗普不谈，

America is a country that always would have found fighting a pandemic to be difficult, 語法

美国原本就是一个在抗击大流行病方面总是会面临困难的国家，

um regardless of who the president was. 短語搭配

嗯，不管总统是谁。

When the novel coronavirus hit America,

当新型冠状病毒袭击美国时，

President Donald Trump's administration was slow to act. 短語搭配

唐纳德·特朗普总统的政府行动迟缓。

Early on, the president was, you know, reassuring Americans that things would not get so bad. 短語搭配

在早期，你知道，总统还在安慰美国人说事情不会变得那么糟。

We have it very much under control in this country. 短語搭配

我们在我们国家控制得非常好。

We had 12 at one point,

我们一度只有12个病例，

and now they've gotten very much better.

现在他们已经好多了。

He seemed to be worried about the stock market,

他似乎更担心股市，

um and its uh vacillations.

嗯，以及它的，呃，波动。

And I think that there was a series of critical weeks in which the threat was underplayed. 用詞

我认为有那么几个关键的星期，威胁被低估了。

The administration's initial complacency was set to store up problems for the weeks ahead. 短語動詞

政府最初的自满情绪势必会为未来几周埋下隐患。

There was a sense that we didn't need to develop the amount of ventilators that we had, 表達脈絡

当时有种感觉是，我们不需要去生产我们（最终）拥有的那么多呼吸机，

the number of personal protective equipment that could go out to doctors.

以及能发放给医生的个人防护装备数量。

And what we find now is that we're in the midst of kind of a national shortage of those things. 短語搭配

而我们现在发现的是，我们在全国范围内都处于这些物资短缺的状态。

On March 9th,

3月9日，

the Trump administration promised millions of test kits crucial to monitor the spread of the virus.

特朗普政府承诺提供数百万个对监测病毒传播至关重要的检测试剂盒。

Yet, by the end of the month, only around 200,000 tests had been completed.

然而，到月底，只完成了约20万次检测。

This is a serious thing.

这是一件严肃的事情。

And right now, the federal government is failing.

而现在，联邦政府正在失职。

But this failure wasn't entirely down to President Trump's inaction.

但这种失败并不完全归咎于特朗普总统的不作为。

Thousands of Americans may have been exposed to the coronavirus, 語法

成千上万的美国人可能已经暴露于冠状病毒之下，

but have not been tested.

但却没有进行过检测。

The first tests created by the Centers for Disease Control,

由美国疾病控制与预防中心（CDC）开发的第一批检测，

a federal agency, didn't work.

作为一家联邦机构，其试剂毫无作用。

Private and academic labs around the country tried to develop their own tests,

全国各地的私人和学术实验室试图开发自己的测试，

but were initially hampered by strict regulations and a laborious approval process. 講解

但最初由于严格的规定和繁琐的审批程序而受阻。

That's a technical failing and a bureaucratic failing that perhaps could be laid on the president. 短語搭配

这是一种技术上的失败，也是官僚主义的失败，或许可以归咎于总统。

But one of the things about America is that public health authority is incredibly devolved to states and cities in terms of how they respond. 文化背景

但是关于美国的一件事是，公共卫生权力在如何应对方面，极其下放给了各州和城市。

So that the federal government actually can't order these things.

所以联邦政府实际上无法强制下达这些命令。

America's federal system grants states the authority to decide when and how to respond in a public health crisis like this pandemic. 短語搭配

美国的联邦系统授予各州权力，决定在像这种大流行病的公共卫生危机中何时以及如何应对。

And every state has responded differently.

每个州的反应各不相同。

The state's 19 million residents are being told to stay at home as much as possible.

该州1900万居民被告知尽可能呆在家里。

Faced with an escalating crisis, 語法

面对不断升级的危机，

the governor of New York announced a statewide lockdown on March 20th.

纽约州州长于3月20日宣布全州范围内实施封锁。

We're going to put out an executive order today. 短語動詞

我们今天将发布一项行政命令。

New York State on pause.

纽约州暂停运作（New York State on pause）。

We need everyone to be safe.

我们需要每个人都安全。

Otherwise, no one can be safe.

否则，没有人能安全。

On the same day in Florida,

在同一天的佛罗里达州，

spring breakers were reveling on beaches.

放春假的学生们正在海滩上狂欢。

If I get corona, I get corona.

如果我得了新冠，我就得了新冠。

At the end of the day, 習語

不管怎样，

I'm not going to let it stop me from partying. 語法

我不会让它阻止我开派对。

Here, there would be no lockdown for almost another 2 weeks,

在这里，几乎还要再等两周才会有封锁措施，

during which time the virus continued to spread across the country. 語法

在此期间，病毒继续在全国蔓延。

Some states called for non-essential businesses to be closed and for people to stay at home much earlier than others. 短語搭配

一些州比其他州更早地呼吁关闭非必要企业并让人们留在家中。

The fact that borders remained open between the states complicates efforts at containment.

各州之间保持边界开放的事实使遏制病毒的努力复杂化。

While some states might have kind of shut down at this time, 短語動詞

虽然在这个时候，有些州可能已经某种程度上关闭了，

you know, California, Washington, Oregon,

你知道的，比如加利福尼亚、华盛顿、俄勒冈，

if a resident from there goes to Florida and then comes back,

但如果那里的居民去了佛罗里达然后再回来，

you can see how it could exponentiate from there. 講解

你就能看出这会如何呈指数级蔓延。

That's the weakness of a system that relies on decision makers in 50 states and numerous jurisdictions.

这就是一个依赖50个州和众多司法管辖区的决策者的系统的弱点。

A virus doesn't respect state lines. 習語

病毒不分州界。

And efforts to halt the spread of the virus have been impeded by another aspect of America's political system. 短語搭配

而且，阻止病毒传播的努力受到了美国政治体系另一个方面的阻碍。

Democrats, what do they do?

民主党人，他们在做什么？

They want to use a deadly virus as a political weapon against the president. 習語

他们想利用这种致命的病毒作为对抗总统的政治武器。

Partisan politics are crippling America's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

党派政治正在削弱美国对冠状病毒大流行的应对。

Politics has infected America's handling of the outbreak. 習語

政治因素已经感染了美国处理疫情的方式。

Republican and right-leaning politicians have been slower to impose restrictions than Democrats. 語法

共和党和右倾政客在实施限制方面比民主党人行动更慢。

I am pleading with you to stay home. 短語搭配

我恳求你们留在家中。

Stay home

留在家里

unless it is necessary for you to go out. 語法

除非你有必要出门。

Part of the reason is that it starts in cities, 表達脈絡

部分原因是它从城市开始，

so it's taken off in places like New York and Seattle and California. 短語動詞

所以在像纽约、西雅图和加利福尼亚这样的地方爆发了。

And these are places that tend to have Democratic mayors, 語法

而这些地方往往有民主党的市长，

tend to have Democratic governors.

往往有民主党的州长。

And when political scientists kind of try and account for the rate of infection, 短語動詞

当政治学家试图解释感染率时，

how rural your state is,

比如你们州有多农村化，

and all the rest,

以及所有其他因素，

they still see that Republican governors are slower to implement social distancing measures.

他们仍然看到共和党州长在实施保持社交距离措施方面更慢。

There's even evidence that Americans' adherence to the rules,

甚至有证据表明，美国人对规则的遵守程度，

crucial to halting the spread of the virus,

——这对于阻止病毒传播至关重要——

is also being influenced by party loyalty.

也正受到党派忠诚度的影响。

So you see,

所以你看，

at least from what we can measure from cell phone data, 表達脈絡

至少从我们可以从手机数据中衡量的情况来看，

Republicans seeming to take social distancing less seriously than Democrats.

共和党人似乎对待保持社交距离的态度不如民主党人那么认真。

This blanket spread of shutting down businesses,

这种大范围关闭企业的情况，

it's an economic disaster for Michigan,

对密歇根州来说是一场经济灾难，

and people are sick and tired of it. 習語

人们对此感到厌烦和疲倦。

GPS data show that Democratic voters in the 2016 presidential election have cut travel more than Republican voters.

GPS数据显示，在2016年总统选举中投给民主党的选民比投给共和党的选民减少了更多的出行。

In Hawaii,

在夏威夷，

where the majority voted Democrat in 2016,

那里在2016年大多数人投给了民主党，

people more than halved their travel in March. 語法

人们在三月份的出行减少了一半以上。

In Wyoming,

在怀俄明州，

where the majority voted Republican,

大多数人投给了共和党，

travel actually increased slightly.

出行实际上略有增加。

It's supremely unhelpful for response to a virus to be politically polarized 用詞

对病毒的应对出现政治两极分化是极其无益的，

because the virus obviously infects uh whomever it can. 語法

因为病毒显然会感染，呃，任何它能感染的人。

On April 11th,

4月11日，

America overtook Italy to become the worst hit country in the world. 語法

美国超过意大利，成为世界上受灾最严重的国家。

The damage the virus is causing in America is compounded by the nature of its health care system. 用詞

病毒在美国造成的破坏，因其医疗保健系统的性质而加剧。

American hospitals are a business,

美国医院是一门生意，

uh much more so than in other parts of the world. 語法

呃，比世界其他地方更是如此。

There's no financial incentive for hospitals to have extra beds in the ICU 短語搭配

对医院来说，没有任何财务激励去在重症监护室（ICU）配备额外的床位，

or extra ventilators

或者额外的呼吸机，

or um extra um pulmonologists who can specialize in intubation.

或，嗯，额外的，嗯，能够专门进行插管的肺病专家。

Only 305 of America's 6,000 or so hospitals offer the most intensive treatment available. 短語搭配

在美国大约6,000家医院中，只有305家能提供可用的最高强度的治疗。

That's if patients even make it to hospital. 習語

这还是在病人甚至能挺到医院的情况下。

Roughly 12% of Americans don't have health insurance.

大约12%的美国人没有医疗保险。

Around 23% of those who do have insurance are underinsured, 用詞

在那些有保险的人中，大约23%保险不足，

which means they could be hit with high charges. 習語

这意味着他们可能会受到高额费用的打击。

More than half of working-age people have health insurance through their employers. 文化背景

超过一半的工作年龄人口通过其雇主获得医疗保险。

But now, with over 20 million Americans claiming unemployment,

但现在，随着超过两千万美国人申请失业，

many may lose that access.

许多人可能会失去这种保障。

If you have more people afraid of getting treatment then,

如果有更多的人害怕接受治疗，那么，

you know, the mortality rate might be higher than it ought to be. 語法

你知道，死亡率可能会比应该的更高。

All of those things mean that

所有这些事情都意味着

a pandemic would have strained the American healthcare system quite a lot,

一场大流行病本来就会给美国的医疗保健系统带来很大压力，

no matter who was president. 語法

无论谁当总统。

The Trump administration has promised some help to those who don't have access to healthcare.

特朗普政府已经承诺向那些无法获得医疗保健的人提供一些帮助。

Today, I can so proudly announce that hospitals and healthcare providers treating uninsured coronavirus patients

今天，我可以如此自豪地宣布，治疗无保险冠状病毒患者的医院和医疗服务提供者

will be reimbursed by the federal government using funds from the economic relief package Congress passed last month. 用詞

将由联邦政府使用国会上个月通过的经济救济方案中的资金进行报销。

Yet, there are still a lot of unanswered questions about exactly what and who is covered by the federal fund. 用詞

然而，关于联邦基金确切涵盖什么和涵盖谁，仍然有很多未解答的问题。

For much of America,

对于美国的大部分地区来说，

the peak of the coronavirus pandemic is not yet in sight. 習語

冠状病毒大流行的高峰仍未到来。

On April 16th,

4月16日，

President Trump presented a set of guidelines on how and when social distancing measures could be lifted. 短語搭配

特朗普总统提出了一套关于如何以及何时可以取消社交距离措施的指导方针。

He made it clear that the next move is up to each individual state. 講解

他明确表示，下一步行动取决于各个州。

Every state is very different.

每个州都非常不同。

They need to remain closed.

他们需要保持关闭。

We will allow them to do that.

我们将允许他们这样做。

And if they believe it is time to reopen, 語法

如果他们认为到了重新开放的时候，

we will provide them the freedom and guidance to accomplish that task.

我们将为他们提供自由和指导来完成这项任务。

Yet, the president immediately undermined his own guidelines 用詞

然而，总统立即破坏了他自己的指导方针，

by showing support for a growing protest movement demanding an end to lockdowns. 短語搭配

他表现出对不断增长的要求结束封锁的抗议运动的支持。

These are people expressing their views.

这些人在表达他们的观点。

I see where they are and I see the way they're working.

我看到他们在哪里，我也看到了他们运作的方式。

They seem to be very responsible people to me.

在我看来他们似乎是非常负责任的人。

Donald Trump has presided over 短語動詞

唐纳德·特朗普主导了，

and done much to encourage America's disjointed response to the pandemic.

并且在很大程度上助长了美国对疫情混乱的应对。

The combination of an erratic president,

反复无常的总统、

federalized government, and a complex and fragmented healthcare system

联邦制政府以及复杂而碎片化的医疗保健系统的组合，

means America's already high death toll will continue to mount. 短語搭配

意味着美国本已很高的死亡人数将继续攀升。

I'm Idrees Kahloon.

我是伊德里斯·卡伦。

I'm the US policy correspondent for The Economist.

我是《经济学人》的美国政策记者。

I've been writing about how coronavirus has been affecting Americans of all stripes. 習語

我一直在撰写有关冠状病毒如何影响各行各业的美国人的报道。

Um if you want to read more of our coverage,

嗯，如果你想阅读更多我们的报道，

you can see the link beside me.

你可以看到我旁边的链接。