Covid-19：為什麼美國的死亡人數如此之高？：英語精讀講義

America is now the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. 用詞

美國現在是冠狀病毒大流行的震央。

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

美國已經越過了20,500人死亡這一沉重節點，超越義大利成為全球受災最嚴重的國家。

Many blame the president for the scale of the crisis.

許多人將危機的嚴重程度歸咎於總統。

These are the lonely times for a president.

對總統來說，這些是孤獨的時刻。

All the decisions come to you.

所有的決定都要由你來做。

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

呃，而他幾乎把所有的決定都做錯了。

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

但美國在應對病毒方面遭遇失敗的深層原因遠不止於此。

Independent of Donald Trump,

撇開唐納德·川普不談，

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

美國原本就是一個在抗擊大流行病方面總是會面臨困難的國家，

um regardless of who the president was. 片語搭配

嗯，不管總統是誰。

When the novel coronavirus hit America,

當新型冠狀病毒襲擊美國時，

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

唐納德·川普總統的政府行動遲緩。

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

在早期，你知道，總統還在安慰美國人說事情不會變得那麼糟。

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

我們在我們國家控制得非常好。

We had 12 at one point,

我們一度只有12個病例，

and now they've gotten very much better.

現在他們已經好多了。

He seemed to be worried about the stock market,

他似乎更擔心股市，

um and its uh vacillations.

嗯，以及它的，呃，波動。

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

我認為有那麼幾個關鍵的星期，威脅被低估了。

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

政府最初的自滿情緒勢必會為未來幾週埋下隱患。

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

當時有種感覺是，我們不需要去生產我們（最終）擁有的那麼多呼吸器，

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

以及能發放給醫生的個人防護裝備數量。

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

而我們現在發現的是，我們在全國範圍內都處於這些物資短缺的狀態。

On March 9th,

3月9日，

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

川普政府承諾提供數百萬個對監測病毒傳播至關重要的檢測試劑盒。

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

然而，到月底，只完成了約20萬次檢測。

This is a serious thing.

這是一件嚴肅的事情。

And right now, the federal government is failing.

而現在，聯邦政府正在失職。

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

但這種失敗並不完全歸咎於川普總統的不作為。

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

成千上萬的美國人可能已經暴露於冠狀病毒之下，

but have not been tested.

但卻沒有進行過檢測。

The first tests created by the Centers for Disease Control,

由美國疾病管制與預防中心（CDC）開發的第一批檢測，

a federal agency, didn't work.

作為一家聯邦機構，其試劑毫無作用。

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

全國各地的私人和學術實驗室試圖開發自己的測試，

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

但最初由於嚴格的規定和繁瑣的審批程序而受阻。

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

這是一種技術上的失敗，也是官僚主義的失敗，或許可以歸咎於總統。

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

但是關於美國的一件事是，公共衛生權力在如何應對方面，極其下放給了各州和城市。

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

所以聯邦政府實際上無法強制下達這些命令。

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

美國的聯邦系統授予各州權力，決定在像這種大流行病的公共衛生危機中何時以及如何應對。

And every state has responded differently.

每個州的反應各不相同。

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

該州1900萬居民被告知盡可能待在家裡。

Faced with an escalating crisis, 文法

面對不斷升級的危機，

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

紐約州州長於3月20日宣布全州範圍內實施封鎖。

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

我們今天將發布一項行政命令。

New York State on pause.

紐約州暫停運作（New York State on pause）。

We need everyone to be safe.

我們需要每個人都安全。

Otherwise, no one can be safe.

否則，沒有人能安全。

On the same day in Florida,

在同一天的佛羅里達州，

spring breakers were reveling on beaches.

放春假的學生們正在海灘上狂歡。

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, 慣用語

不管怎樣，

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

我不會讓它阻止我開派對。

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

在這裡，幾乎還要再等兩週才會有封鎖措施，

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

在此期間，病毒繼續在全國蔓延。

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

一些州比其他州更早地呼籲關閉非必要企業並讓人民留在家中。

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

各州之間保持邊界開放的事實使遏制病毒的努力複雜化。

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

雖然在這個時候，有些州可能已經某種程度上關閉了，

you know, California, Washington, Oregon,

你知道的，比如加利福尼亞、華盛頓、俄勒岡，

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

但如果那裡的居民去了佛羅里達然後再回來，

you can see how it could exponentiate from there. 講解

你就能看出這會如何呈指數級蔓延。

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

這就是一個依賴50個州和眾多司法管轄區的決策者的系統的弱點。

A virus doesn't respect state lines. 慣用語

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. 片語搭配

而且，阻止病毒傳播的努力受到了美國政治體系另一個方面的阻礙。

Democrats, what do they do?

民主黨人，他們在做什麼？

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

他們想利用這種致命的病毒作為對抗總統的政治武器。

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

黨派政治正在削弱美國對冠狀病毒大流行的應對。

Politics has infected America's handling of the outbreak. 慣用語

政治因素已經感染了美國處理疫情的方式。

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

共和黨和右傾政客在實施限制方面比民主黨人行動更慢。

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

我懇求你們留在家中。

Stay home

留在家裡

unless it is necessary for you to go out. 文法

除非你有必要出門。

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

部分原因是它從城市開始，

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

所以在像紐約、西雅圖和加利福尼亞這樣的地方爆發了。

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

而這些地方往往有民主黨的市長，

tend to have Democratic governors.

往往有民主黨的州長。

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

當政治學家試圖解釋感染率時，

how rural your state is,

比如你們州有多農村化，

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.

他們仍然看到共和黨州長在實施保持社交距離措施方面更慢。

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

甚至有證據表明，美國人對規則的遵守程度，

crucial to halting the spread of the virus,

——這對於阻止病毒傳播至關重要——

is also being influenced by party loyalty.

也正受到黨派忠誠度的影響。

So you see,

所以你看，

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

至少從我們可以從手機數據中衡量的情況來看，

Republicans seeming to take social distancing less seriously than Democrats.

共和黨人似乎對待保持社交距離的態度不如民主黨人那麼認真。

This blanket spread of shutting down businesses,

這種大範圍關閉企業的情況，

it's an economic disaster for Michigan,

對密西根州來說是一場經濟災難，

and people are sick and tired of it. 慣用語

人們對此感到厭煩和疲倦。

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

GPS數據顯示，在2016年總統選舉中投給民主黨的選民比投給共和黨的選民減少了更多的出行。

In Hawaii,

在夏威夷，

where the majority voted Democrat in 2016,

那裡在2016年大多數人投給了民主黨，

people more than halved their travel in March. 文法

人們在三月份的出行減少了一半以上。

In Wyoming,

在懷俄明州，

where the majority voted Republican,

大多數人投給了共和黨，

travel actually increased slightly.

出行實際上略有增加。

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

對病毒的應對出現政治兩極分化是極其無益的，

because the virus obviously infects uh whomever it can. 文法

因為病毒顯然會感染，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. 文法

美國超過義大利，成為世界上受災最嚴重的國家。

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

病毒在美國造成的破壞，因其醫療保健系統的性質而加劇。

American hospitals are a business,

美國醫院是一門生意，

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

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 片語搭配

對醫院來說，沒有任何財務誘因去在加護病房（ICU）配備額外的床位，

or extra ventilators

或者額外的呼吸器，

or um extra um pulmonologists who can specialize in intubation.

或，嗯，額外的，嗯，能夠專門進行插管的肺病專家。

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

在美國大約6,000家醫院中，只有305家能提供可用的最高強度的治療。

That's if patients even make it to hospital. 慣用語

這還是在病人甚至能挺到醫院的情況下。

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

大約12%的美國人沒有醫療保險。

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

在那些有保險的人中，大約23%保險不足，

which means they could be hit with high charges. 慣用語

這意味著他們可能會受到高額費用的打擊。

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

超過一半的工作年齡人口透過其雇主獲得醫療保險。

But now, with over 20 million Americans claiming unemployment,

但現在，隨著超過兩千萬美國人申請失業，

many may lose that access.

許多人可能會失去這種保障。

If you have more people afraid of getting treatment then,

如果有更多的人害怕接受治療，那麼，

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

你知道，死亡率可能會比應該的更高。

All of those things mean that

所有這些事情都意味著

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

一場大流行病本來就會給美國的醫療保健系統帶來很大壓力，

no matter who was president. 文法

無論誰當總統。

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

川普政府已經承諾向那些無法獲得醫療保健的人提供一些幫助。

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，治療無保險冠狀病毒患者的醫院和醫療服務提供者

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

將由聯邦政府使用國會上個月通過的經濟救濟方案中的資金進行報銷。

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

然而，關於聯邦基金確切涵蓋什麼和涵蓋誰，仍然有很多未解答的問題。

For much of America,

對於美國的大部分地區來說，

the peak of the coronavirus pandemic is not yet in sight. 慣用語

冠狀病毒大流行的高峰仍未到來。

On April 16th,

4月16日，

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

川普總統提出了一套關於如何以及何時可以取消社交距離措施的指導方針。

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

他明確表示，下一步行動取決於各個州。

Every state is very different.

每個州都非常不同。

They need to remain closed.

他們需要保持關閉。

We will allow them to do that.

我們將允許他們這樣做。

And if they believe it is time to reopen, 文法

如果他們認為到了重新開放的時候，

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

我們將為他們提供自由和指導來完成這項任務。

Yet, the president immediately undermined his own guidelines 用詞

然而，總統立即破壞了他自己的指導方針，

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

他表現出對不斷增長的要求結束封鎖的抗議運動的支持。

These are people expressing their views.

這些人在表達他們的觀點。

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

我看到他們在哪裡，我也看到了他們運作的方式。

They seem to be very responsible people to me.

在我看來他們似乎是非常負責任的人。

Donald Trump has presided over 片語動詞

唐納德·川普主導了，

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

並且在很大程度上助長了美國對疫情混亂的應對。

The combination of an erratic president,

反覆無常的總統、

federalized government, and a complex and fragmented healthcare system

聯邦制政府以及複雜而碎片化的醫療保健系統的組合，

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

意味著美國本已很高的死亡人數將繼續攀升。

I'm Idrees Kahloon.

我是伊德里斯·卡倫。

I'm the US policy correspondent for The Economist.

我是《經濟學人》的美國政策通訊記者。

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

我一直在撰寫有關冠狀病毒如何影響各行各業的美國人的報導。

Um if you want to read more of our coverage,

嗯，如果你想閱讀更多我們的報導，

you can see the link beside me.

你可以看到我旁邊的連結。