限免中

[時事英文] 死亡率（mortality rate）*、壓平曲線（flattening the curve）、活動限制 （lockdown）：如何理解這些術語？
　
Language goes beyond a sealed system governed by a rigid set of rules. To fully understand the meaning of a word, one must look further than connotation and denotation, and also take context into consideration. In this case, one needs to examine the social, political, economic, and even statistical contexts of the terms.
　
語言並非只是受嚴密規則所約束的封閉系統。為了充分理解一個單詞的意涵，我們不僅要瞭解其本義與引申義，同時還要考慮整個語境。在此一情況下，應要考察社會、政治、經濟甚至統計上的語境。
　
Does “confirmed cases,” for example, mean the same thing in every country before and during the coronavirus outbreak? What about “lockdowns”? Does it mean that the government is advising people to stay home or is someone nailing your door shut? Some food for thought when reading about the coronavirus outbreak.
　
例如，在冠狀病毒爆發前以及爆發期間，「確診病例」在各國是否具有相同的含義？那麼，封鎖呢？這是否意味著政府正建議人們留在家中，抑或有人正把你家大門釘上？以上是在閱讀疫情的相關資訊時所引人深思的一些事情。
　
*同學好心的補充說明：「mortality rate」通常指的是死亡率，而「fatality rate」則是（因罹患某疾病）致死率。兩者都是重要的死亡指標，但計算公式不相同。
　
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《紐約時報》報導：
　
Making sense of the coronavirus pandemic requires getting up to speed on semantics as much as epidemiology. Government officials and health care professionals toss off mentions of mortality rates, flattening the curve and lockdowns, assuming that we know what they mean. But the terms mean different things from country to country, state to state, even city to city and person to person. Officials use the same phrases about mass testing, caseloads and deaths to describe very different situations. That makes it hard to give clear answers to vital questions: How bad are things? Where are they headed?
　
1. make sense of… 理解……
2. get up to speed on 了解最新情況；跟上進度
3. toss off 輕而易舉地處理*
　
弄懂新型冠狀病毒大流行，既需要了解流行病學的最新情況，也需要在語義學上跟上形勢。「死亡率」、「壓平曲線」和「活動限制」等說法從政府官員和公共衛生專業人士的嘴裡脫口而出，他們假設大家都知道這些詞的意思。但對不同的國家、不同的州，甚至不同的城市和個人來說，這些術語有著不同的含義。 官員們使用「大規模檢測」、「病例數」和「死亡病例數」等相同的措辭，來描繪非常不同的情況。這令一些重要的問題難以得到明確的回答：情況有多糟糕？正在向什麼方向發展？
　
toss off: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toss%20off
　
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People search for insight by comparing their countries to those that are further along in the epidemic. But if the terms are misleading or used in differing ways, the comparisons are flawed. Also, the statistics and vocabulary offer a false sense of precision while in reality, the information we have shows only a fraction of what’s going on. “The new cases or deaths each day are given as exact numbers, and we’re trained to take that at face value,” said Mark N. Lurie, an epidemiologist at Brown University’s School of Public Health. “But those are far from exact, they’re deeply flawed, and their meaning varies from place to place and from time period to time period.”
　
4. be further along in 在……上走得更深遠
5. at face value 根據外表；從表面上看
　
人們將自己的國家與那些經歷了疫情更多階段的國家進行比較，以求了解情況。但是，如果這些詞語使人產生誤解，或在使用方式上存在差異的話，這種比較就是錯誤的。此外，這些統計數據和詞彙給人以精準的假象，而現實是，我們所掌握的信息僅代表冰山一角。「每天的新增病例數或死亡人數都是以精準數字的形式通報的，我們被訓練成只看這些表面數字。」布朗大學公共衛生學院流行病學家馬克・盧裡說。「但這些數字遠非精準，而且有嚴重缺陷，它們的含義因不同的時間和地點而不同。」
　
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I. Confirmed Cases 確診病例
　
Countries vary wildly in testing for the virus and how they report the numbers, and experts say most infections are going undetected. So the publicized national tallies are rough, incomplete pictures that may not be all that comparable. And that’s if countries are forthcoming about their data.
　
6. vary wildly in 在……上有極大的差異*
7. publicize 公布；宣傳
8. national tallies 國家的統計數據
9. incomplete pictures 不完整的狀況
10. forthcoming 樂於幫助的
　
各國在病毒檢測以及通報數字的方式上有很大差異，而且專家們說，大多數感染都沒有被發現。因此，各國公布的只是粗略的數據，這些並不完整的描繪也許沒有多少可比性。這還是在假設各國願意提供數據的情況下。

wildly: https://bit.ly/2wkgPjo
　
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Officials in the United States say that China, which has reported more than 82,000 infections, has understated its epidemic. Until this week, the Chinese government excluded those patients who tested positive for the virus but had no symptoms. China also doesn’t say how many tests it has conducted, and doubts have been raised about whether it has tested extensively in Xinjiang, the province where it holds hundreds of thousands of Muslims in indoctrination camps. The Covid Tracking Project, run by The Atlantic, has tried to compile all the numbers in the United States and reports more than 1.2 million tests so far, over 3,600 per million people.
　
11. understate 未如實陳述；避重就輕地說
12. exclude 把……排除在外
13. indoctrination camps 再教育營
14. run by 由……經營
　
中國通報的累計確診病例超過８萬２千例，美國官員說，中國淡化了國內的疫情。直到本週前，中國政府一直把病毒檢測呈陽性但沒有癥狀的感染者不納入確診病例。中國也未公開接受檢測的人數，而且外界已對中國是否在新疆進行了大規模檢測表示懷疑，中國在那裡把數十萬穆斯林關進了拘禁營。《大西洋月刊》的新冠肺炎追蹤計劃試圖匯總美國的所有數據，它統計到的數字是，美國迄今為止進行了逾１２０萬例檢測，平均每百萬人超過３６００例。
　
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II. Widespread Testing 大規模檢測

It matters not only how many people are tested, but also when, and who they are. Once again, countries differ, shaping what the numbers mean. A few countries, like South Korea, Australia and Singapore, got serious about mass testing early on. They used the information to do ambitious contact-tracing — finding and testing those who had recently been near infected people, even if they had no symptoms.
　
15. it matters 重要的是
16. not only……, but also…… 不僅……，而且……
17. get serious about 認真對待某事
18. early on 在早期
　
重要的不只是多少人做了檢測，檢測時間和檢測對象也很重要。各國在檢測時間和對象上也有不同，這讓數字的含義也有所不同。韓國、澳洲和新加坡等少數國家很早就開始認真地進行大規模檢測。他們利用這些信息嚴格追蹤接觸者，也就是找到並檢測那些親密接觸者，即使他們沒有癥狀。
　
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But most nations with large numbers of cases have done less testing, waited longer to do it in bulk, and made little attempt at contact tracing. They find themselves playing catch-up with the virus, ramping up testing after their outbreaks had already mushroomed. They detect more cases, but by then it’s hard to tell how much of that growth is the expanding epidemic and how much is expanding surveillance. Unable to meet the demand, they often limit testing to the sickest patients and health workers.
　
19. in bulk 大量
20. make little attempt 幾乎未做嘗試
21. ramp up 增加*
22. mushroom (v.) 迅速增長；迅速發展*
23. meet the demand 滿足需求
24. limit……to 將……限制在……
　
但大多數存在大量確診病例的國家進行的檢測數量都比較少，都是等了更長時間後才開始進行大規模檢測，而且對追蹤接觸者的工作幾乎未做嘗試。這些國家發現自己在拚命追趕病毒的傳播，在疫情迅速蔓延後才加大了檢測力度。這些國家都檢測到了更多的病例，但此時已很難判斷新增病例中有多少是疫情不斷擴大的結果，有多少是擴大疫情監測的結果。由於無法滿足檢測需求，這些國家通常只能對病情最嚴重的患者以及衛生工作者做檢測。
　
ramp up: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/ramp-up
mushroom: https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/mushroom
　
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III. Fatality Rates 致死率
　
It has been stated time and again: Italy and Spain have high mortality rates among coronavirus patients, Germany’s is low, and China’s is somewhere between. It may not be that simple. Counting the dead is as flawed and inconsistent as counting the infected. Recent reports say that mortuaries in Wuhan, China, where the disease was first discovered, have ordered thousands more urns than usual, suggesting a much higher death toll than the city’s official count, 2,535. The outbreaks in Wuhan, and parts of Italy and Spain, overwhelmed hospitals, forcing many sick people to ride it out at home. No one knows how many people have recovered or died without ever being tested. And if only the sickest patients are tested, then the number of infections will appear smaller and the percentage who die will seem higher.
　
25. time and again 屢次；一再
26. as flawed and inconsistent as 像……一樣存在缺陷與不一致
27. mortuary 停屍間（太平間）
28. urn 骨灰罈
29. suggest 暗示*
30. death toll 死亡人數
31. to ride it out 安然渡過（難關）*
　
一個反覆提及的說法是：義大利和西班牙的新冠病毒肺炎患者死亡率高，德國的低，中國的居中。情況也許並不那麼簡單。統計死亡人數和統計感染人數一樣存在缺陷和不一致的地方。最近有報導稱，武漢的殯儀館訂購的骨灰盒數比該市官方統計的２５３５例死亡高出好幾千，表明死亡人數遠高於官方公布的數字。新冠病毒最早就是在這座城市發現的。武漢以及義大利和西班牙部分地區的疫情使醫院不堪重負，許多患者被迫在家中渡過難關。沒人知道究竟有多少人在從未做檢測的情況下康復或死亡。如果只對病情最嚴重的患者做檢測的話，感染人數看上去會更低，而死亡率看起來將更高。
　
suggest: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/suggest
ride sth out: https://bit.ly/2Rd6Tj6
　
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IV. The Peak 疫情高峰
　
Officials often talk about when the epidemic peaks or plateaus — when a country “flattens the curve.” But they rarely specify, the peak of what? And how can we be sure we’re past it? When an outbreak is growing unchecked, more people become infected and more die each day than the day before. On a graph, the curve showing the daily count of new cases has gone from rising sharply to moving sideways — the curve has flattened — and even begun to move downward. That is one corner being turned: The rate of the spread of the virus has slowed down. It takes longer to turn another: the rate of people dying.
　
32. from rising sharply to moving sideways 從急劇上升到橫向移動
33. turn the corner 好轉；度過難關*
　
官員們經常提疫情何時達到高峰或進入平台期，也就是一個國家「壓平曲線」的時候。但他們很少具體說明是什麼達到了高峰，以及我們怎麼能確定高峰已過？當疫情不受控制地發展時，每天的感染和死亡人數都比前一天多。曲線圖上顯示的每天新增病例數從急劇上升變得趨於平緩——曲線已被壓平——甚至開始下降。這是一個轉折點：病毒的傳播速度已經放緩。度過死亡人數的轉折點則需要更長的時間。
　
turn the corner: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/turn%20the%20corner
　
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But even when those curves flatten, the epidemic still has not “peaked” by another crucial measure: the number of active cases. That figure continues to rise until the number of patients who either die or recover each day is larger than the number of new infections. To ease the staggering load on health care systems, the active cases curve must also flatten and then fall.
　
34. peak (v.) 使……達到頂峰
35. either……or…… 不是……就是……
36. staggering 沉重的；巨大的
　
但是，即使這些曲線已趨於平緩，疫情的另一個重要衡量指標——現存確診病例數——仍未達到「峰值」。在每天的死亡或康復患者人數超過新增感染人數之前，這個數字還將繼續上升。為緩解衛生系統的沉重負擔，現存確診病例數的曲線也必須先趨平，然後下降。
　
peak: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/peak_2
　
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V. Lockdowns 封鎖（活動限制）
　
More than two billion people, including most Americans, are living under something usually called a lockdown. But there is no set definition of that word — or related terms like stay-at-home mandates and social distancing — so the details differ from place to place. The biggest differences may be in enforcement. Some places, like those in the United States with lockdowns, mostly rely on people to follow the rules without coercion. But Italy and others have deployed soldiers to ensure compliance, and French police have fined hundreds of thousands of people for violating restrictions. China, in addition to using security forces, mobilized an army of volunteers, ratcheting up social pressure to obey.
　
37. set definition 固定的定義
38. enforcement 實施；執行
39. rely on 仰賴；依靠
40. deploy 部署
41. compliance 服從
42. fine 處……以罰款（或罰金）
43. in addition to 除了……之外
44. mobilize 動員
45. ratchet sth up/down 逐步增加／減少
　
全球有２０多億人，包括大多數美國人正生活在一般被稱為「活動限制」的狀態下。但這個詞沒有固定的定義，其他的相關說法，比如政府的「待在家裡」和「保持社交距離」令也沒有明確的定義，所以各地的具體做法也不一樣。最大的不同可能在執行方面。有些地方，比如美國有限制令的地方，主要依靠人們自覺遵守，而非強制。但義大利等國為確保限制令的落實而動用了軍隊，法國警方還對數已十萬計的違反禁令者處以罰款。中國除了使用安全部隊外，還動員了一支志願者大軍來加大服從封鎖隔離措施的社會壓力。
　
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Italy’s experience shows the looseness of the term. It has gone through several phases of restrictions, applying them to more people, making them stricter and increasing enforcement. A few weeks ago, a person could travel around Italy for a valid work or family reason. Now, people are fined for nonessential walking too far from their homes. But each stage was widely called by the same name: lockdown.
　
46. looseness 鬆散
47. valid 確鑿的；合理的；有根據的；讓人信服的
　
義大利的經歷表明了這個詞語解釋上的自由。義大利的封鎖令經歷了幾個階段，適用範圍擴大到越來越多的人，封鎖及其執行也變得越來越嚴格。幾週前，人們還可以因為正當的工作或家庭原因在義大利旅行。現在，人們會因不必要的離家太遠的走動而被罰款。但禁令的每個階段用的都是同一個泛泛的名稱：活動限制。
　
《紐約時報》完整報導：https://nyti.ms/2XcCUeT

圖片出處：https://fxn.ws/34gwSeH
　
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時事英文大全：http://bit.ly/2WtAqop
　
如何使用「時事英文」：https://bit.ly/3a9rr38
　
＃疫情英文

【你問我答Round 1 Part 3/3】 (English writing below but imho Chinese one is funnier...)

QUESTION 3: Joseph Ng
「季謙您好，請問一個人如何能在諸多煩惱中找到一片刻的安寧？」

.

【庸人才自擾】

我答：

師兄如果只是要「片刻」的安寧，又何必問我呢？

在這人間，要得「片刻」的安寧，方法很多，聽個音樂、和朋友喝喝茶，甚至刷刷臉書看貓看狗看勵志片，方法之多，任君挑。

我自幼家事甚多、煩惱纏身，皈依佛教，修習密法，圖的正是『永恆』的安寧。

我的人，和我的風水術一樣，講求實在。

「片刻」有何用？「片刻」能多久？一首歌的時間？還是一部長電影的時間？

「片刻」過後，你的心，還不是一樣不安寧，中間更耗了不少福份，這種自欺欺人的事，老娘才不幹。😄

有無煩惱，都由自己的心來決定。

您的心，沒有戒力、沒有定力、沒有慧力，閉塞了，看隻螞蟻都是煩惱，一天到晚，都要唱「最近比較煩，比較煩，比較煩......」。

跟你說些我的故事吧！

一輛車要有好風水，首先裡外都要乾淨。像我這照片裡的車，土煞甚多，非常不詳。

無奈從然我免費指點，客人擲千金才得的知識，這車子的主人卻常常不聽。

一年前，我偶然看到臉書照片，便指點一位講座出席者，趕快換個新的電腦鍵盤。他的鍵盤，因長年使用，好些鍵上的字符已「功成身退」。

當時那位出席者未見過我，他卻把我的話銘記在心，幾天內就買了個新鍵盤。

我們用來謀財的工具永遠都要保持在最佳狀態，內在美固然重要，但顏值也不能太差勁。這樣我們的「正財」才能很順利地飛入我們的口袋。

這兩件事情，真的是讓我歡喜，讓我煩......

再說另外一件事。

某日，我本應約要到新加坡的西部看場居家風水。

在勘察的前一天，年輕的女客人突然向我要求我手機號碼。

我告訴她我一向都沒有給手機號碼的習慣，只通過臉書聯絡，所有的客人都一樣。

她反問我：「你不覺得給號碼會比較有誠意和容易溝通嗎？」

坦白說，家門口常塞了很多房屋經紀的傳單。他們的手機號碼都印得大大的，你會覺得那就是誠意嗎？

我掏心掏肺寫了400多篇文章，開了近70場臉書直播，每一條留言我幾乎都會回復，這不是我誠意的表現嗎？沒有這些，只有手機號碼，妳會來找我嗎？

一個隨便都可以換的手機號碼，和一個成立多年的臉書帳戶，只有前者才算真實嗎？

我並沒辯解太多，便和客人達成協議，取消了那場風水。

這樣的事情，會讓我煩惱嗎？

她的要求不過份，只是咱倆的觀點不一樣，把這事寫出來，並非在損她，想說的是......

如果我執著於那個紅包，

擔心她在背後批評我，慫恿別人不來找我服務，

很介意為何最親的家人，還不如一個陌生人那般的重視我的指導，

如果我只在意結果，而不能享受這過程，

我永遠都會在煩惱，沒有一刻安寧。

我選擇智慧。

我師尊，蓮生活佛，曾說：「以無所得故，立斷煩惱。」

有欲望，就會有煩惱。

有求的時候，煩。
追求的過程，煩。
得到了要守住，煩。
得不到，更煩。
得到了，又要追求新的，煩煩煩。

最好笑的就是，到頭來，卻什麼都帶不走，唯有業隨身。業障多，煩惱也多，所以大家都要勤守戒，勤消業，才能談得上自在快樂。

其實很多事情是求不到的。本來什麼都沒有，連煩惱也是空。

我們來地球只是做賓客罷了，有賓就有主，我們的心就是主。

心放得下，一切就能活得自然。一般人是做不到，這需要皈依明師，修習心法。

也有另外一個說法，就是一個人居家和公司的風水如果不好，煩惱也會比較多，上班煩，回到家看到老婆大人也煩，每個月看銀行存則，更是煩不甚煩。

怎樣，師兄，要雙管齊下，看看風水，安安心嗎？😄

祝大家早日皈依明師，修得心能轉境，而不會被境轉。

...............

Last question from Joseph Ng in my Saturday's AMA:

"Hi Ji Qian, may I ask how can a person find a moment of tranquility amidst all the afflictions?"

.

My answer:

Dear Dharma Brother, if a "moment" of tranquility is what you are after, why is there a need to ask me?

In this mortal world, there are many ways to get this "moment" of peace. You can listen to a song, go have tea with some friends, or just swipe your Facebook and look at cats, dogs or some motivational video.

The methods are many, for your picking.

I grew in family of conflicts, and had been ridden with afflictions since young. I take refuge in the Triple Gems and practice Varjayana Buddhism, so that I can achieve "eternal" inner peace.

My personality is just like my Feng Shui skills. I go for practicality.

What is the point of a "moment"? How long can a moment last? As long as the song sings? As long as the long movie plays?

After that "moment" flies by, your heart remains turbulent, and your fortune get exhausted in your pursuits of momental peace. I don't have the habit of self-deception. 😄

Vexation or not, your mind decides.

If your mind does not have precept strength, meditative strength and wisdom strength, and is clogged, even looking at an ant will cause you affliction. From day to night, you can only be singing, "最近比較煩，比較煩，比較煩......"

Let me tell you some of my stories!

The first and foremost thing about a car's Feng Shui is to keep the car clean at all times.

A car of such "cleanliness" in this photo carries a lot of 土煞 (baleful energies due to excessive Earth).

Pity the owner of this car doesn't always listen to me, despite me dishing out free advice that people pay good money for.

A year ago, I advised a workshop participant to change his keyboard, when I saw his FB photo. His keyboard had many missing characters from the keys, due to long years of usage.

Having never met me in person before, he took my advice to heart and bought a new keyboard within days.

Our tools of trade must always be kept in tip-top and pristine condition, in order to constantly receive wealth from our careers with as little drama and obstructions as possible.

These two separate incidents brought me joy and worry at the same time...

Another story:

One day, I was supposed to head to the west of Singapore for a Feng Shui audit.

The day before, the young female client suddenly asked me for my mobile phone number.

I told her that I never had the practice of giving out my number. I only communicate via FB, and it applied to all clients.

She asked me, "Don't you think it is more sincere and easier to communicate with a number?"

Honestly speaking, our gates are often stuffed with many flyers from property agents. Their numbers are printed in big fonts across the paper. Will you consider that as sincerity?

I poured my heart out in writing 400+ posts and did 70+ FB Lives. I replied to almost every comment. Isn't that a show of my sincerity? Without all these, but just a phone number, would you have looked for me?

A mobile number that can be easily changed vs a Facebook account that has been established for years. Should only the former be considered authentic?

I didn't explain much with the client, but I reached a consensus with her and cancelled the audit.

Will such an incident cause affliction for me?

Her request wasn't too much. Just that our viewpoints are different. I wrote this, not to make her look bad, but to say...

If I am stubborn about that angpow I could have gotten,

If I worry about her talking bad behind me, encouraging other people not to look for me,

If I am very affected with why my closed ones do not value my teachings as much as a complete stranger,

If I only care about the end result, and fail to enjoy the process,

I will ALWAYS be suffering in afflictions, never having any moment of peace.

I choose to live my life with wisdom.

My Grandmaster, Living Buddha Lian Sheng, once expounded: 「以無所得故，立斷煩惱。」

As long as there is desire, there will be afflictions.

When you have a want, you feel troubled.

In pursuing your want, you feel troubled.

When you have gotten your want, and wish to guard it, you feel troubled.

When you can't get what you want, you feel even more troubled.

When you chase a new want, after getting what you want, the process starts all over again.

The most amusing thing is, at the end of the day, nobody can take away anything from here, except their personal karma.

The more karmic obstructions there are, the more vexations you will have.

Hence, my advice to everyone: be steadfast in adhering to your precepts and eradicate your negative karma diligently. Only then will you be truly at ease and joyous.

There are many things in the word that can't be sought. Everything amounts to emptiness. Even afflictions.

We are here on Earth as guests. When there are guests, there must be a host. Our minds are our hosts.

If your mind can let go, you can live life in a natural way. Most people aren't able to do it. That requires taking refuge in an accomplished master, and practice mental cultivation.

There's another explanation for your vexations too.

When a person does not have good Feng Shui at home and in his office, he tend to feel troubled frequently. He feels troubled at home, and the feeling intensified when he returns home and see his wife. Every month when he sees his bankbook, he feels most troubled.

So, my dear Dharma brother, do you want to get your Feng Shui audited to give your heart some peace? 😄

May everyone take refuge in an accomplished Master soon, and cultivate your mind to remain unperturbed as external conditions change, and have the ability to change them instead.

.

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